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Seems to me, after knocking around here for 8+ years, that in general, those posting on this forum who see string inverters as having advantages over micros or optimizers are those who are more knowledgeable and have more practical experience about and with PV, while those who favor micros and optimizers are less so.
If I had as much as an eyeball and a balloon knot and was in the market for residential PV, that would probably influence my choice.Comment
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I had my system installed, 20 g-6 Q-cell 340 watt panels with enphase IQ7+ inverters from a company that has been in business 30+ years. 10 year labor warranty on inverter replacement and 25 on panels. End price after tax rebate was 1.70 a watt, if you want to get technical 1.96 per watt due to inverter max output of 295 watts.Comment
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Which is nice but anecdotal and means you'll have the additional probability of 20 optimizers to deal with when/if they fail that a simple string inverter would avoid as well as the hassle and expense of getting at them, especially the ones that aren't on the edges of the array. More stuff to fail. KISS applies.
I wouldn't feel overly confident about a company staying in business. Any company can go belly up. More anecdotal stuff: One of the most reputable and reliable companies in San Diego appears to have gone belly up after 17 years in business. They were one of 3 I considered when I designed my system and did consistently high quality work.
As for how to figure specfic, the usual and customary way to express specific price in the U.S. is total system price in $$/STC watt of the modules. Figuring specific price in ways other than that just muddies the waters and opens a path to confusing B.S. from peddlers.Comment
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Where I live in Florida I have never gotten a quote for less than $3/watt for any micro inverter system. Even a string inverter seems to cost more than $2/watt which makes a payback of more than 12 years for me. It is hard to justify a system that will cost me more than $15k that may last longer then my life since I am now over 68 yo.
But to those that have a high electric cost or companies that will install for less then $2/watt I say go for it. Just don't be fooled with any long warranty that they state because most companies will not be around that long or end up just charging you to replace failed equipment.Comment
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All you need to do is click order on the website and enter your address. It will give you a price; you can change the size of the system and remove Powerwalls. Once you order they take care of everything, and the $250 deposit is refundable anytime prior to final approval after install. On the website they sell four set system sizes (4.8, 9.6, 14.4, 19.2) but you can add or remove panels during the design phase; the cost per panel KW is the same no matter what size system you get.
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I have heard bad things about other companies as well. At the end of the day your 25 year warranty will mean very little if the company as gone bust. I am fairly confident Tesla will be around 25+ years. Charge the install to American Express and if there are any issues the first three months dispute the charge and let their legal department deal with Tesla. Once the system is up and running the chances are it will be stable.
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To save $1,000 per kW some people will put up with the hassle of dealing with Tesla. We all have different risk/reward profiles.
On other forums I have seen examples of how people have sucessfully managed a Tesla install to save that kind of money. Not everyone has that ability or the tolerance for that kind of hassle, but for those that do, there is money to be saved.Last edited by Ampster; 02-02-2022, 02:49 PM.9 kW solar, 42kWh LFP storage. EV owner since 2012Comment
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As have I. Except I've seen and been involved in reviewing and observing lots of work from over 125 residential installs done by both good and bad by companies local, regional and national done on homes owned by folks as solar ignorant as you seem to be.
IMO only, SolarCity and its worse evil offspring Tesla are one of the bottom feeders of the solar industry. You can do a lot better for your long term buck once you get out of the low initial price trap you seem to be in. Like most, you don't know what you don't know.
Suit yourself.
Good luck.
Take what you want of the above. Scrap the rest.Comment
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I don't really care about previous installations. Whoever installs my system has the worst supervisor and project manager on earth to try and please, ME. I have installed main panels, and know how roofing systems work so I am fairly confident any work will be done to the highest standards. If I have any reservation or complaints they don't get paid.
As for bang for the buck unless system 'A' generates significantly more electricity that system 'B' there really isn't any benefits. Ignorance would be not doing a full home evaluation months before contacting solar companies and reducing consumption. Ignorance would be not fully understanding the cost benefits in terms of ROI when lost opportunity costs are also factored in. Installing solar in Florida is not a cost saving exercise if you pay much more than $1:50kw after rebates, even if you are paying cash.
As for bottom feeder companies my definition of that category would be the ones that are sales driven. The type of companies that sell people more solar than they really need or at prices that will NEVER give the customer a ROI. I had quotes from a couple of the major players in my area and they were ridiculous expensive. One wanted to charge $3:16 after rebates; that would have to be one very special system to justify the up charges. A neighbor was sold a lovely system by a major brand and his monthly payments over twenty years are 25% higher than his old electric bill. I feel seriously sorry for the folks that get over sold systems that will never really have a ROI.Comment
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