New ad in San Diego advertising solar for $2.99 /watt

[nomadh]

I thought this was interesting as it seemed every company I contacted tried their best to obfuscate this number. Only 1 independent had the calculation on hand and after I learned from this site what some reasonable prices were I actually was able to run off a few companies by even mentioning cost / watt pricing.
So hear we are 6 months later with a fairly well regarded company actually offering the price up front $2.99 /watt. When I was shopping $3.50 was still considered pretty decent.
Now they don't mention what equipment or warranties. but they have speced decent equipment in the past and they have not been a bottom feeder.

After that ad came out another similar sized local solar company did an ad that states don't buy the "con" of free ipads, expired ca rebates or "cost / watt" scams.
I found it funny that now companies are advertising $/Watt and openly refuting the concept.
I was just wondering is this still a good price and are others hearing either of these types of ads?

[solarix]

Glad to see prices finally getting in line. Wholesale prices for panels + inverter are right about $1.00/watt so charging triple this for retail, turnkey installation is still generous to installers I say.

[inetdog]

And don't forget that the only meaningful comparison is the $/watt before considering tax credits and rebates. Without knowing you particular tax situation no contactor can tell you what the effect of the credit will be for you.

[J.P.M.]

I believe that's either Horizon solar or Semper Solaris, or both, or others by this time. Don't know particulars of the ads as I've not read them. I'd not be surprised if it's bait/switch time. As in: "Oh, you have a tile roof ?" Cha Ching. Or, "You want a non mongrel panel ?" Cha Ching.

Prices and competition will be affected by such ads, and tough but fair negotiations will usually garner a better deal. But a really good deal is more than simply low price. A good negotiation will look at quality as much as or more than price. In the end, quoted prices @, say, $3.00/less/Watt as we're talking here will create more competition, but may well cause general job quality to suffer among most/all vendors, forcing more customer surveillance, which IMO, will never happen. Result: more of you get what you pay for, or less.

10/07/16: Add: Saw an ASI Heating add yesterday for $2.99/Watt with usual disclaimers - roof type, extra work, etc.

[emartin00]

Module pricing has come down a bit this year, and racking companies have been coming out with more installer friendly designs. In addition to better training, this all leads to decreased install costs.

[J.P.M.]

Module pricing has come down a bit this year, and racking companies have been coming out with more installer friendly designs. In addition to better training, this all leads to decreased install costs.

With the obverse side of the installer friendly coin being lower quality.

[nomadh]

And don't forget that the only meaningful comparison is the $/watt before considering tax credits and rebates. Without knowing you particular tax situation no contactor can tell you what the effect of the credit will be for you.

But just the fact that they are using $/Watt as a measure says we are getting solar to become a commodity,.
There is still type of inverter, panel mfg, warranty and installer rep that can differentiate but we are getting somewhere it seems.
Of course you have a competitor explicitly slamming the concept of cost / watt pricing as a scam. So we'll see if the marketing catches on or is squashed in the market place.
Just wondering if any other local ads have been going this direction?