(First Post) I'm going with LG & Enphase. Did I do ok?

[idnominal]

Also how much more output will I need for future purchase of Nissan Leaf , 10,000 miles per year
Great message board. Thanks for all replies

My Chevy Volt charges "L2" (240V) at about 3.6 kW max (power, or rate of energy flow into the car). My total recharge is around 14 kWh (kW hours). This is the amount of energy that the car lets me use from the battery (EVs do not completely drain the battery).

I think the LEAF probably charges L2 at twice that rate, or at about 6-7 kW, for however long it takes to charge your usable portion of the battery, I do not know the LEAF battery kWh capacity.

Of course for a grid-tied system, your utility will make up any difference. However, if you want to supply all of the electrical power to charge the LEAF EV by solar, not including any energy credits, you are going to need that 6-7 kW capability. Also, most EVs can be charged at far lower rates (less power) with L1 EVSE (the module of the charge cord). Then you would need less power, but a lot longer time to reach full charge.

There are probably one or more very active LEAF forums that can give you the current charge options for the model year LEAF you are considering. Good luck!

If you are not committed to the LEAF yet, check out the 2017 Chevy Volt with the "range extender" gas electric generator. It is one sweet ride!

[andern]

That is an awesome price, i am only looking for a 6.4 kw Lg/Enphase system. I have gotten quotes for $3.28/watts which is good but i would love to know who your contractor was for where you got $3.12/watt.

[huge]

Where do you live? I might be able to refer you to someone

[andern]

Huge i live in S. Cal in the orange county area. I have seen your post where you say

1. LA Solar Group (cheapest and #2 installer in California)
2. Advanced Improvements in Anaheim (also has good reviews, nit quite as cheap)
3. Peterson Dean (The most expensive of the 3 but has 15 year roof warranty as opposed to 10 for the others. Also a roofing company. I personally don't think any of these companies are going to be around in 15 years so I wouldn't pay $1000 extra for the extra warranty)
I have yet to call any of them yet but plan on doing so. I am thinking about calling Baker Electric Solar also. Is there any other people to get some quotes on. I have used energysage to get some quotes and the lowest was from GR8 Energy at $3.28 which is a good price only problem is there are only reviews on yelp and pretty much no where else.

[andern]

Huge i live in S. Cal in the orange county area. I have seen your post where you say

1. LA Solar Group (cheapest and #2 installer in California)
2. Advanced Improvements in Anaheim (also has good reviews, nit quite as cheap)
3. Peterson Dean (The most expensive of the 3 but has 15 year roof warranty as opposed to 10 for the others. Also a roofing company. I personally don't think any of these companies are going to be around in 15 years so I wouldn't pay $1000 extra for the extra warranty)
I have yet to call any of them yet but plan on doing so. I am thinking about calling Baker Electric Solar also. Is there any other people to get some quotes on. I have used energysage to get some quotes and the lowest was from GR8 Energy at $3.28 which is a good price only problem is there are only reviews on yelp and pretty much no where else.

[huge]

You have lots of time. Don't rush. Get as many quotes as you need until you find the right fit for you. You need to be proactive if you want the best outcome. Ask lots of questions, especially here. Once you figure out what you want, and if you still need help achieving your goals, just email me and I'll try to help you

[Git]

If you care about the 'quality' of your installation (double flashed roof mounts, conduit run through the attic instead of across your roof, union electricians that know what they are doing, etc - definitely give Baker a call. They have been in business for over 70 years and was SunPower's residential dealer of the year in 2015.

I just didn't get a good feeling from LA Solar, to me they are more along the lines of Solar City (blow and go)

Also, check out Solar 360 in Orange

[J.P.M.]

If you care about the 'quality' of your installation (double flashed roof mounts, conduit run through the attic instead of across your roof, union electricians that know what they are doing, etc - definitely give Baker a call. They have been in business for over 70 years and was SunPower's residential dealer of the year in 2015.

I just didn't get a good feeling from LA Solar, to me they are more along the lines of Solar City (blow and go)

Also, check out Solar 360 in Orange

I review all the jobs in my HOA, about 100 + so far. That's given me ample opportunity to see what's close to the best and the worst. Baker's good, and based on what I think I know and what I've seen in the last 8 + yrs. of fine tooth combing job proposals and drawings/specs, I wanted them to do my job, but they started 15 % higher than my next lowest bid, and all my potential vendors were top shelf, established electrical contractors. I never was able to get Baker below ~ $5.06/Watt (in 2013).

I do not recommend vendors, but I got an equal construction quality, identical material, 1st class install quoted to my (detailed) specs. for $4.50/Watt.

Whether Baker or other established vendors, stick w/quality and negotiate tough but fair. You will not regret it. Just remember, there are more than a few quality vendors, and everything is negotiable. Do your homework and choose carefully, not just low buck. Rest assured, you will get what you pay for, or less.

Add: Restress that Sunpower is overpriced for what you get.

[Git]

I am $3.39 per watt with Baker - which included them moving 4 plumbing stacks and changing 4 dormer style vents to flat vents. What has changed (IMO) is they primarily worked in the San Diego area, which is now capped out under Net Metering 1.0. I would imagine things are slowing down for them in that area and they are more aggressively pursuing other areas. For example, they have now opened a "Solar Store" in Temecula. For me, Baker was actually cheaper than Solar 360 - even after Solar 360 dropped their price by a couple of thousand dollars to try to be competitive with them.

I totally agree that SunPower is overpriced and I only mentioned that Baker was their Top Dealer in 2015 because I believe it reflects on their quality as a company. Also, it is nice that they also sell LG Panels and SolarEdge equipment

[dag16]

best i've been able to get in SD is $3.45 per Watt, and that's for 25 LG 320s, so I would definitely be interested as well in knowing who gave you that quote. thanks

[huge]

Have you tried stellar solar? They have a special on LG panels for $3/watt

[dag16]

we don't have enough available space on the roof to go for the stellar LG 285s

[J.P.M.]

best i've been able to get in SD is $3.45 per Watt, and that's for 25 LG 320s, so I would definitely be interested as well in knowing who gave you that quote. thanks

Baker's been the subject of the last few posts to this thread. FWIW, $3.45/Watt vs. $3.39/Watt is pretty much equal to fly crap in the bigger scheme of things.

[dag16]

Baker's been the subject of the last few posts to this thread. FWIW, $3.45/Watt vs. $3.39/Watt is pretty much equal to fly crap in the bigger scheme of things.

sorry, i was referring to the OP's $3.12/W

[huge]

If you want 320 watt LG for close to that price, let me know. I can refer you to someone, but I don't think he wants me to post the actual price because everyone will want that price. Get some other quotes first, because stellar might be able to do it. If not, email me and I'll try to help

[J.P.M.]

Have you tried stellar solar? They have a special on LG panels for $3/watt

There's more to a good PV job than low buck. You'll get what you pay for or less, in ways you'll never suspect, and not $0.01 more.

[dag16]

agreed, the installer i'm considering with the $3.45/watt has a score of 4.98 from 56 reviews on solar reviews

[Git]

sorry, i was referring to the OP's $3.12/W

Don't be 'penny wise and pound foolish' There is more to it than just the panels and inverters.

Example - the roofing industry now considers a solar attachement to be a roof 'penetration' and the best practice is to use a double flashed system. I, like most home in S Cal, have a concrete tile roof and a proper mount (like the Quikmount PV) costs around $31 EACH. The concrete tiles have to be removed, the mount is screwed to the roof joist and is flashed at that point. They then have to cut a hole in the tile, reinstall it and then mount another flashing over it. A 'blow and go' type contractor will use a 'roof hook' that costs about $10 each and is far easier to install. On my system, there were over 80 attachment points ($2,500 in just the hardware) versus about $800 in that the roof hooks cost - yet most people are clueless when it comes to things like this.

Also - do you care if they run electrical conduit across the roof, down the side of your house and then back and forth from your electrical panel to your inverter?

Have your read the post on this forum - if you haven't you should Solar install turning out really bad - looking for some help/advice please

[huge]

I do not like anything entering my roof. I prefer the conduits running across the roof. They colored the small conduit run on the 2 story roof with the same color as the tiles and almost invisible unless you actually look for it. I would recommend conduit outside of your roof if you have higher than 1 story house. I guess just comes down to preference

[andern]

Has anyone used or have any experience with Stellar Solar? On the solar review site there are 5 review and 4 of them are from 2007. I got a good price for LG 320 and solar edge but they are trying to get me to sign by tomorrow.

[azhoopsfan]

Has anyone used or have any experience with Stellar Solar? On the solar review site there are 5 review and 4 of them are from 2007. I got a good price for LG 320 and solar edge but they are trying to get me to sign by tomorrow.

I'm curious as well. I talked to them and there is a strong push to sign up by the end of the month.

[J.P.M.]

I'm curious as well. I talked to them and there is a strong push to sign up by the end of the month.

Stellar has 3 systems in my HOA, 1 prepaid lease 1 PPA, 1 owned. The prices for those systems seem high when dealing with the uninformed - as in $5.36/Watt for the owned system - LG/Enphase, Jan., 2016. The lease & PPA were to seniors and and the prices higher than other vendors for comp. stuff.

A good deal today will still be a good deal tomorrow - which just happens to be 09/01. The end of the month B.S. is just that - B.S.

[huge]

A lot of companies try to pull that B. S. Don't fall for it

[andern]

Stellar has 3 systems in my HOA, 1 prepaid lease 1 PPA, 1 owned. The prices for those systems seem high when dealing with the uninformed - as in $5.36/Watt for the owned system - LG/Enphase, Jan., 2016. The lease & PPA were to seniors and and the prices higher than other vendors for comp. stuff.

A good deal today will still be a good deal tomorrow - which just happens to be 09/01. The end of the month B.S. is just that - B.S.

Thanks J.P.M, they are trying to pull the end of the month BS on me, but the cost i received as a quote is great. It is comparable or better to anything listed here. I am just wondering if by any chance you looked at how the install quality was of the LG/Enphase system in you HOA? They quoted me for a Lg/Solaredge system. I just want to see if they might be a company to do business with.

[J.P.M.]

Thanks J.P.M, they are trying to pull the end of the month BS on me, but the cost i received as a quote is great. It is comparable or better to anything listed here. I am just wondering if by any chance you looked at how the install quality was of the LG/Enphase system in you HOA? They quoted me for a Lg/Solaredge system. I just want to see if they might be a company to do business with.

You are welcome. I observe all the PV installs during and after install through PTO. Quality of install varies w/ vendor, not much with specific mfg. There's good/not as good, but that's only with respect to external appearance, not things the AHJ would be looking for. I am not qualified to perform the AHJ function, nor do I attempt it. Beyond normal checks for CC & R conformance, if I see something I believe to be a safety issue, the member is notified via written, formal communication. In this HOA review function, I am only HOA rep. who reviews/recommends to full ARC as to conformance w/CC & R's (but with some (informal and personal) oversight to the homeowner if vendors try to pull some crap such as grossly overstating potential output, etc. Beyond checking for CC & R compliance, and/or if I see what might be a glaring safety issue (none of those yet -whew !!), not my money/house/life. I am not the AHJ, but I do know most of them that work this area. One (retired) AHJ is a neighbor and a friend.