Price paid per watt

[urthling]

That's the same outfit that quoted me $4.70 but with Enphase M250 Micro-inverters and 15 LG280 panels. Shouldn't be $1/W difference and I'm a little disappointed that I have to go thru the song and dance routine to get them off their artificially high initial bid. Thanks for the info.

I was quoted about $3.70 as well for a 4.5 kW system with SolarWorld and Enphase. I also had to go through a few rounds to get them to drop the price. I feel like I can ask them to go lower but I despise having to go more than one round to ask them for a best offer. The only significant thing that sets them apart from other installers is their 15 year warranty on the system, as opposed to the usual 10. Are the extra five years worth the additional $1000 or so from the next lowest bid?

[russ]

I despise having to go more than one round to ask them for a best offer.

Guys I worked with in India would ask for 20 rounds - they did get the best price almost every time. Don't be afraid to ask multiple times.

[macholini]

I was quoted about $3.70 as well for a 4.5 kW system with SolarWorld and Enphase. I also had to go through a few rounds to get them to drop the price. I feel like I can ask them to go lower but I despise having to go more than one round to ask them for a best offer. The only significant thing that sets them apart from other installers is their 15 year warranty on the system, as opposed to the usual 10. Are the extra five years worth the additional $1000 or so from the next lowest bid?

I also got a $3.70/W quote from them for a 9.9 kW LG300 system with 2 SMA inverters, supposedly after a $3000 corporate discount. The thing that put me off though was that their sales rep was pushing Enphase pretty hard and bad-mouthing alternatives (e.g. saying they've had numerous issues with SolarEdge), even though I told him I wasn't interested in Enphase (when I asked how many SolarEdge systems they had installed, it turned out it was just 4). He also kept forwarding me internal email threads with his superiors, where he had referred to me as "that guy". Anyway, maybe this sales rep was just inexperienced but I got a bad vibe out of them. I ended up with another installer who initially matched their price and later even went lower after I suggested that I might be open to getting a few more panels for the right price (I ended up with an 11.4 kW system of 38 LG300 panels and 2 SMA inverters @ $3.50/W pre-incentives).

[urthling]

Guys I worked with in India would ask for 20 rounds - they did get the best price almost every time. Don't be afraid to ask multiple times.

Guess it's too much to ask for them to provide the best pricing after asking once, eh? =] I guess they know some people don't want to play the game, and will accept the first or second offer.

I also got a $3.70/W quote from them for a 9.9 kW LG300 system with 2 SMA inverters, supposedly after a $3000 corporate discount. The thing that put me off though was that their sales rep was pushing Enphase pretty hard and bad-mouthing alternatives (e.g. saying they've had numerous issues with SolarEdge), even though I told him I wasn't interested in Enphase (when I asked how many SolarEdge systems they had installed, it turned out it was just 4). He also kept forwarding me internal email threads with his superiors, where he had referred to me as "that guy". Anyway, maybe this sales rep was just inexperienced but I got a bad vibe out of them. I ended up with another installer who initially matched their price and later even went lower after I suggested that I might be open to getting a few more panels for the right price (I ended up with an 11.4 kW system of 38 LG300 panels and 2 SMA inverters @ $3.50/W pre-incentives).

Yah, my guy flat out told me that they would not install SolarEdge since SunRun explicitly forbade them to do so (even though SolarEdge told me SunRun is a SolarEdge dealer). However, he may not be completely inaccurate about the issues with SolarEdge since I heard from another dealer regarding customer service and firmware issues.

[rbtripathi]

I'me going with sunwork as they quoted $3.1/w for a 4KW system with REC panels and Enphase inverters. If you average bill is less than $130 they are best option in Bay Area I think.

[JCP]

I'me going with sunwork as they quoted $3.1/w for a 4KW system with REC panels and Enphase inverters. If you average bill is less than $130 they are best option in Bay Area I think.

$3.10 is a new low for the Bay area, especially with Enphase inverters. Panel and inverters alone probably cost around $1.50 a watt together. Personally, I'd be a bit worried about having volunteers do the work. If the result is good though, then you really can't beat that price.

[rbtripathi]

$3.10 is a new low for the Bay area, especially with Enphase inverters. Panel and inverters alone probably cost around $1.50 a watt together. Personally, I'd be a bit worried about having volunteers do the work. If the result is good though, then you really can't beat that price.

Volunteers go through a training session before work. I've also signed up as volunteer. Volunteers mostly do labor work under guidance of a an expert. Sunwork has 4.99 review rating at solarreviews from 69 reviews.

http://www.solarreviews.com/installers/sunwork-renewable-energy-projects-reviews/

[whiteboxr]

I also got a $3.70/W quote from them for a 9.9 kW LG300 system with 2 SMA inverters, supposedly after a $3000 corporate discount. The thing that put me off though was that their sales rep was pushing Enphase pretty hard and bad-mouthing alternatives (e.g. saying they've had numerous issues with SolarEdge), even though I told him I wasn't interested in Enphase (when I asked how many SolarEdge systems they had installed, it turned out it was just 4). He also kept forwarding me internal email threads with his superiors, where he had referred to me as "that guy". Anyway, maybe this sales rep was just inexperienced but I got a bad vibe out of them. I ended up with another installer who initially matched their price and later even went lower after I suggested that I might be open to getting a few more panels for the right price (I ended up with an 11.4 kW system of 38 LG300 panels and 2 SMA inverters @ $3.50/W pre-incentives).

Hey macholini, could you PM me the sales rep name that was pushy & bad-mouthing, I'm going to give them a call for a quote and want to avoid him. Could you also give me the installer you ended up getting the $3.50/w from? Thanks

[macholini]

Hey macholini, could you PM me the sales rep name that was pushy & bad-mouthing, I'm going to give them a call for a quote and want to avoid him. Could you also give me the installer you ended up getting the $3.50/w from? Thanks

Done.

[whiteboxr]

Got it! Thanks macholini!

[CA_Tom]

$3.10 is a new low for the Bay area, especially with Enphase inverters. Panel and inverters alone probably cost around $1.50 a watt together. Personally, I'd be a bit worried about having volunteers do the work. If the result is good though, then you really can't beat that price.

At each work site they have at least 1 employee, and then the homeowner and other volunteers to help out with the grunt work. When I volunteered it was 1 volunteer (me), the homeowner, and an employee.

A lot of the work goes much faster/easier with a helper or two, and the helper's work can be easily supervised.
For example, we spent at least 15 minutes just removing the packaging material from the modules, putting wire retainer clips on, and stacking them in the garage. Work that doesn't need any skill or expertise, but needs to be done.
A slightly more skilled job was putting the rails onto the legs. Each of us worked on getting the bolts slid into the rails and roughly lined up with the legs. Then when it came time to fasten the rails to the legs the three of us worked together on the rail - one at each end, and the third near the ridge giving direction ("A little higher on the east side")

The employee did most of the conduit bending (requires a little skill/experience).
And I believe he did or checked all the electrical connections. As a volunteer I have no problem holding conduit in place or fastening it down with a conduit strap. Even bolting the inverter's bracket to the wall doesn't worry me. But I'm not doing electrical work on someone else's home and taking on that liability.

[solarx2]

Tile vs asphalt roof

I mentioned a cement tile roof install in my specs earlier. I always assume (maybe erroneously) that all installs mentioned here are all typical roof mounts (with no upcharges in that region) unless called out otherwise by the person reporting the specs.

My installer offered the same price for standard asphalt shingles as they did for cement tile. Not sure if that difference is an upcharge in other areas but tile roofs are very common here so they probably just hide the install cost differences in the overall price.

The quotes I initially received assumed an asphalt roof. When I mentioned a cement flat tile roof, the price increased about $800.

[russ]

The quotes I initially received assumed an asphalt roof. When I mentioned a cement flat tile roof, the price increased about $800.

Different racking system -

[Sabo]

Let's try this again. I posted yesterday afternoon but it disappeared not long after that. I got an email notice today that advised me someone else replied to the thread so my post must have been here at one point if I got auto-subscribed to the thread.

Anyway, I'm a new member but have been lurking and reading for quite a while before I decide to join up.

I'm in Gilbert, AZ USA. (metro Phoenix area) and my purchased system should go online tomorrow around noon.

6.63kW
26 255W Hanwha panels.
Power One PVI-6000 Inverter w/monitoring installed inside garage.
Cement tile roof with 48 stand-offs.
22 degrees tilt facing south, no shading issues.
Salt River Project utility grid-tie system
System should produce 120% of my current needs, I over-bought on capacity as I know my electrical needs will increase in the next 2 years. Estimated break-even is just over 8 years.

$2.71 per watt before incentives, $18,000 paid up front.
$1.68 per watt after all incentives and discounts applied. ($11,170 final price)

SRP is scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning to sign-off on the system and I’ll be producing electricity soon!


---Mod Note: Some posts which contain URL links or otherwise trigger a filter are now automatically listed for "moderation", which means that the post will not be visible to regular members until approved by a moderator.
Both of your posts were diverted to moderation. You will just have to be patient in the future.
This was a necessary measure to reduce spam load on the forum.
PS: A moderator or admin would still be able to see your post and reply to it, without releasing it from moderation first. That might explain the email you received.

I live in Phoenix AZ and I am in the process of getting quotes ...would you mind sending me a pm with the companies info?...It would be greatly appreciated...thanks so much!

[solarbayarea]

Would any of you guys in the Bay Area, PM let and let me know who you went with for solar installation and tips on panels etc?

I am new to the forum and am trying to make a decision by the end of this week so I can get the 2014 tax credits.

I think I need what Dat basically got.

An upgraded main panel from 125 to 200. Around 10 kwh hour system with either LG or Canadian Solar Panels. I have gotten bids from one installer that range over 30k for the high end to less than 20k for less efficient panels and inverters.

Any help is greatly appreciated!!!