SunPower vs Hanwha quotes

[hsnoil]

I got 2 quotes which I am trying to decide between:

Quote #1 - Gross: 38,063 - 11kw - 3.45/watt - 26x SunPower M425

-2,210 NYSUN, -9,321.78 ITC, -5,000 NYSERDIA, -7,170.6 nyc property

Net Total: 14,360.62 - 1.30/watt

Quote #2 - Gross: 31,642 - 10kw - 3.14/watt - 28x Hanwha Q. Peak Duo BLK G10+ and SolarEdge inverter and Optimizer

-2,210 NYSUN, -7,702.76 ITC, -5,000 NYSERDIA, -5,925.2 nyc property

Net Total: 10,998.04 - 1.09/watt

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This is in NYC which I hear has higher prices than average before subsidy.

The Hanwha system is almost 20% cheaper, but SunPower includes 25 years labor warranty while Hanwha only covers $250 one time labor and SE I think covers $125-$225 labor.

My personal opinion is that solar panels will only get cheaper going forward, but labor is probably going to go up.

Opinions?

[Ampster]

I would go with #2. However it might be informative to see what size inverter(s) are specified. I like to look at the DC to AC ratio.

[J.P.M.]

Sunpower is good equipment but has always been about 20-25% higher in price for about the same quality material.

Their customer service in the past has been not the best and it seems not improving since they got out of the panel making business.

The quality of the panels is probably close to the same. As one who sits at the end of the chain, I'd spend more time digging into vendor quality. Unless the Hanwha installer is unacceptable in ways you feel are insurmountable, I'd go w/Hanwha as mostly a no brainer.

Vendor evaluation and selection is very important - and that evaluation means a lot more than feel good sites like Yelp or Angie's list etc. where you get no-nothing opinions about equipment from folks who don't know any more about solar than you do.

[solarix]

Check out some of the other threads currently active concerning Sunpower customer service...

[azdave]

In my experience, these days at least, brand names and warranties don't count for much . If something goes wrong, I just assume they all will be difficult to deal with once they have my money. I would be more concerned about the quality of the install than about the name on the panels.

[hsnoil]

I would go with #2. However it might be informative to see what size inverter(s) are specified. I like to look at the DC to AC ratio.

I'll try to find out.

Sunpower is good equipment but has always been about 20-25% higher in price for about the same quality material.

Their customer service in the past has been not the best and it seems not improving since they got out of the panel making business.

The quality of the panels is probably close to the same. As one who sits at the end of the chain, I'd spend more time digging into vendor quality. Unless the Hanwha installer is unacceptable in ways you feel are insurmountable, I'd go w/Hanwha as mostly a no brainer.

Vendor evaluation and selection is very important - and that evaluation means a lot more than feel good sites like Yelp or Angie's list etc. where you get no-nothing opinions about equipment from folks who don't know any more about solar than you do.

So I looked around to see if I could find info on the equipment and found this (though not sure how credible it is):

SunPower Maxeon 6 = 92/100

QCells Q.PEAK DUO-G10 = 75/100

Hard to find any actual data. As most just look at how things are on paper and not real life tests or statistics.

For the company itself, looking at Solar Reviews:

Hanwha = 4.83

SunPower = 4.62

Though most of the new reviews for Hanwha are negative. Too bad it doesn't let me see the 1 star reviews or sort them for some strange reason.

As far as installer reputation goes, both are NYSERDIA qualified. But the sunpower one seems to have better rating on solarreviews (mostly cause the other one lacks much data), the other one actually doesn't have much info on them outside of google reviews and etc.

Check out some of the other threads currently active concerning Sunpower customer service...

I did see one, and that is what I plan to research over the weekend.

In my experience, these days at least, brand names and warranties don't count for much . If something goes wrong, I just assume they all will be difficult to deal with once they have my money. I would be more concerned about the quality of the install than about the name on the panels.

That is usually the case, but in my opinion usually those that give better warranty are more confident in their product. I usually know the quality dropped when the warranty drops.

MOD NOTE: Please do not include links to other panel suppliers in your post.

[chumijibranki]

Hey thanks for the special and helpful reply. In this you described very well. I have been reading all details you described here. If I want any more guideline I will contact you here

MOD NOTE: Please do not include links like that without first getting permission from the Admin

[hsnoil]

MOD NOTE: Please do not include links to other panel suppliers in your post.

SunEagle Can you clarify what that means? I don't think I linked to other panel suppliers? Even the links to SolarReviews were removed, are those not allowed as well? On that note, is there a place we can read the rules cause I looked around and couldn't find anything.

[SunEagle]

SunEagle Can you clarify what that means? I don't think I linked to other panel suppliers? Even the links to SolarReviews were removed, are those not allowed as well? On that note, is there a place we can read the rules cause I looked around and couldn't find anything.

My mistake. I just removed all of your links without first looking at them.

Links to SolarReviews is ok to post but we have had some issues with people posting links to companies that sell solar products which is not be allowed.

I know there is a place where we list the rules of the forum but I am unable to currently find it right now. Sorry for any confusion