Help me compare quotes/systems SMA vs Solaredge

[J.P.M.]

Got it - thank you for the intel on this. I dislike that a company would give me 2 prices, but understand as with a mortgage that some people charge fees. My goal was to get several proposals, figure out 3-4 I liked the most and then negotiate from there.

You're welcome. Sounds like a plan.

[Steve Fox]

I'd guess it depends some on financing details but probably just as much on negotiating skills. I've seen about that price/Watt on HERO financing and more on cash deals.

Got it - thank you for the intel on this. I dislike that a company would give me 2 prices, but understand as with a mortgage that some people charge fees. My goal was to get several proposals, figure out 3-4 I liked the most and then negotiate from there.

[radareclipse]

Westchester County is one of the most expensive counties in the country to live in and do business. Property taxes are insane! Less competition in the area also doing solar vs California. Do the system large enough to cover all of your needs and consider this. When it becomes free, you might tend to use more. So doing a slightly larger system will do you good in the long run.

[J.P.M.]

Quick Question. On the So Cal pricing of < 3.30/Watt. Is that based on a cash price or a price if you will be using financing?

I have been getting some quotes around the 3.6 with no negotiation yet on a cash price, but a bit higher if I am going with the financing they are offering.

I'd guess it depends some on financing details but probably just as much on negotiating skills. I've seen about that price/Watt on HERO financing and more on cash deals.

[Steve Fox]

Quick Question. On the So Cal pricing of < 3.30/Watt. Is that based on a cash price or a price if you will be using financing?

I have been getting some quotes around the 3.6 with no negotiation yet on a cash price, but a bit higher if I am going with the financing they are offering.

[J.P.M.]

J.P.M....how can you say the pricing is high, with four different arrays? And with the prevailing wage rate of licensed electricians in the NYC area

Well, note I write I'm somewhat ignorant of pricing in your area, but even so, I don't think labor is that much more there than here, and a lot of LG systems can be had around So. CA for < $3.30/Watt from a decent vendor w/ some negotiating.

$3.80 just seems high is all. Put the nails in if you want, just use the same holes the last guy used.

I do believe that tax credits and rebates usually jack user's prices some and NYSERDA $$ sthupps can be pretty healthy.

[ApacheBob]

J.P.M....how can you say the pricing is high, with four different arrays? And with the prevailing wage rate of licensed electricians in the NYC area

[sensij]

For many a 40a breaker isn't a problem but with a center feed 100a MSP it often is.

Doesn't even have to be center-fed. Many homes around here have only 100 A panels, which will take only 20 A end-fed before requiring an upgrade. 125 A center-fed would not take 40 A of PV either (without a convincing load analysis on the bus), since the main breaker has to be at least 100 A.

[J.P.M.]

I'm in Westchester County, NY. I've narrowed down my choices to 2 high quality local installers

1. Panel - LG 280N x 27 = 7.56 kW
Inverter SolarEdge SE w/ optimizers, extended warranty included
Mount: Unirac Solarmount
Cost/watt before incentives: $3.80
Labor warranty 10y
PVWatts annual output 9267 kWh

2. Panel - LG 315 x 26 = 8.19 kW
Inverter SMA SB7700TL-US-22
Mount: Quick Mount PV
Cost/watt before incentives: $3.90
Labor Warranty 20y
PVWatts annual output 10039 kWh

My estimated annual usage is about 9000 kWh

thanks for your help

What are the reasons for oversizing the system ?

[ButchDeal]

Thanks & this explains why my installation is not a problem (5.36kWh using 16 SunPower panels). The 7600 only needs a 40a circuit so not certain why there would be an issue there. No, the MUCH larger inverter's might require significant changes but those issues shouldn't be co-mingled with the considerations for the 7600 IMHO.

For many a 40a breaker isn't a problem but with a center feed 100a MSP it often is.

[ndabunka]

As long as you have the recommended 8 modules ( bare minimum of 6 ) it will work.
Also it isn't just the small inverters that are not compatible, the larger ones are not as well.

The concern with putting the 7600 in in place of the SE3000 or SE3800 is that the 7600 requires a larger breaker and thus might be a problem with some MSPs.

Thanks & this explains why my installation is not a problem (5.36kWh using 16 SunPower panels). The 7600 only needs a 40a circuit so not certain why there would be an issue there. No, the MUCH larger inverter's might require significant changes but those issues shouldn't be co-mingled with the considerations for the 7600 IMHO.

[ButchDeal]

Only one SolerEdge interver (the SE7600A) works with the battery. The smaller current SolarEdge inverters will not accomodate it. The only challenge you may have is the size of your planned system (4K) may not be adequate enough to run a SE7600A effectively. I wonder if a Solar Edge expert on here might be able to tell us how many kW's are REQUIRED to run the SE7600A

As long as you have the recommended 8 modules ( bare minimum of 6 ) it will work.
Also it isn't just the small inverters that are not compatible, the larger ones are not as well.

The concern with putting the 7600 in in place of the SE3000 or SE3800 is that the 7600 requires a larger breaker and thus might be a problem with some MSPs.

[ndabunka]

ulrich - you mentioned the storege inverter from solaredge which they advertise to be battery compatible. any more info on this? one installer mentioned it and wanted to get more real world info . how different is it from the other inverters and does anyone own them?. i'm interested in the battery concept but my feeling is that this is still early technology and hard to say how things will look in a few years and is it too early to commit to something like this? i'm just looking at a smallish system of about 4 kw for the house. thanks

Only one SolerEdge interver (the SE7600A) works with the battery. The smaller current SolarEdge inverters will not accomodate it. The only challenge you may have is the size of your planned system (4K) may not be adequate enough to run a SE7600A effectively. I wonder if a Solar Edge expert on here might be able to tell us how many kW's are REQUIRED to run the SE7600A

[wrysys]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I decided to go with the Solaredge system. The deciding factors were 1) more confidence in the installer (only one that climbed the roof for SunEye measurements and roof measurements), and 2) seemed to me that the Solaredge system was the better solution because my arrays would be divided among 4 different roofs with varying shade, angles, and direction. Even though the arrays could be divided into parallel strings and 2 MPPT inputs for a single SMA inverter, it sounded like this would result in significant loss of efficiency.

ulrich - you mentioned the storege inverter from solaredge which they advertise to be battery compatible. any more info on this? one installer mentioned it and wanted to get more real world info . how different is it from the other inverters and does anyone own them?. i'm interested in the battery concept but my feeling is that this is still early technology and hard to say how things will look in a few years and is it too early to commit to something like this? i'm just looking at a smallish system of about 4 kw for the house. thanks

[eah123]

my choice

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I decided to go with the Solaredge system. The deciding factors were 1) more confidence in the installer (only one that climbed the roof for SunEye measurements and roof measurements), and 2) seemed to me that the Solaredge system was the better solution because my arrays would be divided among 4 different roofs with varying shade, angles, and direction. Even though the arrays could be divided into parallel strings and 2 MPPT inputs for a single SMA inverter, it sounded like this would result in significant loss of efficiency.