New 7.2Kw System - Infinity Solar

[Kev]

Accepted a proposal today from Infinity Solar out of Orange, CA for a 7.2Kw grid tied system. Proposed system will be 18 REC400AA Pure panels and 18 Enphase IQ8 microInverters. Price before rebate is $3.09/w.
Had received 11 proposals from 9 different companies. Prices ranged from $18K to $34K. Should be online in August.

[Mike 134]

Keep us posted,

[J.P.M.]

What tipped the choice to Infinity Solar ?

[Kev]

What tipped the choice to Infinity Solar ?

Quite frankly it was their Yelp reviews that was the final contribution in their favor. They are a local electrical firm that got into solar more than 10 years ago and my feeling is that they will be around for a good long time. I found them being recommended on our local Facebook group from 3 or 4 different people. They also include a policy with SolarInsure.

[Kev]

So we had the site survey on Tuesday. Two obstacles came up that may cause me to look at another proposal.

1. They said they could only fit 14 panels on the particular roof plane that their proposal had had 18. Now they want to put panels on the north facing plane which is less than 90% irradiance compared to the south side, and, it is the street side which takes away from the aesthetics of the project.
2. They want to remove the concrete tiles under the array and replace with composition shingles which adds $5500 (25%) to the cost.

In discussing #1, the site survey tech said he needed to leave 3ft at the edge of the roof. I disagreed and told him I would ask the city what is allowed. City said we could go up to the side edge as long as there is one 3ft path elsewhere on the roof plane where the array is located and an additional path on an adjoining plane, which there are.

In discussing #2 they said they are very conservative with the roof and may consider working with the concrete ti!es. He asked me if the composition roof was a job killer. I said it was 50/50. Will wait to see what they come up with. If I go with a different contractor it will be a Sunpower contractor.

[Mike 134]

I don't know if I saw this on this forum or another but it's what my utility uses to show which roof planes are best to worst.

Project Sunroof

[foggysail]

I don't know if I saw this on this forum or another but it's what my utility uses to show which roof planes are best to worst.

Project Sunroof

Mike--- I just checked out Project Sunroof, it is years behind (2018) with its satellite view of my property. Since then I spent over $25K for tree removal. If the satellite view was up to date, I believe it would be a great site.

[J.P.M.]

So we had the site survey on Tuesday. Two obstacles came up that may cause me to look at another proposal.

1. They said they could only fit 14 panels on the particular roof plane that their proposal had had 18. Now they want to put panels on the north facing plane which is less than 90% irradiance compared to the south side, and, it is the street side which takes away from the aesthetics of the project.
2. They want to remove the concrete tiles under the array and replace with composition shingles which adds $5500 (25%) to the cost.

In discussing #1, the site survey tech said he needed to leave 3ft at the edge of the roof. I disagreed and told him I would ask the city what is allowed. City said we could go up to the side edge as long as there is one 3ft path elsewhere on the roof plane where the array is located and an additional path on an adjoining plane, which there are.

In discussing #2 they said they are very conservative with the roof and may consider working with the concrete ti!es. He asked me if the composition roof was a job killer. I said it was 50/50. Will wait to see what they come up with. If I go with a different contractor it will be a Sunpower contractor.

On #1:, What's the slope of the north facing roof ? If it's more than a few degrees, the value of the output may not be able to justify the cost of the panels.
Also, I'd Confirm in writing what someone at the city told you. Seriously. The city might not cover it, but other authorities/jurisdictions like a fire jurisdiction may have other ideas.

On # 2, They want to do that, a.) Because it makes life easy for them - they won't need to take time being careful not to break as many tiles. b.) It's a rip off. I've had my entire north roof (1,000 ft^2) repapered for ~$1,800, that is, all the concrete tile removed, all the old paper removed and replaced, and all the original tile put back. That's a lot less work than tearing off and scrapping 350 or 400 ft^2 of tile. $5,500 they're taking you to the cleaners and building in future problems that don't need to happen.

We've had lots of discussions around here about replacing concrete tiles with composition shingles. For many reasons it is an unnecessary action that only benefits the installer and creates real potential problems for the owner for no real benefit whatsoever except to the vendor who doesn't need to be as careful, but gets to charge the customer for the sloppy unprofessionalism. Nice racket. See prior threads for details.

There are ~ 550 single family homes in my HOA, all of which are either flat concrete or clay mission style tiles. Of those, ~ 155 and counting have PV arrays on them. None have comp shingles under the arrays. I'm the guy on the HOA that reviews and recommends PV installs to the Arch. Review Committee and I visit each jobsite while the install is going on. At one time or another, most every vendor I've dealt with has bitched, moaned and swore on a stack of bibles that PV on flat concrete or mission tile is impossible. Well, there are 155 impossibilities in my HOA. Some of them done by the bitching vendors. Also, until it expired, the prices per STC W for stuff in my HOA was pretty much in line with other installs in San Diego county meaning installs over rigid tiles didn't cost more (except if the customer got screwed and conned into a comp job)

As for your situation, Yelp is opinions from people who probably know less about roof top PV than you do. Why people treat that crap like gospel is beyond me.

Great vendor: They didn't know the roof was concrete before they quoted it ? Did they even bother to so much as look at a Google map much less a site visit ? Nice surprise on the $5,500 ripoff.

On Sunpower: You know they're not making panels any more, right ? You also know that panels are a commodity, right ? Did you get a quote from Sunpower already ?

Overall, given what you write, I'd look for another vendor. This reads to me like a combination of hit & run and bait and switch.

Take what you want of the above. Scrap the rest.

[foggysail]

Great post JPM!

[Kev]

OK. So got my deposit back from Infinity Solar. Signed a new contract with a Sunpower franchise for a 6.8 kW system composed of 16 of their 425A panels/inverters. New project cost before all rebates is $3.80/W and drops to $2.67/W after all rebates.
Site survey has been completed. Tech said they could fit all 16 panels on preferred roof plane. They will work with existing roof tiles. Tech said they could fit a 17th panel if desired.

[silversaver]

Glad to see new panel has greater output. I had 28 X255W Bosch panel first year output 11,500kWh and now after 8+ years down to 10,500kWh. Panels are facing SWW

[J.P.M.]

Great post JPM!

Opinions vary.

[J.P.M.]

OK. So got my deposit back from Infinity Solar. Signed a new contract with a Sunpower franchise for a 6.8 kW system composed of 16 of their 425A panels/inverters. New project cost before all rebates is $3.80/W and drops to $2.67/W after all rebates.
Site survey has been completed. Tech said they could fit all 16 panels on preferred roof plane. They will work with existing roof tiles. Tech said they could fit a 17th panel if desired.

Who is the new proposed vendor ? How did you wind up with 42% rebates/tax credits ?
Read the fine print and get all your questions answered before install.
Then, trust but verify and be prepared for a surprise or two.
FWIW, I sat on my concrete tile roof, out of the way and watched, kept my mouth shut but not afraid to ask questions if I thought something was amiss.

[Kev]

Where do you get 42% from???

[J.P.M.]

Where do you get 42% from???

Apologies for my error. Brain flatulence. Question should be: How did you wind up with 30% rebates/tax credits ?