Solar Panel System Disposal

[mpkelley20]

Nor do you know what kind of system was bought for $3.40 per watt. What if they are silver 240 watt polycrystalline panels with a string inverter and using L-feet without flashing and with 12 foot spreads between footings?



SolarCity quoted me $6.40 per watt two years ago for SunPower.

My system is Solarworld 285 watt mono panels with Solaredge se10000 inverter and optimizers. Honestly, I can't remember the racking brand right now but I know it is a rail free setup similar to the quick mount PV system. As for flashing, my installer used a butyl flash rather than asphalt or caulk. Spacing....I did not get into those specifics so I don't know. First time I have seen this brought up! My town is VERY strict when it comes to solar work and we had to have multiple inspectors out during the process. It was quite invasive with people climbing in my attic taking pictures and stuff! But, all went well on that front so I assume my installer was using what he was supposed to from the start.

The orientation of my setup is a bit different than most in my town. Most of my panels sit horizontally with the exception of one row on the bottom of both my house and garage which sit vertically. The output so far has been freakishly accurate to what PVwatts gave me.

I think you win on highest quoted price I've seen from Solar City! I thought my $5.50 was high!!

Somewhere in the forum are my threads on my setup pre and post setup. Took me a year and a half to make a decision!

[littleharbor]

Solar City uses ZEP racking in their rail less systems. The panel frames have a deep rabbeted channel in them and are quite robust frames.

[rsilvers]

I wanted flashing that would have a metal water shield. Here are two examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-kTRIGzgCc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0LKQdlNylA

But you still need to use sealant if there is a chance of ice dams.

It is cheaper for the installer to not have to buy these and use more basic L-feet.

[brewbeer]

Lexnice,

Solar Store quoted an 8.505 kW system, 27 LG 315 panels, SolarEdge 7600 Inverter, optimizers: $4.06/watt
PV Squared quoted a 7.85 kW system, 24 SunPower 327 panels, 7.7 kW AC inverter, power optimizers: $4.68/watt
Northeast Solar quoted a 7.245 kW system, 23 LG 315 panels, Enphase 280 Microinverters: $4.17/watt
Beyond Green did not submit a quote.

All three included permits, interconnect, separate revenue meter, internet monitoring, roof racking, structural engineer, and new main breaker panel.

The warranty was not a significant factor in my decision. The biggest factor for me was getting the same company who was installing the panels to also replace my roof and do some related attic and roof deck work, which provided assurance that there would be no finger pointing between contractors if the roof leaked following the work. Having the largest array size was also a significant consideration.

I went with Solar Store. Aside from a string wiring error which was corrected immediately upon discovery, which was not Solar Store's fault (the installation contractor did not follow Solar Store's wiring diagram), I thought the work was excellent. The wiring was run entirely through the attic (no roof conduit). They even wanted to run the conduit from the attic through the interior of the house through a pair of stacked closets, but I asked them to run that section along the outside (side) of the house because the closets are so jam packed full of stuff I didn't want to deal with emptying them out.

I also ended up stripping and replacing the shingles, about 30% of the roof decking (rot), and added a cricket on a chimney (which had contributed to rot) and installed a new gable vent due to the elimination of a roof vent in the way of the new array.

[Lexnice]

Is it better to have Microinverters under each solar panel, having the same 25 year warranty as the panels, or one wall mounted inverter, with a 10 year warranty?
Also, has anyone ever had or heard of squirrels or other animals chewing on wiring or any part of this? I'm wondering if I should include bird/animal barriers around the panels?

[brewbeer]

Lexnice, it's true that All Energy Solar does hAve some people here in the valley, but some of the profit ends up going back to Minnesota. It's not easy making a good living in western mass, and this is where I make my living. That's why I went with a locally owned company.

[Lexnice]

brewbeer or anyone else,
How come Solar Store in Greenfield has no customer reviews in SolarReview? It isn't even listed.

[rsilvers]

Note that SolarEdge has a RGM option built in to the inverter. Installers may not know about it.

[Amy@altE]

If you know which models you tend to use, your distributor can often make a point of having some in stock. It helps them plan their inventory to have a good working relationship with their installer customers. As they are fairly new with the RGM, some distributors (OK, one in particular that I know of) are working out which models to stock, especially now that high season is coming upon us.

[ButchDeal]

We use all the solaredge single face inverters.
mostly the SE7600 but a fair bit of SE3800 and SE3000
in the northEast (were SRECs are) mostly 7600, 5000, 3800, & 11400 (in that order)
So asking the distributor to carry all those is a bit much right now but likely by the end of this summer we will be a bigger force.

[Amy@altE]

Not to get too salesy, but I know we are dealing with chicken/egg scenario here. We aren't getting a lot of people asking for them yet, so we don't have them in stock, which makes people not ask for it. I do know we can get them in 2-3 days, so it's not a big delay. I did pass this info on to the powers that be here, it's good data.

[Lexnice]

One company does not use a rail system lagged into the roof trusses to mount the roof mounted solar panels. They swear by "E Mount AIR brackets", but have only been using them about a year. Is anyone familiar with these? Are they the best way to roof mount solar panels? Can they be used with Iron Ridge Flash Foot or SnapNRack Flashed L Foot that Rsilvers suggested?

[ButchDeal]

One company does not use a rail system lagged into the roof trusses to mount the roof mounted solar panels. They swear by "E Mount AIR brackets", but have only been using them about a year. Is anyone familiar with these? Are they the best way to roof mount solar panels? Can they be used with Iron Ridge Flash Foot or SnapNRack Flashed L Foot that Rsilvers suggested?

No. it is a railless system and ironridge is a rail system.
They are great for lazy installers as they don't have to carry around rails.
We will not let our installers use them. They weaken rather than strengthen the structure.

[littleharbor]

Solar City uses ZEP racking in their rail less systems. The panel frames have a deep rabbeted channel in them and are quite robust frames.

[ButchDeal]

Sure but the frames are not designed to do the work of the rails. Rails strengthen and stiffen the roof when adding the wheight, but railess weekend the roof, don't add any structure.

[rsilvers]

Railless seems hard to get perfect alignment of modules.
My system will use two SE10000A-US000NNR2 inverters. That is the part number for the 10000 watt AC unit with the RGM built in.

[Lexnice]

I am getting quotes from several Solar Companies around the state. I live in Western Mass. I am learning a great deal about solar systems through this forum, so thank you to everyone.
Already Solar City uses a rail system, AAH doesn't .
I need to know the right questions to ask these companies. What is the best fastening system and flashing method, for these companies to install my 23-25 solar panels on the roof of my ranch style home, so that the roof will never leak, solar panels will never loosen up, rip off of my roof, or fall off my roof? Best way to seal or flash the roofing shingles under the mounts?

[farokhboston]

RSilvers,

AZ pricing in MA is not possible. Labor costs here, for one, are much higher.

What happened to the $3.08/watt quote from Bay State Solar? And what did the "Solar Eye" show about any potential shading?

[rsilvers]

I never saw the SolarEye data, but the designer left out panels in areas that he determined had too much shade. I had him put some of them in anyway. I also am removing something that would cause shade.

[farokhboston]

Ask your installer what the "Total Efficiency" of your system is, due to the shading etc. Mine is at 80%....due to primarily late afternoon shading from trees (more like a mini forest) on one side of my house.

[rsilvers]

I told them before the quote that they didn't have to calculate that because it is what it is, and it wouldn't change if I did it or not.

Not sure if they did a full PVDesigner layout, or just looked at each region of the roof on the fisheye one at a time. They spent 5 man-hours measuring the roof.

They did leave out some panels where they saw a lot of shade at certain times of the year, and my response was to remove the object causing the shade and ask them to put the modules back. They left out a panel where there was a plumbing vent. I asked them to move the vent and put the panel there. They said no problem.

One thing is for sure - they were clearly not trying to sell me as many modules as possible, and were trying to only use them in smart areas. I know this because their preliminary design had 57 modules. I asked for 73. They countered with 69. I signed off on that, on the condition that they consider adding a few more during the process. The inverters can handle up to 84.

[farokhboston]

"What size is your system? What was SolarFlair's cost per watt for your system? Which Solar panels did you go with? Did you go with micro inverters that mount to the underside of each panel? Did you have any extras that you added that added to the cost?"

I have 29 panels, for a total of 8.15 Kw. Cost before all incentives etc, was around $3.40/Watt, with Micro-Inverters, which I needed due to the shading I have.

I'd have to look up the quotes I got, but I know that I did "upgrade" to larger panels and micro-inveters over what the "base" offering was.

[Lexnice]

Has anyone had an estimate for a system, or bought a system, from All Energy Solar? They have an office in Chicopee, MA. and many other places.

[Lexnice]

Does anyone have an idea how much to believe/put stock in high reviews of a company with a high avg. review score with over 26 reviews on SolarReviews?