Help with solar quote in Murrieta.

[J.P.M.]

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.

If you care to share: What's the interest rate on the note ?

[alienwulf]

If you care to share: What's the interest rate on the note ?

I passed on the Hero program after reading the details lots of fee's..

Riverside Hero program is 5.95%
Financing Summary
Your payments will be added to your property tax bill for 5
years. If your project funds on or before June 30
th
of 2015,
your first payment
will be included on your November
2015
tax bill. If your project funds after June 30
th
of
2015
, your first payment will be included on your
November
2016
tax bill. The following terms are estimates and are subject to change upon completion of work. This summary does not
include tax deductions or energy savings
Program Administration Fee.
At the time of closing,
the Authority
will charge you a one
-
time administration fee of 6.95% of
the principal amount of
the assessment on the Property to cover the costs of administering the Program. This fee will be added to the assessment amou
nt.
d.
Recording Fee.
At the time of closing,
the Authority
will pass
-
through the assessment recording fee o
f approximately $95.00 to you to cover the
costs of recording the assessment. This fee will be added to the assessment amount.
e.
Assessment Administration Fee.
Each year, an annual assessment administrative fee will be added to the assessment lien amount on
your
property tax bill. Currently these costs are $35.00 and there will be adjustments in subsequent years for cost of living incr
eases, not to exceed
$95.00.
f.
Interest Before First Payment:
Based on the date an assessment is recorded on your property the
payment of assessment installments may not
begin until the following year’s property tax bill. As a result interest will be added to the assessment amount for the perio
d between your closing
date and the date of your first assessment payment. The maximum a
mount of interest will be listed on your Final Payment Summary, which will be
provided with your financing documents.
g.
Automated Valuation Model Disclosure.
You have the right to a copy of the automated valuation model (AVM) report used in connection with
y
our application for credit. If you want to obtain a copy, please email or write to us at the address we have provided. We mus
t hear from you no
later than 90 days after we provide you with a notice of the action taken on your application or a notice of inc
ompleteness, or in the case of a
withdrawn application, 90 days after the withdrawal. An AVM is not an appraisal. It is a computerized property valuation syst
em that is used to
derive a real property value.
h.
Foreclosure.
Not later than October 1 each year,
the Authority
shall determine whether any annual assessment installment is not paid when due
and shall have the right and obligation to order that any such delinquent payment, penalties, interest, and associated costs
be collected by an
action brought in S
uperior Court to foreclose the lien of such delinquent assessment installment in the manner provided and to the extent permit
ted
by applicable law.
i.
Prepayment.
You have the option to pay off your assessment amount at any time in full, or in any amount of a
t least $2,500. A prepayment is
calculated to include the principal amount of the assessment to be prepaid (Assessment Prepayment Amount) and interest on the
Assessment
Prepayment Amount to the earlier of March 2nd or September 2nd occurring at least 50 d
ays following the date the prepayment is made

[J.P.M.]

Thank you. Good info.

[Gmoney!]

Fees for me werent any worse than other loans i was quoted and i cant use a heloc or else i would have done that. Rate depends on length, i believe it was like 3.95 for 5, 6.95 for 10 and in the 8s for 15 or 20.

I plan to pay it off in 5 years so went with a lower monthly payment.

They also calculate an effective rate after tax savings ad the 5 year had a negative rate.

[thejq]

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.

Sounds like a plan. Your system configuration is very similar to mine, except that I drive about 60-70 miles EV a day, so I needed only 16 panels. Assuming they don't change the EV-TOU rate structure drastically (which is a big IF), you should be close to net zero. Also I assume you already have a quick charger so you can charge at super off-peak hours, but if not, it's a good time to have that installed too.

[Gmoney!]

Solar panels going up Friday March 20th.

Any advice? Hard for me to take a day off work but i should be able to get there for afternoon portion of install.

I have S shaped tile roofs, i should make sure they replace any broken tiles i assume? Any other install tips to keep eye on?

My new electic bill last month on TOU-D-A went from 400 to $180... The $34 baseline credit (330watts at .10 cents per watt) was a nice surprise.

Still my loan payment will be $115 per mo after tax rebate is paid off (getting 1 yr same as cash for that)... After taxe write off payment closer to $100, for 15 yrs. Still means id be saving $80 per month minimum.

[J.P.M.]

Solar panels going up Friday March 20th.

Any advice? Hard for me to take a day off work but i should be able to get there for afternoon portion of install.

I have S shaped tile roofs, i should make sure they replace any broken tiles i assume? Any other install tips to keep eye on?

My new electic bill last month on TOU-D-A went from 400 to $180... The $34 baseline credit (330watts at .10 cents per watt) was a nice surprise.

Still my loan payment will be $115 per mo after tax rebate is paid off (getting 1 yr same as cash for that)... After taxe write off payment closer to $100, for 15 yrs. Still means id be saving $80 per month minimum.

Work is work, but I'd get there ASAP.

This is a bit late, but how are the standoffs attached to the roof ? Hope they are not simply drilling through the tiles and caulking the holes.

[Gmoney!]

That is what i think they are doing.. Drilling through tile and some sort of black caulking material to seal,

I think i have a picture... Would you recommend those S shaped flashings instead? Never too late.

[Gmoney!]

That is what i think they are doing.. Drilling through tile and some sort of black caulking material to seal,

I think i have a picture... Would you recommend those S shaped flashings instead? Never too late.

here is what is supposed to look like.. it has some sort of a flashing, just not the huge S shaped silver ones I have seen pics of.

[thejq]

here is what is supposed to look like.. it has some sort of a flashing, just not the huge S shaped silver ones I have seen pics of.

Are you sure? Maybe it's ok, but certainly a cheap way of doing it. The proper (or better) way to do it is to first remove the tiles and screw the posts onto the rafter, install 1st flushing, cut holes on the tile to allow the posts to come through, re-install tiles, install 2nd flushing and seals. The picture you showed looked like the one done by the infamous installer from AZ, just with better seals. Here is a picture of my installation with the double flushing installed.
DSC_0116 (800x532).jpg

[Gmoney!]

Are you sure? Maybe it's ok, but certainly a cheap way of doing it. The proper (or better) way to do it is to first remove the tiles and screw the posts onto the rafter, install 1st flushing, cut holes on the tile to allow the posts to come through, re-install tiles, install 2nd flushing and seals. The picture you showed looked like the one done by the infamous installer from AZ, just with better seals. Here is a picture of my installation with the double flushing installed.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]6045[/ATTACH]

From my understanding they will remove the tiles, screw posts into rafters, then drill holes on tiles, put them back in, flashing you see and seal. If you guys think this isnt a good method id love to hear what would be better. We dont get much rain but wind can be an issue so obviously I want a good install. Still have a week to go.

[thejq]

From my understanding they will remove the tiles, screw posts into rafters, then drill holes on tiles, put them back in, flashing you see and seal. If you guys think this isnt a good method id love to hear what would be better. We dont get much rain but wind can be an issue so obviously I want a good install. Still have a week to go.

That picture you showed is a single screw going through the tile to presumably the rafter. If you read the LONG thread from HX_Guy, you will see why it's not a good idea (eg. not stable enough plus a few other reasons). A good installer uses proper mounting posts with 4 screws like the QuickMount system and double flushing that I showed.

Edit: from the manufacture http://www.quickmountpv.com/products...unt.html?cur=1

[sensij]

It isn't totally clear from the picture, but I think Tile Trac is being used. That is what was called out in the permit. In that system, the bolt going through the L bracket (3/8", that we can see) is not the same as the one going into the rafter (5/6" w/ 2.5 " penetration into the rafter , which is hidden). It is a fine system to use.

Edit: Check out the Tile Trac brochure. Installed, it will look just like the picture GMoney! posted. The advantage of this over QuickMount's system is that the L-brackets can be located anywhere along the TileTrac rail, and are not just limited to the rafter locations. They can be more cleanly aligned to the center of a tile, or a splice in a panel mounting rail, or whatever dictates the best position.

[thejq]

It isn't totally clear from the picture, but I think Tile Trac is being used. That is what was called out in the permit. In that system, the bolt going through the L bracket (3/8", that we can see) is not the same as the one going into the rafter (5/6" w/ 2.5 " penetration into the rafter , which is hidden). It is a fine system to use.

Edit: Check out the Tile Trac brochure. Installed, it will look just like the picture GMoney! posted. The advantage of this over QuickMount's system is that the L-brackets can be located anywhere along the TileTrac rail, and are not just limited to the rafter locations. They can be more cleanly aligned to the center of a tile, or a splice in a panel mounting rail, or whatever dictates the best position.

Yeah, I'm sure it's perfectly code compliant. But so was bolt directly to the rafter. If given the choice and at the same price, I'd pick the QuickMount type of post mount any day. It just seems flimsy to support the array on bolts. Plus the metal cap/flushing material looks pretty small. Eventually the seal/glue will crack, without proper flushing, I'm not sure how much water will go throw the tile. Most codes are very strict on safety but much less on long term rain/wind performance. It's the responsibility of the home owner to make sure that. It's better to be extra paranoid when it comes to your roof. But that's just my opinion.

[J.P.M.]

Yeah, I'm sure it's perfectly code compliant. But so was bolt directly to the rafter. If given the choice and at the same price, I'd pick the QuickMount type of post mount any day. It just seems flimsy to support the array on bolts. Plus the metal cap/flushing material looks pretty small. Eventually the seal/glue will crack, without proper flushing, I'm not sure how much water will go throw the tile. Most codes are very strict on safety but much less on long term rain/wind performance. It's the responsibility of the home owner to make sure that. It's better to be extra paranoid when it comes to your roof. But that's just my opinion.

In situations like this, I tend to favor what has tried/true stood the test of time. For my money, one such method is bolting vertical posts to rafters and double flashing them, while caulking and metal taping each flashing around the posts.