Any comments on my quotes greatly appreciated

[boulter]

I have 4 quotes that should cover my usage 100%. I continue to do energy improvement and my usag continues to go down, but feel it should be leveling off. My annual usage is 6500kwh but my roof is not ideal. Roofline is true north/south. Proposal are to put the panels on the back of the house facing west.

All 30 panels, but different size panels

1. 30 lg305, micro inverters 3.30/watt

2. 30 sunpower 260, micro inverters 3.40/watt

3. 30 sun Edison 270, micro inverters 3.40/watt

4. 30 re escolar 255, cc optimizer solar edge inverter 3.47/watt

Still trying to research which one to decide on.

They all seem to have the linear warranty, all 20 years with the same max drop off. The lg quote uses the larger micro inverters.

Thanks for any suggestions and help.

These are really good quotes for New England. Are you sure these are before tax credits?

[albert436]

I'd suggest at least getting a quote using a string inverter with a good value panel like Canadian Solar / Trina / Hyundai. I know lots of dealers just push microinverters, but they are a big reliability risk - imho.

Are PV panels getting so inexpensive now that dealers figure that their markup is so nice that they might as well push the overpriced brands?

Solarix I don't want to put you through the work of discussing this but am wondering if you might direct me to an already existing thread where the merits of these lower priced panels have been discussed.

When I've looked on those websites for "wholesale solar" and so forth, I think I've seen LG at around just over a buck a watt but the lowest prices I've seen on any of the brands is around 75cents if I recall. Does that seem about right ?

My impression from reading on this site is that people generally feel comfortable with Canadian Solar; Hyundai should be good as far as warranty is concerned (or are they a completely separately owned sub?); Trina I've seen mentioned but don't remember much else. Are those the cream of the lower priced crop ?

Sorry this was a bit tangential I realize.

[mpkelley20]

Are these prices you are getting based on gross price? Or after fed tax credits? I am sitting here shaking my head trying to figure out why everyone else is eaily getting sub $4 per watt when I can't get below $4.75 for LG panels. Am I missing something here is how to caluclate the cost? The quotes I am getting are for full permitting and install and I have been using the gross system cost divided by the system size to come up with my cost before any tax incentives.

And if these quotes are apples to apples, I amy need to call some of these NH installers to see if they are licened in MA as I'd hire any one of them immediately based on those prices!

[bwhite505]

Solarix I don't want to put you through the work of discussing this but am wondering if you might direct me to an already existing thread where the merits of these lower priced panels have been discussed.

When I've looked on those websites for "wholesale solar" and so forth, I think I've seen LG at around just over a buck a watt but the lowest prices I've seen on any of the brands is around 75cents if I recall. Does that seem about right ?

My impression from reading on this site is that people generally feel comfortable with Canadian Solar; Hyundai should be good as far as warranty is concerned (or are they a completely separately owned sub?); Trina I've seen mentioned but don't remember much else. Are those the cream of the lower priced crop ?

Sorry this was a bit tangential I realize.

I'm currently trying to decide on panels and would be curious to hear opinions this also.

[wannabegreener]

app pre-tax credit

These are all pre tax prices. Funny, because they all seem high to me. Final price would be in the 27K to 30K price for the size system they are proposing.

Thanks for all of this information. The company with the lg and the sun Edison is the only one listed out of the three of them on the rating link provided in this thread.

[mpkelley20]

Those prices are easily $1.25 to $2 less than what we are quoted here in MA. Honestly, I feel like I am being swindled on the quotes I am getting.

[boulter]

Here in MA, I got a quote from a NH-based company. They weren't the cheapest. I don't get it.

[wannabegreener]

I assume it is ok to send you the names of the compaines if you pm me. I have never done it, but I am willing to try. One of the companies lists NH/MA on their web site and the other says NH, but who knows.

I wonder if my price is better because of the size of the sytsem I need due to orientation and shading. My usage is not that bad, but the target size has to be larger to count for my roof situation.

[wannabegreener]

Not sunpower but solar world plus

Stupid me. I was reading so much in here that I confused my panel manufacturer. My sunpower is really solar world plus.

Based on some of the comments, I saw that solar world almost went bankrupt twice. So they should be out??.

I realized this based on the comments about the warranty.

It looks like lg, solar world, and sun Edison all have the same warranty. 10/25 and the ending minimal power is about 80% +\- a little. Thanks for waking me up and realizing my mistake

[JBinCBad]

You still have it mixed up. Solar World supposedly almost BK'd twice. Sun Power, while largely over-priced, has the best warranty and track record of all current panels. . .

[wannabegreener]

You still have it mixed up. Solar World supposedly almost BK'd twice. Sun Power, while largely over-priced, has the best warranty and track record of all current panels. . .

Thanks. Just edited the post to correct

[J.P.M.]

Stupid me. I was reading so much in here that I confused my panel manufacturer. My sunpower is really solar world plus. Based on some of the comments, I saw that solar world almost went bankrupt twice. So they should be out??. I realized this based on the comments about the warranty. It looks like lg, solar world, and sun Edison all have the same warranty. 10/25 and the ending minimal power is about 80% +\- a little. Thanks for waking me up and realizing my mistake

To be clear, and avoid further confusion, all your prior posts referencing Sunpower at a price are really SolarWorld ?

[wannabegreener]

No sun power in any of my quotes.

You are correct. There are no sun power panels in my quotes. They are all solar world.

[J.P.M.]

You are correct. There are no sun power panels in my quotes. They are all solar world.

Thank you. In that case, depending on how you feel about the installer, LG may be the most long term bang for your buck.

[MarkH180]

#1 LG looks best to me of your options

Hi there...
I'd agree with those who like the "1. 30 lg305, micro inverters 3.30/watt"
The more I've been reading one thing I think of with battery backup becoming more cost effective in the future, I think it's easier
to add battery backup in the future if you use a central inverter. So maybe an SMA or SolarEdge with optimizers if you like
panel by panel better production if there's shade.
Enphase is coming out with battery backup...but they're brand new to it, so I'm thinking central inverters will be still easier
if you ever want to add battery backup.
--Mark H. / Pleasanton, CA....researching solar options too!