Quotes in San Diego - Feedback Request

[so_cal_burbs]

LA Solar Group:
8.25 DC Kw
25 x 330W Panasonic Panels
SolarEdge 7600HD Wave Inverter
25 year warranty on equipment, production and labor
Replace underlayment on about 1100 square feet with 2x30# paper
$28,288
45-50 days to PTO

California Premiere Solar Construction
8.04 DC Kw
24 x 335W LG Neon Panels
SolarEdge 7600HD Wave Inverter
Basic OEM warranties
Replace underlayment on about 1100 sq feet with 2x40# paper
$28,259
60-80 days to PTO

Baker Electric
8.125 DC Kw
25 x 325W Panasonic
SolarEdge 7600 HDWave inverter
Replace underlayment on about 1100 sq feet with 1x40# paper
$30,812
60 days to PTO

I'm leaning towards California Premiere since they are local to San Diego and small enough that I hope to get better support if need be. Although not well known on this board they do a ton of new home roofing and solar. They don't usually work with SolarEdge gear though. Should I worry about that?

LA Solar has great pricing and warranty. My hesitation is they are so big now and they are based so far away from San Diego I may get lost in support. But to their credit so far they are very responsive and accommodating to my requests.

For background I did study my power desires and these arrays are all on target for that. Although I investigated using a roofing company separate from solar company I decided I would rather have 'one throat to choke' if there are problems with the roof/install. I know I'm paying a slight premium for this but will sleep better at night.

As far as inverter I did have a different thread about that last week. I decided on the HDWave partially because it seems like the software will continue to improve and the extended warranty is much cheaper than on the older model.

Thanks for any insights you can share.

[kb58]

Try Cosmic Solar - curious how they'll stack up. I was impressed with them but later decided to do the job myself.

[J.P.M.]

If you have concrete or clay tile, just make sure they put all the tiles back under the array when done. Also, inspect the roof before racking starts and make sure the contractor doesn't put/use any of the tiles they break under the array. Sneaky devils sometimes. I watched my roof get repaired/repapered. Trust but verify.

[lessthanjoey]

Those all seem pretty expensive to me.

I just finished an install with Symphony Solar and was extremely happy (smaller system, clay tile, $3/W). They wanted $3.20/W with the LG 330W panels (but I went with Q-Cell 300W instead). Do you need to density of the 325-335W modules? I have the SolarEdge HD Wave inverter too (5000H in my case on a 5.4kW system). Solar Symphony also bumps the warranties on everything out to 25 years, like LA solar. Of course it's also possible that the roofing work is what's driving up the costs here.

[so_cal_burbs]

The solar itself it less than $3.00/watt. The roofing is driving the price up. LA Solar had someone come over today and do a site survey-flew a drone around above the house and took 50 photos along with dissembling the electric panel and photographing what is inside. Reassures me a bit that they do enough work pre-contract that surprises should be minimized. At least if they are competent.

[lessthanjoey]

Makes sense then!

Agreed that their due diligence is a good sign.

[AzRoute66]

The solar itself it less than $3.00/watt. The roofing is driving the price up. LA Solar had someone come over today and do a site survey-flew a drone around above the house and took 50 photos along with dissembling the electric panel and photographing what is inside. Reassures me a bit that they do enough work pre-contract that surprises should be minimized. At least if they are competent.

Oh my gosh, just hire them. Like finding gold buried in the backyard.

[NateHornblower]

It would help if you broke out the roofing costs from the quotes. Which offers the best warranty and if so, will they be around post solar bust?

[bucdenny]

Hello, I am also in San Diego market. Wondering if this a good price from LG dealer from Orange county.

# of panels: 20
Panel Model: LG 350 NeON-R
System Size: 7.0 kW
Inverter: Solar Edge Wave 7600 W
Annual Estimated Solar Output: 10,045 kWh
$23,650


Storedge 7.6 inverter to make the system battery ready, the add-on is: $1,275.
$24,925


with SMA 7.0-1SP inverter, the price is:
$22,620

Main Service upgrade to 200A or 225 A: $1,800

Thanks in advance!

[bucdenny]

Did this 3 bids include panel upgrades?

[J.P.M.]

Hello, I am also in San Diego market. Wondering if this a good price from LG dealer from Orange county.

# of panels: 20
Panel Model: LG 350 NeON-R
System Size: 7.0 kW
Inverter: Solar Edge Wave 7600 W
Annual Estimated Solar Output: 10,045 kWh
$23,650


Storedge 7.6 inverter to make the system battery ready, the add-on is: $1,275.
$24,925


with SMA 7.0-1SP inverter, the price is:
$22,620

Main Service upgrade to 200A or 225 A: $1,800

Thanks in advance!

Any other bids ? What do the other bids look like ?

What's your proposed array tilt and orientation ?

Any shading ?

Without apples to apples bids from other reputable installers quoting to meet the same requirements, you're blind as to a competitive price.

As for waht others think, people are not necessarily completely candid when they tell you what they paid, including around here. Check something called the CSI data base for what systems in CA sell for. It can be a goldmine of info - most of it stuff that the installers would not want you to know. Also interesting when you see what the person across the street paid vs. what they told you they paid.

If you are facing mostly south at about a 20 deg. tilt with not much shade, that 10,045 kWh annual output estimate looks low by maybe 10 -15 %. A common installer ploy to sell more product.

If you are way off south orientation and at a low (or vary high) tilt, or with lots of shade, that 10,045 kWh/yr. may be a realistic number, but if so, it'll then be a less cost effective system.

Read "Solar Power Your Home for Dummies" and then get familiar with PVWatts from NREL Make a few runs after reading the help/info screens a few times and use 10% system lose parameter instead of the 14 % default. Make sure you get reasonably close to the array orientation you will be using. Knowledge is power. Get some.

If you don't have them yet, get at least 2 more quotes. Do not share prices - you'll only pay more in the end if you do.

Finally, know that in spite of what peddlers and installers will tell you, because of rate restructuring over the last couple of years or so, net metering is no longer as sweet a deal as it once was. It's about 20-25 % less cost effective now. Still not terrible, but that makes PV still about the most expensive way to offset an electric bill only more so. Simply turning stuff off and not using the electricity in the first place is the most cost effective.

[bucdenny]

Thank you. I did start getting other quotes and have started reading the book online.

[bucdenny]

Hello, I am also in San Diego market. Wondering if this a good price from LG dealer from Orange county.

# of panels: 20
Panel Model: LG 350 NeON-R
System Size: 7.0 kW
Inverter: Solar Edge Wave 7600 W
Annual Estimated Solar Output: 10,045 kWh $23,650
Storedge 7.6 inverter to make the system battery ready, the add-on is: $1,275. $24,925
with SMA 7.0-1SP inverter, the price is: $22,620

Main Service upgrade to 200A or 225 A: $1,800

Thanks in advance!

I gotten another quote back from another vendor for Panasonic VBHN325SA16 325 Watt Solar Panels. Is this comparable to the LG NeON-R?

Number of panels 22
Watts per panel 325
System size 7.15 kW
Production Estimate 11,280 kWh
Inverter: Solar Edge Wave 7600 W
Price: $20,735 $2.90/Watt

[J.P.M.]

I gotten another quote back from another vendor for Panasonic VBHN325SA16 325 Watt Solar Panels. Is this comparable to the LG NeON-R?

Number of panels 22
Watts per panel 325
System size 7.15 kW
Production Estimate 11,280 kWh
Inverter: Solar Edge Wave 7600 W
Price: $20,735 $2.90/Watt

Look for most bang for the buck, not necessarily low buck. A big part of getting competitive bids is in vendor evaluation. A few bucks beaten out of a vendor is quickly forgotten. A quality job done by a professional outfit will be remembered a lot longer. Best insurance for quality is up front search and deliberation for a professional outfit - probably an established, local electrical contractor that's sold and serviced electrical equipment for 10+ years and solar for at least 5.

[bucdenny]

I have bids for LG NeON R 350 in the $2.60 range per watt and Panasonic VBHN325SA16 & VBHN330SA16 in the $2.80 range per watt. Each Panasonic dealer keep trashing LG is much more expensive. How is that when I have 3 LG dealers final pricing all lower than the $2.80/watt?

All bids are 21 to 24 panels range. All system quoted min system size of 7kW up to 7.8kW.

What would you go with? Any why?