Help with solar quote in Murrieta.

[lkstaack]

Having recently gone through what you are going through, I can attest that many solar company's primary concern is selling you their product and service. Electrical output is their secondary concern. Case in point, I had two different large PV companies tell me that my roof was a good candidate for solar even though they were not in an optimum orientation and would receive a lot of shading. Two others told me to save my money on a roof mount. See, if you throw enough panels up there, you're going to get some electricity for at least part of the day. Then the question is if it is cost effective.

Some companies have salesmen with at least a rudimentary understanding of PV design. Google Earth can tell if your roof is facing the right direction and how many panels it can support, but it isn't a substitute for actually looking at it. Good Reps will actually go up on your roof with a Suneye shade analyzer and find out if you are a good candidate for solar.

Recent rules require a 3' setback all around the roof, so you can't fit as many panels as you used to. Perhaps that is why someone is recommending SunPower; maybe only one roof is a good candidate and perhaps it can only hold a few panels.

A lot of people post installed prices and insinuate that you are pretty much getting screwed if you purchase a system for much more than $3.50/watt. That doesn't take into consideration the fact that many people's houses are not perfect candidates for PV solar. Shading issues and orientation may require a ground mount (as in my case), or many additional panels to get the same output as a perfect candidate.

[Gmoney!]

I ran my output on PVWatts for both roof candidates which for a 6.2kw system gave me 10,500kwh for the optinal roof and 8300 for the less optimal roof. I think my optimal roof can handle 20 panels but ill need the installer to go up and measure to be sure.

[Gmoney!]

Ok, so I have taken everyone's advice, had about 5 quotes, and basically have ended up with the following proposal.

22 LG300 panels (6.6 kw system)
Solaredge 6000 kw inverter with monitoring

$22250 ($3.37/ w)

I have the option to drop down to 16 panels and still be at $3.37 per watt, depending on roof space as well as personal decision.

Finally got my first SCE bill at new house and because they still dont have me on TOU it was $411. It will be around $250 with TOU. My analysis of the bill had my 1.5 hp pump using about 10kwh per day so I am quickly looking at going to a variable pump. Im still worried if in two years i dont get an electrical car and with variable pump, my consumption will be at 14-15 kwh per day at which point a 6.6 system would seem to be way overkill. It would allow us to use electricity freely and run spa jets at highest speed, maybe make room for a new reef aquarium and deal with growing kids electrical demands.

For financing, I am leaning at going through HERO but waiting to hear on one last quote from another option.

Looking forward to not relying on the thiefs from SCE soon.

[Gmoney!]

One thing is i was told by several of companies that the 3 ft offset law isnt enforced in Murrieta. Obviously system has to make it through city inspections so I am going to imagine this is true. Issue is do I be safe and still go with 3 ft offset from roof edges to be safe or go for maximizing my panels.

I also had idea of reducing number of panels by 2 or 4 and then going with a quiet cool whole house fan. Allow me to run AC less.

Figured between thw whole house fan and variable pump, id be using a lot less energy.

[inetdog]

One thing is i was told by several of companies that the 3 ft offset law isnt enforced in Murrieta. Obviously system has to make it through city inspections so I am going to imagine this is true. Issue is do I be safe and still go with 3 ft offset from roof edges to be safe or go for maximizing my panels.

I also had idea of reducing number of panels by 2 or 4 and then going with a quiet cool whole house fan. Allow me to run AC less.

Figured between thw whole house fan and variable pump, id be using a lot less energy.

As far as safety goes, if asked many fire departments will suggest that the most important setback is at the top of the roof line, but if the other side of the peak is fully accessible the 3 feet on the panel side is not critical.
A three foot setback at one end or the other will give access to get up to the peak. Similarly if the ends of the panel roof segment are at hips of valleys rather than drop offs, access using the other roof planes may be sufficient.

[J.P.M.]

As for the roof setbacks or other code requirements, GET IT IN WRITING FROM THE AUTHORITY. DO NOT RELY ON WHAT SOMEONE WITH SKIN IN THE GAME (A PEDDLER) TELLS YOU !

As for the conservation measures, do them before you get solar. You will save money up front and the system can be smaller as a result of the reduced load, lowering costs further still.

Do as you wish, and be realistic about future needs/wants/situation, but know that grossly oversizing is not cost effective and leaves a lot of money on the table. The goal for a lot of people is to lower the elec. bill as much as possible in the most cost effective way possible, not simply adding solar for its own sake.

[SunEagle]

As for the conservation measures, do them before you get solar. You will save money up front and the system can be smaller as a result of the reduced load, lowering costs further still.

Do as you wish, and be realistic about future needs/wants/situation, but know that grossly oversizing is not cost effective and leaves a lot of money on the table. The goal for a lot of people is to lower the elec. bill as much as possible in the most cost effective way possible, not simply adding solar for its own sake.

+1.

As you pointed out it seems when electricity becomes "free" by using solar, a lot of people will justify using more. That is a bad direction to go if the original intent was to spend less.

Conservation is the first and best step toward lowering an electric bill.

[Gmoney!]

Thanks guys. Installing a variable pool pump today, should knock my daily usage down 6-8 kwh.

So I am around 36 kwh with electric car.

I swapped all bulbs to either cfl or led, places led at strategic locations where kids tend to leave lights on

Trying to cut down on heating the house to get a gauge for how much the fans were costing us though I dont think they were that much compared to pool pump and car.

Basically without the pump and car, house was using around 11-13kwh. I think thats a pretty respectable number for a house of 6 in a 3500 sq ft home.

We dont use a lot of AC even in hot summers here.

I will see what the design looks like and then decide what to do. I am leaning towards going with 18-20 lg 300 panels and then maybe getting a whole house fan which should possibly totally eliminate our AC use.

[J.P.M.]

Except for the EV, your low use is pretty admirable. If you want to check elec. load for any appliance on 120V, buy something called a Kill-a-Watt meter, About $20-$25 or so at the big box off Los Alamos or lots of other places.

[Gmoney!]

We did suffer a little during the summer but we survived. With a whole house fan i think we could be a lot more comfortable and then maybe run AC during super off peak using TOU rate.

[Alisobob]

..then maybe run AC during super off peak using TOU rate.

Thats my plan. The house doesnt get uncomfortable until the setting sun gets behind it, and cooks the family room, and the bedrooms.

I run it mostly during the off peak hours.

[Gmoney!]

Pentair variable pump installed today. Of course I was hoping to run it at lowest speed during offseason but i guess my intellichlor (saltwater system) needs at least 20gpm. My poolman said pump wont generate enough at lower setting to trn on the intellichlor.... I looked on the pumps performance curve and its supposed to put out close to 20gpm if there isnt much head which my system doesnt have much. Now ill probably need a flow meter to get this all figured out or go with trial and error. Guess ill have fun this weeke d.. But i hope i can run it on low during non use since it will help me save electricity. Pool guy said if running at low speed its a must to keep filter clean.

[Gmoney!]

Can anyone with EV in Cali help me understand these new TOU rate plans?

Since we will have solar I am assuming we will be tier 1 customers?

Trying to figure out if owning an ev in future will be worth it, if not i am going to panel down to a 4.8k system and drop the ev in two yrs.

president should look at these companies like sce and do something about these thieves.

We are trying to reduce carbon footprint and encourage solar and ev and these guys are looking to screw us over. Im heavily leaning towards smaller system and no ev in two yrs

[Gmoney!]

Seems like tou-d savings plan is best as it gives onpeak as 12pm to 6pm.

But during summer id be gettin peak generation between like 11am-2pm? So if i have a 6.6kw system, i should be generation close to 12kwh during 12-2 and then maybe 3-4 more hours of suboptimal sun so maybe another 8-10kwh? Does that math look right?

Im just trying to figure out if a 6.6kwh system will produce enough for my ev when used with net metering. If not, i dont see why i should pay more for more panels and worth to just ditch the car. I figured with a 4.8 kw system, i can finance for around 75 per month and car at auper offpeak will cost around 60-70 so $150 which would still be cheaper than $250 i pay now and when ev lease is up, ill have a system capable of handling our normal use which is around 15 kwh per day avg. that will probably go up as children get older.

[Gmoney!]

In another post I actually shared my spreadsheet results that estimated that TOU-A actually would be better for me than TOU-D.

I have decided on a 5.1kw system, 17 lg300panels and solaredge inverter with optimizers.

I am going with the local HERO financing which will add our monthly bill to our property tax. I plan on paying the system off. completely over 5 years.

My immediate savings will be $140 finance payment vs 250-270 SCE bill and spread that over next 2.5 yrs ill have my current EV and thats over $3000 in saving. My SCE bill should be zero or slightly negative for the year.

I think in 2.5 years I am likely to stick to EV. Prices of evs should continue to go down, range should get better.