Feeler: How much can I sell a 4 year old 19.25kw system for?

[peakbagger]

Remember the famous quote attributed to Pt Barnum regarding suckers born every minute. At the price per watt the quote still seems to be valid.

[SunEagle]

Remember the famous quote attributed to Pt Barnum regarding suckers born every minute. At the price per watt the quote still seems to be valid.

Hopefully the purchaser of that used system understands they will not be able to get any FED rebate and can install it with minimum cost. Otherwise it will be an expensive learning experience.

[Ampster]

Just to follow up, I sold the the system for $12895 last week. For those of you who may be in a similar position I was in, don't listen to the idiots saying you won't get anything or only $800.

I found the buyer by posting it on Craigslist.

Thanks for the update. Glad to see it working out for you. That is good advice for others reading this in the future. There are other places where optimism is more abundant..

[foo1bar]

Just to follow up, I sold the the system for $12895 last week.

Congratulations!
That is honestly more than I would have expected it to sell for.

2.) At $12,895/19.25 kW = $0.67/W depending on your tax situation and how you valued the current system cost, it may have been more financially advantageous to find some worthy cause and donate.

Donations to charities are valued at their fair market value.
$13K appears to be fair market value in this case. (arms length transaction, buyer and seller knew all the relevant facts, etc.)

It is possible to artificially inflate your estimate of FMV for a donation. (I think it used to be fairly common that donated vehicles were claimed to have a FMV well above what they'd realistically be worth)

But for donations above $5000 (like this would be), you have to have a "qualified appraisal" done by a "qualified appraiser" - and that is what will determine what you can claim as FMV.
(See IRS pub 561 on donations for more details)


So I don't see how he could have been better off donating it.
At best he'd get credit on his taxes for ~40% of the value - and short of fraud I don't see how you'd get a ~$32k FMV on that donation.

[J.P.M.]

So I don't see how he could have been better off donating it.
At best he'd get credit on his taxes for ~40% of the value - and short of fraud I don't see how you'd get a ~$32k FMV on that donation.

I'd agree with you in a world where everyone (or most everyone) is honest. While certainly not advocating or supporting fraudulent behavior, in the real world, I know better. It's been my experience that the more $$ involved and the lower the chance of an audit, the more creative the logic seems to become.

Besides, I'm unaware of the OP's tax situation.

Also, and I don't for 1 hot second agree with the B.S. logic - but I've seen it used - what if I took page out of the real estate slug's and solar peddler's book and as an example, said a PV system is worth [(annual savings)* (remaining service life) * (1500 kWh/yr per STC kW) * (19.25 kW / (say)15 years) * ((say) $0.15/kWh) ~= $65 K. If that's not fraud in valuing how much a PV system increases the selling price of a residence, particularly if capital gains are a factor, is it fraud for valuing that same asset in a similar if it's being disassembled, shipped and donated ? Just wondering.

[foo1bar]

is it fraud for valuing that same asset in a similar if it's being disassembled, shipped and donated ? Just wondering.

IMO - yes that would be fraud, as it would not be FMV.
When they were caught the qualified appraiser would have problems - they'd have a penalty of 125% of the fee they were paid and have legal liability.
And I expect that every other appraisal they did would also be looked at very carefully by the auditors.

[markrobert]

Well said azdave.

[CycloneFW]

2.) At $12,895/19.25 kW = $0.67/W depending on your tax situation and how you valued the current system cost, it may have been more financially advantageous to find some worthy cause and donate.

Remember the famous quote attributed to Pt Barnum regarding suckers born every minute. At the price per watt the quote still seems to be valid.

Hopefully the purchaser of that used system understands they will not be able to get any FED rebate and can install it with minimum cost. Otherwise it will be an expensive learning experience.

Wow, preilly did really well on that sale. My 10 kW system is $1.03/W new, turnkey installed. Solaris 360W all black panels, IronRidge mounts, SolarEdge inverters, P370 Power optimizers, etc. I think preilly made out like a bandit!

[J.P.M.]

Wow, preilly did really well on that sale. My 10 kW system is $1.03/W new, turnkey installed. Solaris 360W all black panels, IronRidge mounts, SolarEdge inverters, P370 Power optimizers, etc. I think preilly made out like a bandit!

I think he did well also, better than most her probably expected. I suspect that may have as much or more to do with buyer ignorance than other things.

On your price of $1.03/STC W, to avoid confusion, around here folks usually talk of system prices prices before any U.S. fed. ITC, or any state or other credits/rebates etc. What was uour price/STC W before all credts, etc. ?

[CycloneFW]

I think he did well also, better than most her probably expected. I suspect that may have as much or more to do with buyer ignorance than other things.

On your price of $1.03/STC W, to avoid confusion, around here folks usually talk of system prices prices before any U.S. fed. ITC, or any state or other credits/rebates etc. What was uour price/STC W before all credts, etc. ?

Gross is $2.20/STC W.

That is how I think I represented it in my thread, but used net here from the point of view of being a buyer of a used system. I would definitely consider the net cost when considering to buy a used system.

[J.P.M.]

Gross is $2.20/STC W.

That is how I think I represented it in my thread, but used net here from the point of view of being a buyer of a used system. I would definitely consider the net cost when considering to buy a used system.

Thank you. I missed that somehow.

Doesn't that $6K from Duke reduce your ITC ?

[J.P.M.]

Gross is $2.20/STC W.

That is how I think I represented it in my thread, but used net here from the point of view of being a buyer of a used system. I would definitely consider the net cost when considering to buy a used system.

Thank you. My lazy eye missed that.

AT ~ $0.08/kWh from Duke, it's a good thing they offer $0.60/installed STC W.

How did you handle the ITC tax credit reduction for that $6K utility rebate ?