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Is it worth the solar panels I'm getting?
(lemmy.world)
I'm sorry for posting this here. There isn't a solar panel instance, nor did I see anything for electricians. I know there's been a lot of gripe with certain solar companies (solgen being in litigation, and others) but I didn't hear much about freedom forever, since they're new to Seattle area where I'm doing this. Reddit seems to hate this company. But the price seems alright. I'm paying $22k for 7.4kw but getting it down to 15k after the state stipend. Less than $3 a watt which I'm guessing is really good. I'm planning to pay it off in 2 or 3 years. Not the full 25 which will cost me so much more. Can anyone point me in the right direction and if I'm making the right decision?
So long as you understand that you're paying out the ass for a company to do it. It's actually very simple to do yourself, and if you're willing to do it yourself for $20,000 you can get 20 KW of solar panels, 12 KW of inverter output and 32 KWh of battery storage from signature solar.
It's not difficult to do, it's not difficult to do properly and to code and safely. The amount that these people charge for the labor is fucking asinine and wildly out of line with the difficulty of the work done.
I have at this point installed three solar systems two for myself and one for a friend all of them have been inspected by Master electricians and passed and the only information I used was solar DIY Forum posts and YouTube videos
Mam that is tempting. I'm an electrician but I never dove into photovoltaics.
If you have a good handle on DC systems and inverters it's not that bad. Hardest part in my experience is figuring things out with your power company if you're staying on grid.
Also at least in the us, check your town and state for rebates and such. A lot of the time these scummy solar companies are double dipping, charging you 20k and also getting a couple k from the gov through solar programs.
Yeah it's WAY WAY WAY easier if you DON'T grid tie. Off grid inverters with battery are the way to go. they are basically just a UPS on steroids they can take the grid as an input but they will never feed back into it. Meaning your power company need not be involved at all thankfully.
Honestly you really don't need to be all that familiar with the DC Systems either. There's so many amazing resources out there that will literally hold your hand through the whole process. What kind of cut-offs you need to have, what type of Breakers and where. Pass that just don't swap positive with negative and you're basically good to go it's a shockingly simple system which is why it's so disgusting how much they charge to install it
OK I want to look into doing it myself. Where would I start with the resources?
My only reason I wanted to tie to grid is to get in on the NEM that my local energy company offers. A 1 to 1 net metering. I live in Seattle and getting that energy back in the winter is worth it for me
Lots of states are turning hostile towards metered solar, I have no doubt Washington will eventually join them so it might not be long-term a good idea. As for resources https://diysolarforum.com/ has a ton as does https://www.youtube.com/@WillProwse
As for equipment i can't recommend signature solar enough. I've had plenty of problems with the FedEx freight shipping but they've always been good about making sure everything is taken care of if there's any damage without much fuss (always take pictures of even the smallest box damage on delivery)
For example with a goal of about 20k spent This bundle gets you 12Kw of inverter output and 30Kwh of batteries for 11k. Then just grab two Of these solar panel pallets for 28Kw of panels.
Now ofc in summer you will never use that much BUT you should be sizing your array to account for the winter months rather than solar. If you indeed want to go grid tie you could get one of their bundles with the larger 12k single unit as I'm pretty it can backfeed
As the other guy said, the only hard parts for you will be to negotiate staying on the grid or cutting off completely.
I ran all the numbers and you are paying a ridiculous price for solar. You will see it pay it self off in 50 years, which I doubt you will care about at all once you are 50 years older or giving the house to your next of kin.
What numbers? I ran the numbers to purchase 18 panels with IQ8+ micro inverters, the solar edge inverter, the infrastructure and misc and it came out to just $3-4k under the $15k I'll be paying. That $3-4k covers will be the cost of install and to get me onto PSE's last few 1 to 1 net metering programs.
Your screenshot shows 20k spent. I'm assuming you mean after federal tax rebate. As for what numbers
For example with a goal of about 20k spent This bundle gets you 12Kw of inverter output and 30Kwh of batteries for 11k. Then just grab two Of these solar panel pallets for 28Kw of panels. Or Alternatively go smaller with just one pallet and save a bit. Then ofc you will get the 30% federal tax credit on top of everything
So far as i can see from your invoice you won't have any battery storage, your inverter is less than 4k output. So for the same price you could get 3x the inverter capacity, actually have battery, meaning even during a complete blackout you would still be able to have power, and get 3x as much solar array. Or you could get a similarly sized system for a fraction of the price. EG4 also has a larger inverter than can do the metering if you want that so could trade the 2x pallets for 1x with backfeed inverter
OK that's amazing. Thank you for this information. Yes with the rebate I'm paying $15k.
That was my concern, if I do it myself would I still get the rebate. I'll call PSE on Monday and ask if I will get the rebate and if I can also opt into the 1 to 1 net metering.
You can, they require full wiring diagrams for approval and inspection by a master electrician. One of the setups i did was for PSE in Washington. Federal tax credit counts as well in diy
I'm taking my master exam in 3 weeks lol. How I know so little about photovoltaics is embarrassing. But I can get a diagram and design built easily enough. I'll call them Monday to discuss what they need.
There's honestly little to learn, it's a DC system so it's a lot more straightforward than some of the nasty that can happen with AC neutral and grounds where and when to bond etc. Positive and negative, use an appropriate sized dc breaker, have a cutoff switch. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Funny enough it's the ac systems I'm comfortable with. Thanks again for all the advice.