5.1KW Costco Solar System.

[juanmedina]

So I got a quote from a local installer for the following system:

16x 320 Sunpower SPR-320E-WHT-D (5120w)
Sunpower
Turn key system for $19,450 or 3.80 for Watt

I was looking at the Costco website and they have a Grape Solar System for $13,000 shipped

22x 22 Grape Solar GS-P-235-FAB 1 Poly-Si Panels (5170w)
1 Blue Planet 5002xi inverter from KACO
1 set roof mounted racking system: Supports 22 Grape Solar 235W panels with 80 mph wind load
Installation and extras: ????

There is a price difference of $6450 right I think that will be more than enough to cover the installation cost and every else I need to have the system running.

Which system would you guys go for? I know that the Sunpower panels are better. The difficult part will be to find someone to help me the installation.

I am located in Greenville, SC

[HX_Guy]

I think the Costco route is more of a DIY route, not sure how many installers will go with that since they may not be familiar with the inverter, racking,e tc. There are options in between...you don't have to go SunPower and you can save quite a bit by not doing so, especially if you are ok with something like Grape Solar. Look at Q-Cell, Canadian Solar, Hanwha.

[inetdog]

I think the Costco route is more of a DIY route, not sure how many installers will go with that since they may not be familiar with the inverter, racking,e tc. There are options in between...you don't have to go SunPower and you can save quite a bit by not doing so, especially if you are ok with something like Grape Solar. Look at Q-Cell, Canadian Solar, Hanwha.

From the Costco site:

Professional Installation by Licensed Electrician or Solar Installer is highly recommended and/or required in some areas. Be sure to check local zoning codes and home owner associations prior to purchasing. Contact Grape Solar for recommended installers near you.

[foo1bar]

"16x 320 Sunpower...
22x Grape ..."

Do you have room on the roof for 22 panels?
(Or at least 20 of 260W?)
If you only have room for ~16 panels AND can use a 5kW system, then the higher efficiency panels might make more sense.

"I was looking at the Costco website and they have a Grape Solar System for $13,000 shipped"

"22x 22 Grape Solar GS-P-235-FAB 1 Poly-Si Panels (5170w)"
Equivalent can be bought for ~$.70/watt or $3600

"1 Blue Planet 5002xi inverter from KACO"
Equivalent/better can be bought for ~$2k

"1 set roof mounted racking system: "
Equivalent can likely be bought for ~$1k. Definitely less than $2k.
(depends on what they include)
I configured a 20-panel racking system on http://www.ironridge.com/rm/quotation and got a list price of $1876. retail prices are significantly less than that.

Add $500 or so for shipping, and that's $7k-$8k

Of course there are a bunch of other things that will be needed.
Conduit, tools, saw blades, drill bits, wire, circuit breaker, labels, permit fee, etc. etc.
(And don't think those are just insignificant nothings - they do add up)


"The difficult part will be to find someone to help me the installation."
That is an understatement.

[SunEagle]

"16x 320 Sunpower...
22x Grape ..."

Do you have room on the roof for 22 panels?
(Or at least 20 of 260W?)
If you only have room for ~16 panels AND can use a 5kW system, then the higher efficiency panels might make more sense.

"I was looking at the Costco website and they have a Grape Solar System for $13,000 shipped"

"22x 22 Grape Solar GS-P-235-FAB 1 Poly-Si Panels (5170w)"
Equivalent can be bought for ~$.70/watt or $3600

"1 Blue Planet 5002xi inverter from KACO"
Equivalent/better can be bought for ~$2k

"1 set roof mounted racking system: "
Equivalent can likely be bought for ~$1k. Definitely less than $2k.
(depends on what they include)
I configured a 20-panel racking system on http://www.ironridge.com/rm/quotation and got a list price of $1876. retail prices are significantly less than that.

Add $500 or so for shipping, and that's $7k-$8k

Of course there are a bunch of other things that will be needed.
Conduit, tools, saw blades, drill bits, wire, circuit breaker, labels, permit fee, etc. etc.
(And don't think those are just insignificant nothings - they do add up)


"The difficult part will be to find someone to help me the installation."
That is an understatement.

Don't forget about ladders and lifting equipment to get the panels, hardware, tools and people safely up to the roof.

Before anyone purchases a "kit" they really need to have all the "install" details and costs planned out or they might have made an expensive investment that will sit in their garage.

[juanmedina]

Lifting equipment? have you Mexican's installing solar panels? they just carry the panels up the ladder. Ladders, harnesses and tools I can rent at homedepot.

Anyway, I got custom quote from Costco and they can do a 5.3kw system for $11,590 + tax. They don't have a suggested local installer so I need to do some research.

Is there a thread on how to get a building permit? I can do the engineering drawings.

[HX_Guy]

Lifting equipment? have you Mexican's installing solar panels? they just carry the panels up the ladder. Ladders, harnesses and tools I can rent at homedepot.

Not even ladders...depending on your roof, you can have one person on the group, lift the panel up and one person on the roof (or patio cover preferably) grab the panel and pull it up.

[SunEagle]

Lifting equipment? have you Mexican's installing solar panels? they just carry the panels up the ladder. Ladders, harnesses and tools I can rent at homedepot.

.....

It depends on the roof height and layout which will determine how the system hardware is moved and installed.

I would hate to have untrained manual laborers installing or even staging my pv system hardware on my roof. Those panels aren't a bundle of shingles and cost a lot more. Especially the 72 cell panels.

I hope you find people in your area that don't break your hardware or get hurt in the process installing your system.

[Living Large]

Lifting equipment? have you Mexican's installing solar panels? they just carry the panels up the ladder. Ladders, harnesses and tools I can rent at homedepot.

Anyway, I got custom quote from Costco and they can do a 5.3kw system for $11,590 + tax. They don't have a suggested local installer so I need to do some research.

Is there a thread on how to get a building permit? I can do the engineering drawings.

It varies. My roof is going to be 36 degrees from vertical. Not even "Mexicans" can stick to that. I'll need Spiderman, or a lift.

I'm starting with the codes official in my town to find out how to proceed. Don't know about a thread on getting a permit. People here can certainly guide you once you know something about the process.

[Living Large]

It depends on the roof height and layout which will determine how the system hardware is moved and installed.

I would hate to have untrained manual laborers installing or even staging my pv system hardware on my roof. Those panels aren't a bundle of shingles and cost a lot more. Especially the 72 cell panels.

I hope you find people in your area that don't break your hardware or get hurt in the process installing your system.

Two thumbs up to this post.

[foo1bar]

Anyway, I got custom quote from Costco and they can do a 5.3kw system for $11,590 + tax. They don't have a suggested local installer so I need to do some research.

$11590? So you're only overpaying for the hardware by $4k instead of ~$6K?
I guess that's better.

Is there a thread on how to get a building permit?

First order of business is to figure out how you're going to do the install - who's going to do it.
They deal with getting the building permit normally, not you.
IMO if they want you to get it, then there's something wrong with them, and you shouldn't use them.

I did my own install, so I did the permit.
For me,
* go to city hall, get their handout on what they want for a PV permit
* Ask plan reviewer about getting waiver for fire setbacks (need waiver from fire dept)
* create the necessary documentation
* print out cut sheets for racking, modules, inverter
* Setup appt with head firedept guy to review my plans.
* Go to fire dept. to review plans (~1 hour)
* Go back to city hall with all the needed documents (was 2 or 3 copies - can't recall)
* Do plan review with plan reviewer (had to wait for him to be free)
* Pay ~$300 for the permit (had to wait for her to be free)

~1 hour on one day, ~1 hour on another with fire dept., ~3 hours (mostly waiting) on another day getting the permit.

Then a week or 2 later when I ordered everything
* return to city hall with amendment for permit (different modules)
* Wait for ~30 min.
* get stamp that says the changes are fine (no charge)
(would have been longer if it hadn't been a really easy/straightforward change that he could review in 2 minutes )


NOW - ignore the above and figure out WHO is doing your install.
Then let them deal with finding out what's required by your AHJ and applying for the permit with your AHJ.

[gvl]

Even considering one can successfully deal with all the headaches as a DIY installer Costco solar kits are just a bad deal.

[juanmedina]

$11590? So you're only overpaying for the hardware by $4k instead of ~$6K?
I guess that's better.



First order of business is to figure out how you're going to do the install - who's going to do it.
They deal with getting the building permit normally, not you.
IMO if they want you to get it, then there's something wrong with them, and you shouldn't use them.

I did my own install, so I did the permit.
For me,
* go to city hall, get their handout on what they want for a PV permit
* Ask plan reviewer about getting waiver for fire setbacks (need waiver from fire dept)
* create the necessary documentation
* print out cut sheets for racking, modules, inverter
* Setup appt with head firedept guy to review my plans.
* Go to fire dept. to review plans (~1 hour)
* Go back to city hall with all the needed documents (was 2 or 3 copies - can't recall)
* Do plan review with plan reviewer (had to wait for him to be free)
* Pay ~$300 for the permit (had to wait for her to be free)

~1 hour on one day, ~1 hour on another with fire dept., ~3 hours (mostly waiting) on another day getting the permit.

Then a week or 2 later when I ordered everything
* return to city hall with amendment for permit (different modules)
* Wait for ~30 min.
* get stamp that says the changes are fine (no charge)
(would have been longer if it hadn't been a really easy/straightforward change that he could review in 2 minutes )


NOW - ignore the above and figure out WHO is doing your install.
Then let them deal with finding out what's required by your AHJ and applying for the permit with your AHJ.

Thanks for the info. Where can I get the hardware for less?

Thanks

[foo1bar]

Thanks for the info. Where can I get the hardware for less?

My solar supplier was Renvu in Mountain View, CA - that's where I checked prices for what you posted for items in your kit.
Since the forum moderators/owners don't like us linking to websites, I won't in this post.
I liked them - I'd recommend them.
But there are many other options out there too.

Searching for specific items (ex. "Solaredge inverter" or "Solaredge SE7600A-US") will usually bring up retailers that carry that. And often they'll carry everything else you want too.
(BTW - that particular inverter probably isn't right choice for you. It is the one I have)

[Ward L]

I bought Costco Grape Solar Panels a Year ago and am still happy

It seemed to me there were a lot of sharks swimming in the solar install business that I didn't know and didn't trust when I started to look for panels. I like Costco because of their return policies and their prices. I got the Grape solar panels installed on my roof by a Costco recommended installer. Grape panels are made in Asia, like a lot of the stuff we buy today. I think Asian producers can make quality products when the consumer demands a quality product. I have a clay tile roof which is crazy brittle and a difficult install. The next time it rained I had a roof leak. The installer came back and with my agreement, removed my panels, installed a composition shingle underneath my panels, changed the mounting brackets for the new roof and reinstalled the solar panels at no additional charge. No more leaks. The system continues to run well, generating electricity every day. It over produces compared to the Enphase (also made in Asia) power prediction. Not sure what that means, but everything seems to work fine after a year. Everyone is different and the Costco deal worked very well for me.