7.56 KW system in Dublin CA (SF Bay Area) SolarWorld 280+Enphase M250 $25700 - $3.4/W

[abyebye]

I didn't know about Q-cells till you mentioned it. And none of the vendors offer this brand to me.

I chose SolarWorld because I think it has good value. I would choose SunPower if the money is not an issue.

And this video also help me on choosing SolarWorld:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6v2lDa8Hos

abyebye,

You mentioned you selection came down to either SunPower, LG, SolarWorld panels.

Would consider all of those panels superior to Hanwha Q-cells?

[solardreamer]

abyebye,

Did your installer use any subcontractors to do your installation? If so, what kind of subcontractors (e.g. electrician)?

Is the installer NABCEP certified?

Thanks

[abyebye]

They didn't use any subcontractors. I know they have C10 license, not sure about NABCEP certified. (didn't know about this till you told me)

abyebye,

Did your installer use any subcontractors to do your installation? If so, what kind of subcontractors (e.g. electrician)?

Is the installer NABCEP certified?

Thanks

[solardreamer]

Thanks for the info Can you tell me how much annual production (Kwh) do you expect from your 7.56kw system?

They didn't use any subcontractors. I know they have C10 license, not sure about NABCEP certified. (didn't know about this till you told me)

[Yaryman]

Thanks for the info Can you tell me how much annual production (Kwh) do you expect from your 7.56kw system?

Not speaking for the OP, I was told at 5.87 KW system would generate about 10,000 Kwh per normal year.
It was the salespersons estimation that this year with very little rain the system would generate about 10,600 Kwh.
Of course, it's the salesperson's job to sell you more than you need. So maybe the system would generate more power than he was stating,
but he was understating the output so I would buy more panels. Yes people actually do that.

[J.P.M.]

Not speaking for the OP, I was told at 5.87 KW system would generate about 10,000 Kwh per normal year.
It was the salespersons estimation that this year with very little rain the system would generate about 10,600 Kwh.
Of course, it's the salesperson's job to sell you more than you need. So maybe the system would generate more power than he was stating,
but he was understating the output so I would buy more panels. Yes people actually do that.

Actually, depending on location, orientation and shading, that may be a bit optimistic for a 5.87 kW array, but possible. As noted, peddlers will often underestimate average annual output to oversize an array at sale. No one ever got fired for selling too much.

[Yaryman]

Actually, depending on location, orientation and shading, that may be a bit optimistic for a 5.87 kW array, but possible.
As noted, peddlers will often underestimate average annual output to oversize an array at sale. No one ever got fired for selling too much.

J.P.M.,
I should have mentioned my location and conditions.

The panels would have no ground shade (trees), 15 of the 23 would be South facing, with the other 8 facing West.
I live about 25 miles from where the OP lives, but I am further out towards the Central Valley, so there is NO summertime fog here as I am at the edge of the SF Bay Area.

[J.P.M.]

J.P.M.,
I should have mentioned my location and conditions.

The panels would have no ground shade (trees), 15 of the 23 would be South facing, with the other 8 facing West.
I live about 25 miles from where the OP lives, but I am further out towards the Central Valley, so there is NO summertime fog here as I am at the edge of the SF Bay Area.

10,000 kWh/yr. might be possible.

[abyebye]

I expect my system to generate more than 11,000 kwh per year. I didn't ask for any guraranteed output when I signed the contract. (after getting more than a dozen of quotes, somehow I started to ignore this)

So I emailed my vendor about this today. And I was told that they used EPBB calculator on line, http://www.csi-epbb.com/default.aspx. This calculator is a bit conservative, system tend to produce about 5-10 percent more than what this calculator predict. If someone want a guaranteed output they would use this calculator to predict.

Thanks for the info Can you tell me how much annual production (Kwh) do you expect from your 7.56kw system?

[abyebye]

Thanks Yaryman!

Not speaking for the OP, I was told at 5.87 KW system would generate about 10,000 Kwh per normal year.
It was the salespersons estimation that this year with very little rain the system would generate about 10,600 Kwh.
Of course, it's the salesperson's job to sell you more than you need. So maybe the system would generate more power than he was stating,
but he was understating the output so I would buy more panels. Yes people actually do that.

[abyebye]

Lucky you!

15 of my 27 panels are east facing
7 are facing south
5 are facing West

That's decided by my root top....

J.P.M.,
I should have mentioned my location and conditions.

The panels would have no ground shade (trees), 15 of the 23 would be South facing, with the other 8 facing West.
I live about 25 miles from where the OP lives, but I am further out towards the Central Valley, so there is NO summertime fog here as I am at the edge of the SF Bay Area.

[Yaryman]

around 8:30pm:

It will be interesting to see the variance between the East, West, and South panels during the winter.
It will also be interesting to see the amount of power generated during the winter vs summer.

[J.P.M.]

FWIW, higher tilt angles will decrease the summer/winter output difference until they become somewhat equal, probably at some relatively high tilt angle. Then, if the tilt is high enough, winter production may exceed summer production by a bit.

[solardreamer]

Thank you. That's a helpful reference point. I agree the EPBB is conservative.

I expect my system to generate more than 11,000 kwh per year. I didn't ask for any guraranteed output when I signed the contract. (after getting more than a dozen of quotes, somehow I started to ignore this)

So I emailed my vendor about this today. And I was told that they used EPBB calculator on line, http://www.csi-epbb.com/default.aspx. This calculator is a bit conservative, system tend to produce about 5-10 percent more than what this calculator predict. If someone want a guaranteed output they would use this calculator to predict.

[solardreamer]

Thanks for the info. It's the highest efficiency estimate I have seen so far.

Not speaking for the OP, I was told at 5.87 KW system would generate about 10,000 Kwh per normal year.
It was the salespersons estimation that this year with very little rain the system would generate about 10,600 Kwh.
Of course, it's the salesperson's job to sell you more than you need. So maybe the system would generate more power than he was stating,
but he was understating the output so I would buy more panels. Yes people actually do that.