Hey Everyone!
Over the past couple weeks I've gotten pretty excited about going solar. I'm to the point that I understand the numbers pretty well, but would like to get some advice from the experienced folk on the forums. For reference I'm in Denver, CO. In general it looks like I've been getting pre-rebate prices of ~$3.4/Watt - $3.9/Watt. We're going to finance the panels, preferably at a low interest (I've seen a number of 2.99%) for 10-12 years.
Some details:
1. We only have ~4-5 months of usage but we have calculated our monthly average is ~640 kWh.
2. We have limited space on a detached garage. There is a large tree two houses down that one installer has said is a reason to NOT put anything on the east side... others have said the tree shadow won't matter that much. Nobody has done a super-thorough shadow analysis, to my knowledge... but some people have done things in sketch-up. That tree is the only major shadow to my knowledge.
I've gotten several quotes from various installers, both local and the giants. I'm including a couple that I think stand out for one reason or another:
SolarCity (cheapest I've seen):
System Size: 4.42 kW
Annual Production Estimate: 6,114 kWh
Panels: 17x 260 Watt REC260PEZ (Panel on East, West, and South part of roof)
Inverter: SOLAREDGE SE3800A w/ 17x Solaredge 300W Optimizers
System Cost: $15,028 (they will take an additional $1000 off with a rebate)
Price/Watt: 3.4 (3.17 after the rebate)
Perk?: They guarantee production at 11,588 over a 2 year period
Overall: Cheapest system I've seen, especially with the $1000 rebate. I'm seeing what the price looks like with some higher-efficiency panels (if they have them), but it can be kind of confusing trying to talk to a sales person, a concierge person, a regional manager.... but that's how they work.
Southard (Local Company, quote through online only so far):
System Size: 4.48 kW
Annual Production Estimate: 6,200 kWh
Panels: 16x Solarworld 280 Watt (I don't know panel locations)
Inverter: Enphase energy microinverters
System Cost: $14,739 (Waiting on the price with a loan...)
Price/Watt: 3.29 (will increase with a loan)
Namaste (local company, site visit happened):
System Size: 5.355 kW
Annual Production Estimate: 7,634 kWh
Panels: 17x LG Neon 2 315 Watt (Panels on West and South part of roof)
Inverter: SolarEdge SE5000A w/ optimizers
System Cost: $20,000 (Cash is a good amount cheaper, but alas we want to loan)
Price/Watt: 3.73
I've had quite a few other quotes over or in between... but I think the three cover the gamut well. A couple general questions:
1. Is there any way to know who is right on the shadow issue? Whether or not that tree is an issue determines whether or not the area of the roof is a limiting factor to getting 100% of our power needs. If we can definitely use east, south, and west space then a lower efficiency panel may be more cost effective (unless the costs for a third array offset that).
2. How important is a performance guarantee on something like this? The local guys don't talk about it, and SolarCity/SunRun/Sungevity make it a huge part of the pitch. They must not pay out that much if they advertise it
3. Is a premium panel going to be worth the extra costs? I've read the Neon 2 is a bifacial module, but if it's mounted parallel with the roof will that even make a difference?
4. Are the large national companies going to be hard to work with, or has the community generally had positive experiences working with people like SolarCity?
EDIT: I'm now seeing on the forum that financing panels typically adds ~$1000 - $3000 to the costs. Is this basically an underwriting fee to the bank? Although I'm not against paying ~$37 extra/month to go green ... it may be better to save the money and go cash. Regardless, would still love your input.
Over the past couple weeks I've gotten pretty excited about going solar. I'm to the point that I understand the numbers pretty well, but would like to get some advice from the experienced folk on the forums. For reference I'm in Denver, CO. In general it looks like I've been getting pre-rebate prices of ~$3.4/Watt - $3.9/Watt. We're going to finance the panels, preferably at a low interest (I've seen a number of 2.99%) for 10-12 years.
Some details:
1. We only have ~4-5 months of usage but we have calculated our monthly average is ~640 kWh.
2. We have limited space on a detached garage. There is a large tree two houses down that one installer has said is a reason to NOT put anything on the east side... others have said the tree shadow won't matter that much. Nobody has done a super-thorough shadow analysis, to my knowledge... but some people have done things in sketch-up. That tree is the only major shadow to my knowledge.
I've gotten several quotes from various installers, both local and the giants. I'm including a couple that I think stand out for one reason or another:
SolarCity (cheapest I've seen):
System Size: 4.42 kW
Annual Production Estimate: 6,114 kWh
Panels: 17x 260 Watt REC260PEZ (Panel on East, West, and South part of roof)
Inverter: SOLAREDGE SE3800A w/ 17x Solaredge 300W Optimizers
System Cost: $15,028 (they will take an additional $1000 off with a rebate)
Price/Watt: 3.4 (3.17 after the rebate)
Perk?: They guarantee production at 11,588 over a 2 year period
Overall: Cheapest system I've seen, especially with the $1000 rebate. I'm seeing what the price looks like with some higher-efficiency panels (if they have them), but it can be kind of confusing trying to talk to a sales person, a concierge person, a regional manager.... but that's how they work.
Southard (Local Company, quote through online only so far):
System Size: 4.48 kW
Annual Production Estimate: 6,200 kWh
Panels: 16x Solarworld 280 Watt (I don't know panel locations)
Inverter: Enphase energy microinverters
System Cost: $14,739 (Waiting on the price with a loan...)
Price/Watt: 3.29 (will increase with a loan)
Namaste (local company, site visit happened):
System Size: 5.355 kW
Annual Production Estimate: 7,634 kWh
Panels: 17x LG Neon 2 315 Watt (Panels on West and South part of roof)
Inverter: SolarEdge SE5000A w/ optimizers
System Cost: $20,000 (Cash is a good amount cheaper, but alas we want to loan)
Price/Watt: 3.73
I've had quite a few other quotes over or in between... but I think the three cover the gamut well. A couple general questions:
1. Is there any way to know who is right on the shadow issue? Whether or not that tree is an issue determines whether or not the area of the roof is a limiting factor to getting 100% of our power needs. If we can definitely use east, south, and west space then a lower efficiency panel may be more cost effective (unless the costs for a third array offset that).
2. How important is a performance guarantee on something like this? The local guys don't talk about it, and SolarCity/SunRun/Sungevity make it a huge part of the pitch. They must not pay out that much if they advertise it
3. Is a premium panel going to be worth the extra costs? I've read the Neon 2 is a bifacial module, but if it's mounted parallel with the roof will that even make a difference?
4. Are the large national companies going to be hard to work with, or has the community generally had positive experiences working with people like SolarCity?
EDIT: I'm now seeing on the forum that financing panels typically adds ~$1000 - $3000 to the costs. Is this basically an underwriting fee to the bank? Although I'm not against paying ~$37 extra/month to go green ... it may be better to save the money and go cash. Regardless, would still love your input.
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