New to Solar, Did I price this wrong?

[stevepriority]

OK, so I'm new to solar, but have found several sites that sell the panels for about $1 per watt. Then I found the solaredge se500a-us-u for $1187.

If I go with 5kw of paneling and this inverter, then I'm right around $6100. I have been browsing the site here and see people mentioning $3 per watt. Is that other $2 the price they are paying for the installers?

Does anyone here just buy their own panels and inverters and have someone else install the system? Is that a cheaper way to go?

What am I missing that all you guys are paying so much per watt?

[Logan005]

will be hard to get an installer who sells his own line of panels, to install your bargain equipment. and if you did he could not offer any warranty, on a product he did not sell you. It would not make sense to him to take the job and work with equipment he is not familiar with, even if he has a relationship with local CODE, he would look like a fool for taking the job.

[stevepriority]

What about getting an electrician to do the install? Does literally nobody do installs only?

[inetdog]

What about getting an electrician to do the install? Does literally nobody do installs only?

You might find a local electrician who would undertake the job, but they would likely want somebody else to do the roof mounts and racking.
The typical residential (or commercial) electrician does not have experience with solar PV and the set of NEC rules that apply only to it.

[sensij]

If you spend more time browsing the forum, you may find some DIY threads in which the material costs typically come out to ~$2 /W, once you include wires, conduit, racking, mounts, flashing, sealant, breaker, tools, etc. For SolarEdge, in particular, you have to add the costs of optimizers... the inverter alone might be only 50-60% of the total cost of the necessary SolarEdge equipment.

[SunEagle]

What about getting an electrician to do the install? Does literally nobody do installs only?

1.If a person has the skill and understanding of all the local codes to install a pv system.

2.Meet all of your POCO's requirements to connect to their grid.

3.And finally have the required certification to perform the installation.

Then you can probably save money.

What you still will not have is any warranty on the installation. It would all fall onto your shoulders to replace or repair anything that may break or fail.

[cebury]

1.If a person has the skill and understanding of all the local codes to install a pv system.

2.Meet all of your POCO's requirements to connect to their grid.

3.And finally have the required certification to perform the installation.

Then you can probably save money.

What you still will not have is any warranty on the installation. It would all fall onto your shoulders to replace or repair anything that may break or fail.

And usually most people who have the intellect, time, and drive to have all 3 of above in place, they usually just go and start their own installation company. So yeah, they are hard to find. Best bet is a moonlighter in order to save the $1/watt to take on all the liability yourself. Worth it to some....


After seeing the install on my home, no question I Could've done it myself. But like all things I take on diy it takes me 2-10 times longer and at some point time is money unless you are unemployed.

[DaveDE2]

You also have to pay for a building permit and taxes and maybe a structural engineer to assess your roof integrity and perhaps even reroofing. My power company is also charging me $750 to replace my meter with a net meter. I'm doing the installation myself for about $1.40/w before the ITC but I've put a ton of time into researching everything, swinging deals with vendors, and I'm still learning and undecided about a few things such as going with SolarEdge vs SMA, etc. At this point it's sort of a hobby for me I guess. I think once the know-how is acquired the installation is mostly grunt work but I'll know better in a month or so once I do the job. Your average electrician would be pretty clueless on how to install the system I would think.

[Sunstar]

check "Jesses DIY panel" thread!!

[stevepriority]

check "Jesses DIY panel" thread!!

Where do I find this?

[Sunstar]

Where do I find this?

https://www.solarpaneltalk.com/forum...olar-panels-aa Scroll and you'll find Jesses DIY Panel