25 years parts and labor warranty

[SandiegoChris]

Hi All,

I am now living in San Diego, and learned that their electricity is one of the most expensive in the nation. While I search my eyeballs out to find the ideal panels and inverters for my need. I got a bid from this company that using their panels, they warranty parts and labor for 25 years. Where most of the companies only cover the parts, I have to pay for labor which is very expensive. In this case, should I really care what panel I buy? This is a publicly traded company, one of the biggest around, and is set to be around for a long time. Many of you probably know which company that is, I read that I am not supposed to name names here.

It is about $4/w with cash, and $5/w with their financing. It is expensive. The last things I want is to worry about my system not working and have to pay a bunch to repair it, hence quality panels. But with this kind of warranty, in you opinion, is that something to consider?

Thanks

Chris

[control4userguy]

Everyone mentions brands. You will not find many supporters of Sunpower here. You need to make your own decision about what is important for you. If it's your SP dealer that seems more on the ball than, say, the little green truck guys, do what's right. If it's because you have limited space and need to maximize production, go with who can get you there. If all you want to do is worry about price per watt, go with anyone else on the planet. If you want all of the above, spend about a month on this forum.

[SoCalsolar]

A 25 year warranty on

That's a good cash price for a SunPower panel. At that price it ought to be about $4.8 a watt with the 12 year financing which is close to $5 a watt? SunPower has it's place in the market especially when you have limited roof space. It's a great panel and the company is committed to solar and has good financials. Their failure rate is very low. That being said you may get a better value with another manufacturer. The reality is though the inverter is much more likely to require service than any panel manufacturer. At the end of the day if having SunPower on your roof means you will sleep better at night go for it but if sleeping on a pile of $3-$5,000 is going help you sleep better at night than go that route.

[Sunking]

Hi All,

I am now living in San Diego, and learned that their electricity is one of the most expensive in the nation. While I search my eyeballs out to find the ideal panels and inverters for my need. I got a bid from this company that using their panels, they warranty parts and labor for 25 years.

Chris do not believe a word of that. It is nothing more than Lip Service telling you WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR to get your VOTE.

The SOLAR BUBBLE WILL BUST December 2016 when incentives are gone. Additionally net metering and service charges will likely negate any economical benefit. There will be very little if any demand for solar, thus all the installation contractors will be very rich, out of biz, and retired sitting on a beach drinking Margaritas on all that money they made and well out of reach of any warranty claims.

[J.P.M.]

Sunpower's great stuff. I'm of the opinion it's not as superior to other panels as their advertising and the marketing hype from their shills would imply. Paying a 15-25% premium for what you allegedly get is a choice made easier by innorance. As others suggest, spending time on this forum will reduce that ignorance. Sunpower's about $4.50/Watt, other decent stuff ~ $3.40 to ~ $3.80/Watt. Read all warranties carefully. Provided you get decent equipment, Sunpower or not,a good endor is a better assurance of a trouble free solar experience than simply equipment by itself. Don't be spooked by fearmongers, the future is indeed unpredictable, but some current consensus is most decent panels will probably last longer than you're going to own your property.

[SandiegoChris]

Thanks all for your quick reply. The company is called SolarCity, affiliated with Tesla, Google and is publicly trade. They are not using SunPower panels (I wish). They use Yingli (made in China) with whatever inverters. They said the reason they are expensive is for the labor cost to cover the warranty. Since they are publicly traded, they are regulated. They have to make good to their contract agreements. installation is insured with 2 millions including things that were damaged inside the house should the installation damaged the roof. Has anyone had any problem with them? I read some yelp reviews. Most of the issues they have are not enough people to work for them. They are training new technicians and installers, and their sales rep are not very knowledgeable. All because they are expanding too fast to meet demand.

So 5.22K system with Yingli panels and their inverters is $26500 before tax credit (with their own financing at 5% rate over 30 years) In this case the panels/inverters are warranty the entire 30 years. Roughly $5/w before accruing interest.

If pay cash, the same system size and panels would be $15500 with no tax credit. So I just add 33% back in, the system would be $20615 before tax credit. About $4/w.

It not SunPower or other high quality panels, I am basically buying their services for 25 years. Is it the right way to go? Has anyone used Yingli panels before?

[russ]

They said the reason they are expensive is for the labor cost to cover the warranty. Since they are publicly traded, they are regulated. They have to make good to their contract agreements. installation is insured with 2 millions including things that were damaged inside the house should the installation damaged the roof.

You are paying a premium for cheaper panels, a guarantee that may or may not be of any value if you need it and getting Yingli panels - wow not. Being associated with the other companies means not much.

Get more offers.

[J.P.M.]

Thanks all for your quick reply. The company is called SolarCity, affiliated with Tesla, Google and is publicly trade. They are not using SunPower panels (I wish). They use Yingli (made in China) with whatever inverters. They said the reason they are expensive is for the labor cost to cover the warranty. Since they are publicly traded, they are regulated. They have to make good to their contract agreements. installation is insured with 2 millions including things that were damaged inside the house should the installation damaged the roof. Has anyone had any problem with them? I read some yelp reviews. Most of the issues they have are not enough people to work for them. They are training new technicians and installers, and their sales rep are not very knowledgeable. All because they are expanding too fast to meet demand.

So 5.22K system with Yingli panels and their inverters is $26500 before tax credit (with their own financing at 5% rate over 30 years) In this case the panels/inverters are warranty the entire 30 years. Roughly $5/w before accruing interest.

If pay cash, the same system size and panels would be $15500 with no tax credit. So I just add 33% back in, the system would be $20615 before tax credit. About $4/w.

It not SunPower or other high quality panels, I am basically buying their services for 25 years. Is it the right way to go? Has anyone used Yingli panels before?

Looks like you're paying an enormous amount for imagined/assumed service that has a relatively low probability of ever being required. Their reason(s) for an inflated price are B.S. If they're charging you $10K+ to service stuff, you are IMO, getting screwed, particularly when you figure out that product warranties are already in effect. I'd get more quotes.

I'm not in a position to comment on particular vendors, but from my experience you can do a lot better on price and quality and service, and get more bang/quality for your buck with local, established vendors.

[control4userguy]

Thanks all for your quick reply. The company is called SolarCity, affiliated with Tesla, Google and is publicly trade. They are not using SunPower panels (I wish). They use Yingli (made in China) with whatever inverters. They said the reason they are expensive is for the labor cost to cover the warranty. Since they are publicly traded, they are regulated. They have to make good to their contract agreements. installation is insured with 2 millions including things that were damaged inside the house should the installation damaged the roof. Has anyone had any problem with them? I read some yelp reviews. Most of the issues they have are not enough people to work for them. They are training new technicians and installers, and their sales rep are not very knowledgeable. All because they are expanding too fast to meet demand.

So 5.22K system with Yingli panels and their inverters is $26500 before tax credit (with their own financing at 5% rate over 30 years) In this case the panels/inverters are warranty the entire 30 years. Roughly $5/w before accruing interest.

If pay cash, the same system size and panels would be $15500 with no tax credit. So I just add 33% back in, the system would be $20615 before tax credit. About $4/w.

It not SunPower or other high quality panels, I am basically buying their services for 25 years. Is it the right way to go? Has anyone used Yingli panels before?

OK, I stand corrected then. When I referred to "green trucks" I meant Solar City. I have a neighbor who went with them. I see the "green men" there every other week. I sit on my deck (with a margarita) and watch as they do whatever it is they should have done correctly the first time. I like to refer to them as the "Best Buy" of the solar market.

[solar pete]

Thanks all for your quick reply. The company is called SolarCity, affiliated with Tesla, Google and is publicly trade. They are not using SunPower panels (I wish). They use Yingli (made in China) with whatever inverters. They said the reason they are expensive is for the labor cost to cover the warranty. Since they are publicly traded, they are regulated. They have to make good to their contract agreements. installation is insured with 2 millions including things that were damaged inside the house should the installation damaged the roof. Has anyone had any problem with them? I read some yelp reviews. Most of the issues they have are not enough people to work for them. They are training new technicians and installers, and their sales rep are not very knowledgeable. All because they are expanding too fast to meet demand.

So 5.22K system with Yingli panels and their inverters is $26500 before tax credit (with their own financing at 5% rate over 30 years) In this case the panels/inverters are warranty the entire 30 years. Roughly $5/w before accruing interest.

If pay cash, the same system size and panels would be $15500 with no tax credit. So I just add 33% back in, the system would be $20615 before tax credit. About $4/w.

It not SunPower or other high quality panels, I am basically buying their services for 25 years. Is it the right way to go? Has anyone used Yingli panels before?

Hi Chris,

Just as a matter of interest have you looked into said company's (cant even bring myself to mention their name) on-line reviews?
They typically prey upon the stupid, look deeper into it, cheers and good luck with it all

[SoCalsolar]

I would say

I would say they are the Walmart of solar calling them the Best Buy of solar I believe is too much credit. Their slogan should be "Volume at any Price" I see more of their equipment facing North than I care too. The really good people they hire leave and start their own businesses or they stay because they are mesmerized by the stock options.

[sdold]

Instead of paying for repair insurance now to a company that may no longer be in business when you need repairs, if ever, how about spending less for a system and pocketing that money so that it's available to pay someone when (if) you need them?

A friend has a Solar City installation, another guy on my street has an installation by a local guy with a truck and two helpers, and I have a me installation. $16,000 vs $12,000 vs $8,000. They are all of the same quality and about the same size. The last two leave a hell of a lot of room for future repairs and don't depend on one company to be there.

[DanS26]

Don't forget to factor in technological change into your warranty decisions. In just a few years those panels on your roof will be obsolete and you, your installer, nor the manufacturer will be able to replace problem panels for any claim or price. You will get "like kind" which means probably different dimensions, color and performance.

IMHO instead of buying a high priced warranty put a little bit of that savings into spare parts. At least then you'll know your roof will not look like a chess board if you run into problems.

[SandiegoChris]

Thank you all for your advise. We decided not to use this company after all. Back to getting more bids.

I want to put a 6k system with either LG 275 or Solarworld 280 panels with enphase M250. I don't have any shading issues and my roof have enough south facing space to accommodate more panels than I need. My electrical panel has 225 amps. I received about 8 bids but they are all about $4+/w before tax credit in San Diego. Did I do something wrong?

Do you have any better recommendations?

Thanks in advance.

[SoCalsolar]

check your

Check your private messages I'm sure you will find some suggested contractors.