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We have shade issues on our southern-California, residential house and separate garage. The main drop is at the garage and power enters the house via a trench to a subpanel, but that conduit may not be useable for power per code.
I've received far too many estimates; these computerized salesmen-generators are not really a great boon. I agree with JPM and others that calling contractors is probably better than generically letting them call me.
Toward that end I've had two on-site inspections, lots of google-earth ones though. From on-site and given shading and way-too-fancy roof gables and owner queesiness about street-exposure of the panels, one design suggests utilizing 2 main-house roofs and the other uses 4 main-house exposures (different ones!) plus the garage.
I'm skeptical of the 2-site plan because it seems to send panels down the front roof into a pretty shady zone to my eye. However, these guys guarantee production, so…. they've made their shade measurements and believe production would be adequate.
How am I to evaluate such different plans? Do I need to obtain my own shade-measurements? I'd really rather not….
Both companies have strong recommendations, the 4-site one is very local and universally beloved and it's got a concomitantly high price tag. The other company is a locally-operating up-and-coming but established, hungry and busy, one, headed by an engineer as opposed to, say, a salesman or a contractor (I think that's an interesting piece of trivia to throw into the evaluative mix), though I'm not sure he's seen the design.
They're also pushing SP a bit because it really is a complicated site and this would help in squeezing out power.
Via google not physical visit, another company suggested optimized Hyundai 350W panels, another sensible way of maximizing acreage I should think.
So I have trouble knowing whom to trust in designing a system that will work with the site's limitations.
I think I've got a handle on how to evaluate business trustworthiness of contractors, but not engineering or imaginative layout expertise. They'll all do "what I want", but I am not an engineer myself and don't know what I do/should want/need. I don't know the relative merits of optimizers or microinverters, at the end of the day. I've read quite a bit about it, but in the end haven't the expertise to draw a conclusion. There is consensus, however, that a single string inverter is insufficient.
I've read the vaunted PV 4 Dummies book and liked it (thanks!). But I'm not sure it helps much. I don't know how to figure output since I don't have relevant shade readings. I'd really need spot readings from a dozen sites - oy!
Honestly, this online "marketplace" setup is not a very good plan. We need independent engineers not vested ones from the companies to be designing. These marketplaces would be far more helpful for the consumer if they aggregated business in a circular structure, with independent contractors contributing to independent engineers, paying them for their services "centrally" for the consumer, and then bidding on the construction. Setting up the bidding so far downstream leaves us consumers with too-diverse apples and oranges to compare, and no clue as to whom to trust, really.
Any thoughts? Anyone here up for me posting an aerial photo? Not that I believe that would really help too too much but if you think it would….
I've received far too many estimates; these computerized salesmen-generators are not really a great boon. I agree with JPM and others that calling contractors is probably better than generically letting them call me.
Toward that end I've had two on-site inspections, lots of google-earth ones though. From on-site and given shading and way-too-fancy roof gables and owner queesiness about street-exposure of the panels, one design suggests utilizing 2 main-house roofs and the other uses 4 main-house exposures (different ones!) plus the garage.
I'm skeptical of the 2-site plan because it seems to send panels down the front roof into a pretty shady zone to my eye. However, these guys guarantee production, so…. they've made their shade measurements and believe production would be adequate.
How am I to evaluate such different plans? Do I need to obtain my own shade-measurements? I'd really rather not….
Both companies have strong recommendations, the 4-site one is very local and universally beloved and it's got a concomitantly high price tag. The other company is a locally-operating up-and-coming but established, hungry and busy, one, headed by an engineer as opposed to, say, a salesman or a contractor (I think that's an interesting piece of trivia to throw into the evaluative mix), though I'm not sure he's seen the design.
They're also pushing SP a bit because it really is a complicated site and this would help in squeezing out power.
Via google not physical visit, another company suggested optimized Hyundai 350W panels, another sensible way of maximizing acreage I should think.
So I have trouble knowing whom to trust in designing a system that will work with the site's limitations.
I think I've got a handle on how to evaluate business trustworthiness of contractors, but not engineering or imaginative layout expertise. They'll all do "what I want", but I am not an engineer myself and don't know what I do/should want/need. I don't know the relative merits of optimizers or microinverters, at the end of the day. I've read quite a bit about it, but in the end haven't the expertise to draw a conclusion. There is consensus, however, that a single string inverter is insufficient.
I've read the vaunted PV 4 Dummies book and liked it (thanks!). But I'm not sure it helps much. I don't know how to figure output since I don't have relevant shade readings. I'd really need spot readings from a dozen sites - oy!
Honestly, this online "marketplace" setup is not a very good plan. We need independent engineers not vested ones from the companies to be designing. These marketplaces would be far more helpful for the consumer if they aggregated business in a circular structure, with independent contractors contributing to independent engineers, paying them for their services "centrally" for the consumer, and then bidding on the construction. Setting up the bidding so far downstream leaves us consumers with too-diverse apples and oranges to compare, and no clue as to whom to trust, really.
Any thoughts? Anyone here up for me posting an aerial photo? Not that I believe that would really help too too much but if you think it would….
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