Where do you buy your solar panels?

[CountryGent]

Title kind of says it all; where are you buying your solar panels these days? Any vendors you avoid? Thanks for sharing!

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[pdx225]

Tesla still has the best price, although customer service leaves a bit to be desired.

If you're looking to do it yourself and build a solar system on your own, this video may help.

Ignore the infomercials, they are deceptive.

I've got the Tesla system and it easily covers 85% of my power needs for my home, not to mention the battery backup which can run the essentials for about 5-7 days.

 

[arakboss]

These guys made mine:

 

[Cerberus Group]

Renogy

 

[Tlock]

Tesla still has the best price, although customer service leaves a bit to be desired.

If you're looking to do it yourself and build a solar system on your own, this video may help.

Ignore the infomercials, they are deceptive.

I've got the Tesla system and it easily covers 85% of my power needs for my home, not to mention the battery backup which can run the essentials for about 5-7 days.

What's something like that cost?

 

[wjv]

Renogy

Rockpals
Jackery

 

[Nosferatu]

I put 4 HQST 200w, 24v panels on my truck camper this past summer. I combined them with a MPPT controller and 2 100AH LiFEPO4 batteries.

 

[HiFi Magnetics]

NoN- DiY estimate 25 year estimate target
I was doing the math and the big picture of the whole solar panel cost, savings, life, duty and duration.
$41,795 Solar Panel outright parts and labor without The BiG Guy's tax credit.
8,600 Watts Home consumption per year
$125.00 PGE Average per month in 3 year breakdown
21 solar panel (410 watts each) = 8,610 watts total
9,000 Watts Solar Panel (Recommended)
___________________________________
Quote:
$41,795 Solar Panel outright = $139.00 per month (25 years) + $4,295.00 additional vs PGE
$29,256.50 with 30% tax credit solar panel cost = $97.52 per month (25 years) - $8,243.50 savings vs PGE
$37,500 PGE Average per year (3 year breakdown) = $125.00 per month (25 years)
Is it worthi't especially if I sell the house within 15 years from now..?
Thanks. H.

 

[Yarome]

NoN- DiY estimate 25 year estimate target
I was doing the math and the big picture of the whole solar panel cost, savings, life, duty and duration.
$41,795 Solar Panel outright parts and labor without The BiG Guy's tax credit.
8,600 Watts Home consumption per year
$125.00 PGE Average per month in 3 year breakdown
21 solar panel (410 watts each) = 8,610 watts total
9,000 Watts Solar Panel (Recommended)
___________________________________
Quote:
$41,795 Solar Panel outright = $139.00 per month (25 years) + $4,295.00 additional vs PGE
$29,256.50 with 30% tax credit solar panel cost = $97.52 per month (25 years) - $8,243.50 savings vs PGE
$37,500 PGE Average per year (3 year breakdown) = $125.00 per month (25 years)
Is it worthi't especially if I sell the house within 15 years from now..?
Thanks. H.

I believe you meant kWh's, but no matter.

Did you consider system maintenance costs? Solar is not a one time expense. Among the most expensive related costs would be battery bank replacements during that 25yr period. There goes the majority of your "savings vs PGE", however... your main "savings" would actually come in the form of PGE paying you fair market value for the excess energy production your system feeds back into the grid. IOW, calculating in a margin in excess of "need" is typically a good idea. Adding additional panels during initial installation is a relatively low cost investment to increase annual income from feeding the grid.

So long as it's within the capacity of your controller/s. Using the full capacity of the controller/s you "need"... good! Exceeding the capacity and requiring an additional controller... bad.

One other related cost that may need to be considered is the roof. It depends how old the roof is, but panel removal and re-installation during a roof replacement.. for 21 panels... at todays rates... you could be looking at around 5k-ish. You'll have to do the math to determine if it's cheaper to replace it prior to installation or wait. IOW, another cost increase factor to consider.

In our part of the country (zone 2) the solar insolation is not all that high. If you really do require 8,610 watts, then to reach that would actually require 11,500 watts of panels.

 

[HiFi Magnetics]

I believe you meant kWh's, but no matter.

Did you consider system maintenance costs? Solar is not a one time expense. Among the most expensive related costs would be battery bank replacements during that 25yr period. There goes the majority of your "savings vs PGE", however... your main "savings" would actually come in the form of PGE paying you fair market value for the excess energy production your system feeds back into the grid. IOW, calculating in a margin in excess of "need" is typically a good idea. Adding additional panels during initial installation is a relatively low cost investment to increase annual income from feeding the grid.

So long as it's within the capacity of your controller/s. Using the full capacity of the controller/s you "need"... good! Exceeding the capacity and requiring an additional controller... bad.

One other related cost that may need to be considered is the roof. It depends how old the roof is, but panel removal and re-installation during a roof replacement.. for 21 panels... at todays rates... you could be looking at around 5k-ish. You'll have to do the math to determine if it's cheaper to replace it prior to installation or wait. IOW, another cost increase factor to consider.

In our part of the country (zone 2) the solar insolation is not all that high. If you really do require 8,610 watts, then to reach that would actually require 11,500 watts of panels.

Its a good thing that I asked for I didn't even know those parts yet. Thank you for the heads up. It looks like its not going to be positive on my situation since I use a very conservative amount of power and the 2nd thing is I live in the pacific northwest which I don't really get much sunlight the whole year round. Thanks!

 

[Provincial]

At least with PP&L in Oregon, the power company does not pay a cent for any excess power you generate. I assume this is a government-approved policy, so it would apply statewide.

Perhaps in the future, when electric vehicles overload the grid, things could change, but it would be unwise to expect it.

 

[HiFi Magnetics]

At least with PP&L in Oregon, the power company does not pay a cent for any excess power you generate. I assume this is a government-approved policy, so it would apply statewide.

Perhaps in the future, when electric vehicles overload the grid, things could change, but it would be unwise to expect it.

That is another thing I'm "not considering" $29,256.50 with 30% tax credit solar panel cost (originally $41,795)
This is a form of "pyramid" that forcefully affects taxpayers in a negative way and I dont want it to happen to me.

 

[Provincial]

Power companies are required to get more of their power from renewable sources as time goes on. They also offer customers the option of paying higher rates for "renewable power" under voluntary programs. Because of this, if you are not signed up to such a program, your excess Solar power is sold to someone else at a rate much higher than your rate.

In essence, the company doesn't have to pay a penny for the power it delivers to someone at a premium rate. Of course, it has to track what it receives from you and delivers elsewhere, and the costs of delivery. It still is a sweet deal.

 

[Nosferatu]

I'm figuring about $10k to get my off-grid system started in MT. Adding batteries and panels as necessary if our energy demands change.

I'm doing a simple single-phase system with 48v batteries and a single charge controller with integrated 6000w inverter. A generator will provide backup charging at low solar times.

This is just for a small, 16x24 cabin for my wife and I, not running a lot of stuff. The biggest power hogs will be the refrigerator and 12k mini-split, but with the insulation and passive-house design, plus woodstove, it won't need to run too much.

There is no grid power to the property. I could get power up there, but for the $25k it would cost me to pull power, I'd rather spend that money on independence.

For a split-phase, grid tied system, with a family, expect to spend double that, at least. Not to mention putting panels on the roof, which is almost guaranteed to not be pointed in the ideal direction, your efficiency isn't going to be very good, which means more panels.