I'm really close to making a solar investment for my property. I have above normal electricity demand requirements because I have a house on a river that the original owner/builder thought it would be a good idea to put a basement in a home that's 200' from a river (the basement floor is about level with the water during the summer, but in spring the basement floor is about 12-18" below the water level in the river). So.... we have 4 very large sump pumps that run about every 10 minutes April-July and about 1x/hour the rest of the year. As a result, I pay an average of $288/month to National Grid here in Syracuse, NY area location on the Oneida River just off of Oneida Lake. I guess having 700' of water frontage with a basement should be considered a blessing so the electricity cost is just another, "tax." LOL
So, I'm considering solar and placing it on our pole barn that faces 5-10% off perfect south with a 1 year old roof that is 44'5"x24'6" with ~28 degree pitch. I've had 6 companies walk the roof, check the electrical, etc. None of the companies can get me more than about 75% production. The four quotes I'm considering have 2 that companies want to do 56 landscape panels. One company wants to put 60 panels (56 landscape 4 portrait on top that will go above the peak by ~12 inches of 40" panel). I'm concerned that the other companies won't do that and feel that wind will be an issue. However, the company that wants to do it has been in the business of solar, geothermal, home energy improvements, etc. since 1984 and feels very confident in doing this.
Here is my analysis of the quotes from 3 companies (4 LG quotes and 2 SunPower):
Solar Panel |
Annual NatGrid Bill w/o Solar | Annual NatGrid Consump (kWh) |
Solar System Size (kW) |
Annual Electric Offset | 1st Year Solar Prod (kWh) | 1st Year National Grid with Solar (kWh) |
Annual National Grid Bill With Solar | Annual Electrical Bill (NatGrid + Loan) | Current Electrical vs. Electric + Solar Annual Savings | Solar Quote Gross Cost |
Solar Quote Net Cost |
$/Watt Gross | $/Watt Net (after incentives) | Gross Levalized Cost of Solar per kWh | Net Levalized Cost of Solar per kWh |
1) LG 335W 56 Panel IQ6+ Microinverter | $ 3,456 | 29,000 | 18.76 | 73% | 21,100 | 7,900 | $ 933.12 | $ 3,103.92 | $ (352.08) | $ 49,000 | $ 24,047 | $ 2.61 | $ 1.28 | $ 0.093 | $ 0.046 |
1a) LG 335W 60 Panel IQ6+ Microinverter | $ 3,456 | 29,000 | 20.1 | 75% | 21,700 | 7,300 | $ 864.00 | $ 3,158.88 | $ (297.12) | $ 51,500 | $ 25,422 | $ 2.56 | $ 1.26 | $ 0.095 | $ 0.047 |
2) SunPower 360W 56 Panel | $ 3,456 | 29,000 | 21.16 | 76% | 21,747 | 7,253 | $ 829.44 | $ 3,865.32 | $ 409.32 | $ 63,240 | $ 33,630 | $ 2.99 | $ 1.59 | $ 0.116 | $ 0.062 |
3) SunPower 327W 56 Panel | $ 3,456 | 29,000 | 18.31 | 69% | 19,161 | 9,839 | $ 1,071.36 | $ 3,573.72 | $ (117.72) | $ 54,060 | $ 27,720 | $ 2.95 | $ 1.51 | $ 0.113 | $ 0.058 |
4) LG 335W 60 Panel (Solar Edge Optimizer) | $ 3,456 | 29,000 | 20.1 | 75% | 21,788 | 7,212 | $ 859.53 | $ 3,164.37 | $ (291.63) | $ 51,657 | $ 25,532 | $ 2.57 | $ 1.27 | $ 0.095 | $ 0.047 |
4a) LG 335W 60 Panel IQ6+ Microinverter | $ 3,456 | 29,000 | 20.1 | 75% | 21,788 | 7,213 | $ 859.53 | $ 3,380.37 | $ (75.63) | $ 55,074. | $ 27,924 | $ 2.74 | $ 1.39 | $ 0.101 | $ 0.051 |
For the cost, I think I'm leaning towards the bottom solution with 60 panels. Questions/feedback appreciated:
1) Will 4 landscape panels going ~12" of 40 inch panel above the roof ridge be a wind sheer or structural issues? (in my state an unoccupied building does not need to have space left for firemen at the top of the building)
2) Age old question - I really like the idea of the Enphase micro inverter in #1 with 25 year warranty, but #4 company really wants to stay away from it. Should I press #4 company to requite with Enphase IQ6+?
3) My Wife really likes the engineering firm's offering of SunPower product in #2 and it seems to be a very good price for SunPower. I've told my wife that its essentially a waste of money to spend ~$8K more than #4 and fairly similar overall system size to #4. Thoughts?
4) Each company has walked the roof, measured it, etc. and Solar shading appears to range from 80% to 83%... I have lots of woods on the west side of the barn and there are 2 trees on south side of the barn my wife refuses to consider taking down to increase solar production by 6-9% per the company's in the final selection here. Do the first year Solar Production kWh claims appear, "real" and reasonable?
5) Has anyone had experience with a Heat Pump Water heater? #2/3 & #4 companies believe that I should consider replacing my 10 year old electric heater with one and I stand a reasonable chance of getting closer to 100% annual production target with the reduction of water heat production cost(s). Neither company is trying to sell me one though. There is a $400 National Grid power company rebate for installing one with a licensed professional. The water heater's I've had quoted are around $4K installed. Is it really worth it (I see things on the internet indicating they have about a 3-4 year return)?
6). Are the $/Watt Gross/Net a good deal (overall or local/regional feedback appreciated)? I guess I'd like to know if I should try to negotiate the prices down any further? Short of telling the companies who the competition are and their exact numbers, I've beat them all up and #2/3 said they are at last and final (another reason I like #4 for nearly $8K less).
7) Is there anything that I'm missing?
If you've read this far, I probably owe you a bottle of wine or a beer. However, I hope my thanks in advance for your thoughtful consideration and feedback is enough. THANK YOU!
Comment