New 4.8KW installation in San Diego just finished

[inetdog]

Considering SDGE charges one of highest utility rates in the country (if not THE highest),

I am pretty sure that Hawaii has them beat. And probably parts of Alaska.

[sensij]

deleted - moved to a new thread

[karlf]

What stage are you in? Have you gotten net metering enabled? Did you sign up your account online? -- it helps to speed up things using email. SDGE may or may not come at all, in fact they don't need to.

Sorry for the delay. No net metering was not enabled at that point. We did sign up immediately upon doing our contract at the end of July. Overall from signed contract to the install to the time SDGE finally approved us for netmetering it took about 73 days. We were told the project should run 60 days.

So what are you getting per day out of your system (fed back to SDGE, not produced as losses add up...)?

[karlf]

Folks have had some luck calling them. What does the vendor say ?

The vendor...They were always polite but their project management style (very hands off with minimal contact) does not fit with my view of how a major project should be handled. They completed the work and the system appears to be working fine but their style does not match with my expectation of project management. Having been a director for over a decade of implementation groups handling both small and multi-million dollar projects, I held my employees and managers to a standard above that of my vendor.

[thejq]

Sorry for the delay. No net metering was not enabled at that point. We did sign up immediately upon doing our contract at the end of July. Overall from signed contract to the install to the time SDGE finally approved us for netmetering it took about 73 days. We were told the project should run 60 days.

So what are you getting per day out of your system (fed back to SDGE, not produced as losses add up...)?

72 days doesn't sound that bad. You can see the production numbers in my signature. Not sure what you mean by losses. During the peak hours I feed back about 13-15 kWh excess a day these days. But at night I use them all and more to charge my cars.

[J.P.M.]

The vendor...They were always polite but their project management style (very hands off with minimal contact) does not fit with my view of how a major project should be handled. They completed the work and the system appears to be working fine but their style does not match with my expectation of project management. Having been a director for over a decade of implementation groups handling both small and multi-million dollar projects, I held my employees and managers to a standard above that of my vendor.

I apologize for being unclear and assuming the vendor was handling all your paperwork.

Similar to you, I expected and made clear to all bidders on my project that they would be held to the same standards I held my depts. to when I was working. I also made sure all bidders understood my R.F.P. particulars before responding and during negotiation(s), including follow through and payment expectations and conditions. Two items in particular which were part of my R.F.P. and later became part of my contract : The successful vendor didn't get paid until system turn on, and, if they missed the completion date, they paid my electric bill until they completed work as a contract deduct. All bidders advertised and stated verbally to me a priori that they handled all paperwork, so I held them to their word. The project completed 8 days shy of schedule (10/03/13). The county inspec. showed up the following week Fri. (10/11/13). I did call SDG & E the following Tues. after inspec. to check paperwork progress/pass through between the county and SDG & E, and to ensure the vendor was following up. Coincidentally perhaps, my approval letter showed up 2 business days later, 10/17/13. I ceremonially fired up the system at solar noon that day, the proj. eng.. initiated the monitor the next day, and the salesperson showed up 10/21/13 and walked away w/ a check.

[control4userguy]

RFP? Are you the vendor or the client? Don't you mean RFQ? Your contract?? Maybe I didn't read all of this thread but selecting the proper vendor in the first place eliminates all this work you end-users are doing. Great entertainment though, keep it coming.

[J.P.M.]

RFP? Are you the vendor or the client? Don't you mean RFQ? Your contract?? Maybe I didn't read all of this thread but selecting the proper vendor in the first place eliminates all this work you end-users are doing. Great entertainment though, keep it coming.

I am the buyer and end user. Whatever you may wish to call what I sent to vendors included more than a simple request for a quote based on best price, which is my understanding of what an R.F.Q. is mostly about, and included more details with expectations of more detailed discussions with potential bidders to follow. Hence the use of R.F.P. the way I learned/used the term. No matter to me really. Definitions and opinions about what to call the particulars of a bidding process are not as important to me as the process of clear and complete communication between all parties to the greatest extent possible, whether in a buying situation or a forum such as this.

My prior post was meant for informational purposes and to clear up a poor assumption I made in a prior post to the OP. I'd only suggest you consider taking it for what it's worth and leave what you don't want/like/need as you choose. I encourage constructive comment and criticism, and I enjoy a bit of sharp humor. I can do without the snide sarcasm.

I won't keep it coming so, the last word, should you want it, is yours.

J.P.M.

[sensij]

RFP? Are you the vendor or the client? Don't you mean RFQ? Your contract?? Maybe I didn't read all of this thread but selecting the proper vendor in the first place eliminates all this work you end-users are doing. Great entertainment though, keep it coming.

If you would care to enlighten the forum on how to "select the proper vendor in the first place", that would be helpful. The technique J.P.M. described is doing exactly that. In my experience, it is better to be armed with knowledge about the work to be done, and to make sure the vendor/installer knows you will be paying attention to what they are doing. Whether that's done up front in the quote or proposal stage or later while the work is being done is a matter of personal taste and situational appropriateness. Without knowledge, it is sometimes easy to slip into paranoia, where a whole contract could be blown up mid-project because of an overreaction to something minor.

Maybe you are comfortable spending tens of thousands on a system based on the "reputation" of an installer and checking a couple references, or because yelp and angie's list agree they are good. Maybe you've got other ideas related to vendor selection that are more reliable. I've made it clear with the installers I've been talking to that I intend to document the installation in a thread on this forum. More experienced eyes than mine may be able to identify if something is being done wrong, and if it is done well, it could be helpful marketing for them. Win-win for the installers who know they do good work, and hopefully it would scare off the ones who know they cut corners.

[russ]

RFP? Are you the vendor or the client? Don't you mean RFQ? Your contract?? Maybe I didn't read all of this thread but selecting the proper vendor in the first place eliminates all this work you end-users are doing. Great entertainment though, keep it coming.

With that attitude it seems you would not be a choice of a vendor for many members.

[solarjmp]

Thanks for the tip. I will keep a tap on it. I just got the net metering application processed, and the city inspection also passed yesterday. So it's at least going. I paid just south of $3.5/W (before incentive) for the whole thing including Solaredge Zigbee communication gateway and client. The installer (a general electrical contractor) is quite reputable in SD, and has been in business for 25 yrs. So I'm quite happy with how things worked out.

Would you mind sending me a PM with your company, I have been looking for $3.5 in corona.

Thanks.

[thejq]

Would you mind sending me a PM with your company, I have been looking for $3.5 in corona.

Thanks.

PM sent.

Perhaps you can tell us what you're looking for. Most installers will treat you more seriously if you already know some basics and ask specific questions.

[russ]

PM sent.

Perhaps you can tell us what you're looking for. Most installers will treat you more seriously if you already know some basics and ask specific questions.

thejq is 100% correct - do your homework before talking to vendors, for the most part anyway.

[SolarRB]

I read both yours and subdriver97's thread (http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showth...n-to-San-Diego) Sounds like you guys use the the same installer. I've been having difficulty getting below $4/W quotes from reputable sources. Could one of you PM me your installer's name? BR

[MikeInRialto]

I signed for less than $3.5/watt for a 4.1 system in the Inland Empire/SanBernardino area - contractor is in OC