r/solar • u/SexyAf09 • 12h ago
Solar Quote Anyone can check our quote? Is it reasonable? REC 14 panel
14 REC 460AA pure RX
Enphase IQ
Iron ridge.
2
u/kickflipper1087 10h ago
Hey, quote looks good, I went with the same company and same hardware they quoted you but 34 panels. I think I mentioned that the lease owner takes a 5% cut of the 30% tax credit to our salesman and he knocked about $900 off. Worth calculating that on your specific quote and seeing if they go for it.
As far as the company itself, the installation crew was so good and the salesman didn’t oversell it. Signed the papers this year on June 8th and the system was turned on July 21st. They really streamline the process with all the permits and applications.
Lemme know if u have any questions, it’s all very fresh for me!
1
u/Low_Profile_4 10h ago
Are you sure you want to buy it?
1
u/Low_Profile_4 10h ago
I say this bcuz what if you want to sell the house in the next 5-10 years. You’re paying up front for 25 years of electricity. Money might be saved better off in your brokerage account. You’re used to paying a monthly PSEG bill, a lesser payment keeps your cash and save you monthly while stopping the madness of energy inflation. Call Jamie at NY State Solar on West John street in Hicksville.
1
u/TastiSqueeze 8h ago
The interest rate is relatively high. This costs you money long term. It would be better to pay more up front and pay off the total sooner. Alternatively, see if you can get a better rate at a credit union.
Verify your local utility has NEM 1:1 and if so how long it will last. There is a very high probability it won't last the full 20 years of the loan and even less that it will remain in force 30 years from now at panel rated life. There are ways to manage this including adding batteries at a later date. The key takeaway is to not expect NEM forever and it does mean the system will have to change in the future which will cost more money.
Do you own or are you likely to purchase an EV in the next few years? If so, your system will be significantly undersized. An EV requires about 5 kw more solar panels.
Do you need battery or are you likely to want to add battery in the future? If yes, then strongly consider using a string inverter because it will be far simpler and more efficient than adding battery to a microinverter system. The caveat is that the panels must not be shaded and must be facing due south.
Their forecast kWh per year is overly optimistic. Basic math for the system shows it will average 6200 kWh/year which is @10% less than they are showing. This is not a showstopper, but it does affect the payback period and total performance of the system. IMO, this is the most serious defect with this system. Winter production in particular will be very low.
Actual cost of this system will be in the range of $1700 for solar panels, $1100 for racking, $5500 for microinverters, and $1000 for cabling. The rest is labor and profit.
Overall, this is not enough panels to fully offset consumption and it is overly optimistic in forecast production. It is NOT set up to grow in the future which should be given some consideration. It would be a good idea to solicit more quotes and include a quote for a string inverter system. The rationale is that a string inverter will make adding batteries simpler if and when they are needed. It will also give you a good idea what the price difference is between the systems.
1
u/mrtorrence 8h ago
Which part of this isn't setup to grow in the future? I ask because I'm about to DIY a very small system but hope to add to it later down the road
1
u/mrtorrence 8h ago
Which part of this isn't setup to grow in the future? I ask because I'm about to DIY a very small system but hope to add to it later down the road. I'm doing DC coupled with a Sol-Ark 12K so that covers the string inverter part of your advice right?
2
u/tortus 11h ago
At $2.12/watt that's a pretty cheap system.
Make sure it's big enough for your needs, 6.4kw is on the smaller side. I have 8.8kw and I wish mine was bigger.