Home solar panel in San Jose Ca (i.e. Bay Area)

[sanjoseman]

Hi,

I am new to the forum. I live in San Jose area. I am considering solar system for my house. My annual usage is about 13,000 kWh. My PG&E plan is EV-A. I am looking for a 7 to 8kW system.

I have three questions:

1- I got a quote for LG315N1C-G4 panels with SolarEdge SE7600 for $4.30/Watt. I expected it to be much lower. What is the right price? I want have a sense before start bargaining.

2- How reliable are the LG315N1C-G4 panels with SolarEdge SE7600? Any better alternative?

3- I also have a quote for SunPower SPR-X20-250-BLK-B-AC for $5/watt. Any thoughts?

Thanks

[Yaryman]

Do you have enough space on your roof for more "lower" power panels?
Seems like you pay a premium for the panels rated more than 300 watts.

[J.P.M.]

1.) In So. CA, good systems from reputable installers can be found for ~ $3.50/Watt. Bay area prices seem to be a bit higher - maybe 10% or so as a SWAG.

2.) Most quality solar products have become pretty much a commodity. The quality, reputation and staying power of the vendor is as important as brand provided you buy quality in the first place.

3.) Sunpower stuff is as good a quality as LG, Canadian Solar, or other products, but usually overpriced for what you get. systems using other panels are almost always more cost effective. Equal (electrical) size arrays properly installed in the same location, orientation and service will produce about equal annual output. Sunpower's about 15-25% more upfront.

Download and read " Solar Power Your Home for Dummies" - a free net download. Get yourself educated and then come back with particular questions.

[sanjoseman]

Do you have enough space on your roof for more "lower" power panels?
Seems like you pay a premium for the panels rated more than 300 watts.

Per Google roof analysis, I have "2,499 sq feet available for solar panels". At the minimum, I have over 500 SQ-FT for panels. So, area is not an issue and I can go for lower efficiency panels if it can save me.

[Yaryman]

Per Google roof analysis, I have "2,499 sq feet available for solar panels". At the minimum, I have over 500 SQ-FT for panels. So, area is not an issue and I can go for lower efficiency panels if it can save me.

Just did my house using the google roof thingy, it might be just a little optimistic. Looks like they count the North side of the roof.
My question should have been, do you think the South side of the house will fit all the panels? You can put the panels East and West,
just South is better.

[foo1bar]

At the minimum, I have over 500 SQ-FT for panels. So, area is not an issue and I can go for lower efficiency panels if it can save me.

It probably will.

I'd go look at your south-facing roof in the morning, figure out where any roof vents, chimneys, etc. are.
Then I'd pull up google maps sattelite view, and use the 'measure distance' to measure the roof.
And look at how many ~65"x~40" panels you can fit on your roof.
Remember to have 3' space for firemen at the ridge, valleys and sides. (variances from fire dept. may be a possibility to allow you to go to the ridge on the south while keeping the north clear. They were for me, but I'm in the next town over.)

[sanjoseman]

It probably will.

I'd go look at your south-facing roof in the morning, figure out where any roof vents, chimneys, etc. are.
Then I'd pull up google maps sattelite view, and use the 'measure distance' to measure the roof.
And look at how many ~65"x~40" panels you can fit on your roof.
Remember to have 3' space for firemen at the ridge, valleys and sides. (variances from fire dept. may be a possibility to allow you to go to the ridge on the south while keeping the north clear. They were for me, but I'm in the next town over.)

I can put 1/3 of the panels on the south side and the remaining 2/3 (66%) on the west side.

[foo1bar]

Is that 10 on the south and 20 on the west?
(which means you can do 250W and still have 7.5kW system)

Or 8 on the south and 16 on the west?
(to get 7.44kW with only 24 panels you would need 310W panels)

And I'd model whatever configuration you are considering with pvwatts - get a rough idea of what you'll probably produce.
Many people say that it is a bit conservative with the default settings - so you may want to increase the expected efficiency.

Most likely the best economic choice for you is going to be panels somewhere in the 260W-295W range. Price per watt is a non-linear curve - the higher the wattage the higher $/watt. So you're *probably* better off with something lower on that curve than the 315W ones. There is a fixed cost per panel (racking, labor, etc). But the price per panel at the high end is usually going to make the highest-wattage/highest-price panels be less cost effective.

[sanjoseman]

Is that 10 on the south and 20 on the west?
(which means you can do 250W and still have 7.5kW system)

Or 8 on the south and 16 on the west?
(to get 7.44kW with only 24 panels you would need 310W panels)

And I'd model whatever configuration you are considering with pvwatts - get a rough idea of what you'll probably produce.
Many people say that it is a bit conservative with the default settings - so you may want to increase the expected efficiency.

Most likely the best economic choice for you is going to be panels somewhere in the 260W-295W range. Price per watt is a non-linear curve - the higher the wattage the higher $/watt. So you're *probably* better off with something lower on that curve than the 315W ones. There is a fixed cost per panel (racking, labor, etc). But the price per panel at the high end is usually going to make the highest-wattage/highest-price panels be less cost effective.

This is "28 panels" * "250 watts" --> 7kW configuration. Out of 28 panels, eight will be on the south side and 20 will be on the west side.

[rollug]

I would even go with 35x200W, it wil be cheaper.

[dannieboiz]

For a start, price per watt, I think that's pretty high (not talking about brand) I have almost identical requirement as you. 13,000kwh annual and installed a 7.28kw system using 26 280 Solarworld panels and paid $3.30/w I was also on the fence between the 315 LG then opted SW for the price difference. Unless you don't have roof space your money can be spent elsewhere to be efficient IMO. Even my installer who's a SunPower dealer don't think it's worth the premium.

I got 16 south and 10 west panels.

BTW: I'm also in SJ, I got my PG&E confirmation email last week...

[sanjoseman]

For a start, price per watt, I think that's pretty high (not talking about brand) I have almost identical requirement as you. 13,000kwh annual and installed a 7.28kw system using 26 280 Solarworld panels and paid $3.30/w I was also on the fence between the 315 LG then opted SW for the price difference. Unless you don't have roof space your money can be spent elsewhere to be efficient IMO. Even my installer who's a SunPower dealer don't think it's worth the premium.

I got 16 south and 10 west panels.

BTW: I'm also in SJ, I got my PG&E confirmation email last week...

Thanks for the info. Would you mind sharing your spec and installer info with me?