I just got quoted in NY for tied grid Costco system/ Sunrun / grape solar system

[Moray111]

True cost $33,533 ; 16,407 KWH ; grape solar : upfront cost ( cash through Costco ) $57,500
Can anybody tell me if we are on the money ? Company is Sunrun .
I don't have more info . I will add as I get it .

[solar pete]

Howdy Moray111 and welcome to Solar Panel Talk. Err well your not even close to a good deal there I am sorry to say. Dont do anything until you have done a bunch more reading. There is a lot of good info here on this forum and at our site sponsor www.solarreviews.com

We also need more info re the system they are offering you, is it a system that will produce 16,407 kWh (kilowatt hours, e.g the unit of electricity you buy from your poco) or is it a 16.4kW system, keep reading and good luck with it, cheers

[J.P.M.]

You're probably paying too much, but there's no way to ell without more and correct info. I'd follow Solar Pete's suggestion and then ask informed questions. FWIW, from my experience, Sunrun is one of the solar bottom feeders.

[Moray111]

True cost $33,533 ; 16,407 KWH ; grape solar : upfront cost ( cash through Costco ) $57,500
Can anybody tell me if we are on the money ? Company is Sunrun .
I don't have more info . I will add as I get it .

It said they make $40,000 in labor on that so it's probably just one 5350 system the produces 16,407 . Very strange .

[Moray111]

Upside is I have another company coming wensday to give another quote with high marks . Thanks . I thought so .

[J.P.M.]

It said they make $40,000 in labor on that so it's probably just one 5350 system the produces 16,407 . Very strange .

Probably not. Strange indeed. Your solar ignorance is showing. Do not commit or buy anything without more education and information. Read " Solar Power Your Home for Dummies", a free net download or ~ $20 for an updated version.

[foo1bar]

True cost $33,533 ; 16,407 KWH ; grape solar : upfront cost ( cash through Costco ) $57,500
Can anybody tell me if we are on the money ? Company is Sunrun .

I'm guessing 16407kwh per year.
$33533 up front and lifetime of 20 years would mean about $0.10/kwh
Probably about what you're paying for electricity in NY. (maybe more than what you pay - it's been a long time since I've paid a utility bill from NY so I don't remember the best.)

What size is the system? (How many watts or kw? - not kwh)

I'm going to *guess* it's about 13000W (13.0kW)
13kW would be around 16000kwh/year.
And if you were at ~$3/W, you would pay ~$39K before taxes and incentives.

Based on your $57.5K --> $33.5K there are some local/state benefits beyond the 30% federal tax credit.

All in all looks like it's probably a good deal for sunrun - not such a good deal for you.
$3 per DC-watt is a good price point. But it's not probably pricepoint where you'd get an offer with SunRun or Solarcity - they have a LOT of overhead in marketting and sales.
$3/W is low enough it possibly makes sense for you and high enough the installer can still make a reasonable profit.

[Moray111]

Costcoalso gives 1,200 benifit .
Here's more info ;
Array 1 manufactorer REC panels (22 of them ) REC280TPBLK
Array 2 REC ;; (9of them ) rec280tpblk
Array 3 REC280tp blk (13 of them )
Array 4 rec280tpblk
Invertors abb Ohi-5000-outp-us-a. 240volt
Invertor ( 2nd one ) uno.7.6-tL.out D-s-us-A
My annual usage is 17,132
System size is 15.4 KPW
Energy offset 96%

[foo1bar]

Costcoalso gives 1,200 benifit .

Translation: Sunrun has increased their price by $2000 so can give you a "$1200 benefit"
(Sorry - was that too cynical of me?)

($57500 - $1200) * 70% is still more than $33533
So what else is missing?
I'm guessing there's some other incentive/rebate/tax credit as well.

Here's more info ;
Array 1 manufactorer REC panels (22 of them ) REC280TPBLK
Array 2 REC ;; (9of them ) rec280tpblk
Array 3 REC280tp blk (13 of them )
Array 4 rec280tpblk

How many modules in array 4?
11?

[quote]System size is 15.4 KPW[quote]
"KPW" isn't a unit of measurement that's used for solar systems.
Was that supposed to be KW?
I'll assume it is.
15.4kW at $3/W is $46200.
That's $10K less than sunrun (only $7K after take into account the fed tax credit - but $7K is IMO still quite significant.)


BUT lets back up a bit.
Seems reasonable for upstate NY that you will produce 16000KWH each year (depending on angles those panels are facing)
Let's assume that's a little conservative for the first year, but since things degrade it'll be reasonable average for next 20 years.
20 years * 16000kwh is 320MWh.
$46k after 30% fed credit would be about $32k.
$32k/320MWH is about $.10/kwh
If there are other incentives that number comes down and becomes more attractive/viable.

How much do you currently spend per kwh for electricity?
How much of that will go away if you went with solar?

Or put another way - if you spend $32K now on a system how much of your monthly (or yearly) utility bill goes away? $20? $50? $100?
My guess would be around $100/month.
Which means a system that costs $32k after tax credits wouldn't be a wise choice.
BUT there may be other ways it becomes viable. I know someone in another state where they sell their entire production for $.35/kwh and buy their entire consumption for ~$.09/kwh. (Which does make the financials work out fairly well)
Or maybe there are local/state incentives that bring it down enough that it's worthwhile.
Personally I think a 10 year "payback" is the point where it's just not worth the investment.
But it's your money to do with as you choose.