Mythical $3.50/watt installation?

[JetRanger]

If those were the prices I was looking at or offered, my decision would be a no brainer.........

TJ

It really was. No other SunPower dealer could come close. They didn't even want to quote.

[tj289]

It really was. No other SunPower dealer could come close. They didn't even want to quote.

Hopefully my persistence pays off.......Good luck to you....

TJ

[mikenmar]

If you estimate costs, you would be paying ~$20K for a crew to work less than a day at your house. Unless that is a crew of hookers with blow, that seems very expensive.

Hi Donald,

Do you know of any installers that include the hookers with blow setup? Please PM if so.

Thanks.

[donald]

Hi Donald,

Do you know of any installers that include the hookers with blow setup? Please PM if so.

Thanks.

In you area that service should be easy to find on Craigslist.

[Willaby]

CA vs AZ cost

I'm still amazed how the going rate in California seems to be over $3.50/watt. We are well below $3.00 in my area. Bottom line is you charge what the market will bear. All the states with booming solar businesses are the ones with high electric rates.
Here in Arizona, we have the best sunshine in the country, and yet the utility rates are low, the Utilities are very aggressive, and the big solar companies are pulling out.

I notice AZ is one of 29 states that does not Sales Tax solar, CA does. This is probably 20c/kw alone. I'd call AZ a tax friendly state. In California, Brown and his dem buddies may preach green, but don't dare touch those tax revenues.

[mattnday]

Sacramento Installation

I purchased my 7.8kW system with 30 260w SolarWorld panels and Solar edge optimizers for $20,500 including design, permit and installation.

This is before what I hope will be $6700 in tax credits and rebates from SMUD.

Basically just a tad less than $2.70 per kW.

I used a wholesale solar company called Fortune Energy based in Sacramento to purchase the panels and Evans Energy to install the panels.

The install was $7410 of the cost or just less than $1 per kW.

Only thing out of the ordinary is I choose to pick up the panels instead of having them shipped since they were located locally.

I am very happy so farhttp://www.solarpaneltalk.com/images/icons/icon6.png

[J.P.M.]

I purchased my 7.8kW system with 30 260w SolarWorld panels and Solar edge optimizers for $20,500 including design, permit and installation.

This is before what I hope will be $6700 in tax credits and rebates from SMUD.

Basically just a tad less than $2.70 per kW.

I used a wholesale solar company called Fortune Energy based in Sacramento to purchase the panels and Evans Energy to install the panels.

The install was $7410 of the cost or just less than $1 per kW.

Only thing out of the ordinary is I choose to pick up the panels instead of having them shipped since they were located locally.

I am very happy so farhttp://www.solarpaneltalk.com/images/icons/icon6.png

($20,500+ $7,410) = $27910; /7,800 W = $3.57/W less rebates & tax credit. Decent enough.

[mattnday]

$20,500 including design, permit and installation.

The $7410 for installation was included in the $20,500

[cthetoy]

I don't get how all of you are getting those prices. I'm in the Rancho Cucamonga, CA area and the cheapest quote I've been getting is $4.75/w That the cheapest! Dont ask me what was the highest. Anyone can shoot me message for referrals?

[donald]

I don't get how all of you are getting those prices. I'm in the Rancho Cucamonga, CA area and the cheapest quote I've been getting is $4.75/w That the cheapest! Dont ask me what was the highest. Anyone can shoot me message for referrals?

It is a sellers market in most of California. There is not a single home solar system installed this year in Germany or Australia that is anywhere near $4.75/w before subsidy. In a mature market today, with a streamlined permitting process, the price of solar pre-subsidy is $2/watt or less.

http://cleantechnica.com/2015/01/29/solar-costs-will-fall-40-next-2-years-heres/

[SunEagle]

It is a sellers market in most of California. There is not a single home solar system installed this year in Germany or Australia that is anywhere near $4.75/w before subsidy. In a mature market today, with a streamlined permitting process, the price of solar pre-subsidy is $2/watt or less.

http://cleantechnica.com/2015/01/29/...2-years-heres/

Unfortunately the $/watt price in the US will stay high in areas like CA because of supply and demand. Hopefully it will go down when the FED rebate goes away but I wouldn't hold my breath.

[azdave]

I don't get how all of you are getting those prices. I'm in the Rancho Cucamonga, CA area and the cheapest quote I've been getting is $4.75/w That the cheapest! Dont ask me what was the highest. Anyone can shoot me message for referrals?

I'm not in California but I can tell you what I did to get a better deal. I purchased my system. Don't be afraid to make offers and get creative. Once I got the best offer from four companies, I chose a trusted, locally-owned solar business to do my entire install. They priced it at $19,000 up front. I said I would sign if they came down to $18,500. They agreed and then I offered to pay the majority of the cost up front (80%) and got a further 2.5% discount (down to $18,000 now). That left me at $2.71/W before tax credits incentives for a 6.63kW turn-key system.

To my further delight, they let me use a cash-back credit card to pay (which I promptly paid in full of course). After all tax credits and incentives I ended up at $11,170 total for my system. That's $1.68/W. It went online last November so I only waited a few months to get my federal and state credits applied.

[donald]

Unfortunately the $/watt price in the US will stay high in areas like CA because of supply and demand. Hopefully it will go down when the FED rebate goes away but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Once the subsidies go away, the market will stabilize. Many local electricians will install solar for wages, as is true today in Germany and Australia. Solar today, especially in California, is like the $1000 DVD player of yesterday. That $1000 seemed reasonable at the time, as the cost a few years earlier was $2000.

In the long term there is no residential solar businesses with corporate offices and investor relations specialists. There's just local businesses earning modest wages installing commodity electronics.

[SunEagle]

Once the subsidies go away, the market will stabilize. Many local electricians will install solar for wages, as is true today in Germany and Australia. Solar today, especially in California, is like the $1000 DVD player of yesterday. That $1000 seemed reasonable at the time, as the cost a few years earlier was $2000.

In the long term there is no residential solar businesses with corporate offices and investor relations specialists. There's just local businesses earning modest wages installing commodity electronics.

I understand you analogy concerning electronics and how the prices have dropped over the years.

I hope it works the same for solar which while having electronics is IMO no different from other appliances you can purchase for your home.

Kitchen appliances (like a fridge) have gotten more efficient and sophisticated over the decades but you will pay more now then you would have 5 years ago. Same for washer and dryers. Hopefully not for solar.

[J.P.M.]

$20,500 including design, permit and installation.

The $7410 for installation was included in the $20,500

More speed reading problems. My error.