New 7.9 kW System

[Ampster]

What inverter are you planning to use? 7.9kW of power is too much backfeed for a 125A main panel. The 20% backfeed rule in the code limits the solar inverter to 4.8kW on a 125A panel. A small panel like that is a real detriment to the future sales value of your house. .........

I am using Enphase microinverters. The inverter capacity is 6.6 kW and I am backfeeding to a subpanel with a 200 Amp bus bar. I am well within the 240 Amps of breakers allowed by the rule as I understand it. That subpanel will probably be fed by a 60 or 80 Amp breaker.
I am not worried about the resale value being affected by a new 125 Amp service panel. The location and neighborhood are the biggest factors affecting value. It is a significant improvement over the 100 Amp Zinsco panel that is there now. My biggest load is a 50 Amp dual electric oven and that goes to another 200 Amp rated subpanel.

[J.P.M.]

I think it is going to come in at $2.50 per Watt. The only remaining expenses are service panel change out, which I estimate at $2,000 and a few hundred dollars for PGE application. my last bill was $270 and 1.0 mWhrs.

Thank you.

[solarix]

What inverter are you planning to use? 7.9kW of power is too much backfeed for a 125A main panel. The 20% backfeed rule in the code limits the solar inverter to 4.8kW on a 125A panel. A small panel like that is a real detriment to the future sales value of your house. Do whatever it takes to upgrade to 200A. You won't be sorry. And do it as part of the solar project and you can claim the 26% tax credit on that too.

[Ampster]

$$$ ?

I think it is going to come in at $2.50 per Watt. The only remaining expenses are service panel change out, which I estimate at $2,000 and a few hundred dollars for PGE application. my last bill was $270 and 1.0 mWhrs.

[J.P.M.]

$$$ ?

[Ampster]

We recently purchased a new home in Kenwood CA and the first priority was putting solar on the roof. My house faces Southeast with ocassional shading from some trees and a chimney. I was fortunate to find a local resource that connected me to someone who would draw a set of plans to submit to Sonoma County. We settled on a 7.9 kW system since that was the maximum we could fit on that face of the roof. I found a reasonable price on Mission 345 Watt panels from EcoDirect. Conveniently they had a supplier with a nearby warehouse. The balance of the system I purchased from CED Greentech. We used IronRidge SR1000 rails and their standoffs.
My permit from Sonoma County includes a new main service panel and two subpanels. One of those subpanels will become my essenial loads panel when I reinstall the Outback Skybox I removed from our prior home. The main service panel is a 100 Amp Zinsco panel that is a known fire hazard. Initially I had planned on a new 200 Amp service panel but susequently decided a like for like replacement would be more expedient after consulting my electrician. A like for like replacement allows me to use a 125 Amp service panel in the same location as the original Zinsco. A rule from PG&E would have required me to locate an upgraded panel 36 inches away from an existing natural gas riser. That would have required a new service drop and possibly a transformer upgrade. Those were expenses and delay causing contingencies which I wanted to avoid.
The panel installation was completed last week and I am still waiting for PG&E to pick a date for my electician to do the service panel swap out. I have already wired the two subpanels.