theoldwizard1
Well-known member
Anyone know what a "good" cost is for a grid tie system in kWh/$$$, especially DIY vs "installed" ?
Also any good websites.
Also any good websites.
I had them come to my house 12 year payback. That was grid tied, 9600w system. Couldn't pull the trigger on that, Would have cost me 28k deduct 30% tax credit.Anyone know what a "good" cost is for a grid tie system in kWh/$$$, especially DIY vs "installed" ?
Also any good websites.
I had them come to my house 12 year payback. That was grid tied, 9600w system. Couldn't pull the trigger on that, Would have cost me 28k deduct 30% tax credit.
Also any good websites.
Solar contractors are charging from $5 to $8 per watt. You can DIY for under $2.
Also, consider enough panels to tier-clip. In other words, if you have a low KW rate for a first tier, a smaller array might supply enough to keep you there, thus keeping your overall utility cost low, rather than buying big enough to supply all of your consumption. It's a balanced way to do it very economically.
Anyone know what a "good" cost is for a grid tie system in kWh/$$$, especially DIY vs "installed" ?
Also any good websites.
OK, here are some numbers for Randy's situation.
Since you are thinking of a ground mount, we need to find the optimum tilt for fixed panels. We are not limited to a roof pitch nor a particular orientation. For your zip code, the optimum angle is 31 degrees from horizontal. Of course, the best azimuth is 180 degrees.
You have given me a yearly electric consumption of 9586 KWatts and an average cost of $0.1638 per kWh.
We use the PVWATTS calculator to estimate the size of a system. It takes into consideration weather and geographic location to estimate solar production given a specific array size and tilt/azimuth for your specific location. It also includes an estimate of efficiencies within the electric equipment chain. This results in an estimate of 6482 watts of solar panels. This does not include any year to year variations, so folks usually spec a slightly bigger system. For now, we won't do that except to spec a system slightly bigger as solar panels are only sold in certain sizes.
We will get some costs from Wholesalesolar.com. They may not be the cheapest, but they are good.
I usually recommend SolarEdge products. With this system panel shading doesn't become a big deal. Its useful on roof mount systems so any shadows due to chimneys or tall landscaping are minimized. Also, if one panel fails, it doesn't take down the whole array.
Since you can prep the panel site to eliminate obstacles, we can go with a little cheaper system. SMA Sunny Boy is the go-to brand for home solar. They also have the advantage of having 2000W of available power in a grid-down situation. Its just a plug beneath the inverter you can plug an extension cord into, but darned useful if you need it.
You need 20 qty 350 watt solar panels, a 7000 watt inverter, plus all the nuts and bolts to make it work. This includes the racking system and has a total price of $11, 425. Shipping not included. It also does not include the racking to ground mount brackets which are an additional $800. Nor does it include the 3" schedule 40 pipe that is common on these systems. You probably need a couple hundred feet of pipe. Pipe ain't cheap either. Commodity price of steel right now is about $0.50/lb. You can maybe buy at $1.00 per pound. The pipe is 7.5 lbs/ft, so lets call that another $1500.
All in, you are at $14255 without any labor, permits, and what not.
You paid 1,570.26 the last 12 months for electricity. Assuming that is the yearly average over time, your payoff is 9 years on a self-installed system. Add in a few thousand for labor, any how you are pushing 15 years payoff if you don't do a self-install.
This assumes you have no breakdowns, storm damage, etc.
Now, there is a federal tax credit of 30%. If you claim the tax credit, your payoff is 6.4 years on a self-installed system. This is just inside the window of where I tell people that solar works for you. The average person keeps a house 7 years. So, its a good measure against pay-off. If you pay to have the system installed, add a few thousand and your payoff is maybe 10 years.
Solar gear is typically warranted for about 10 years and panels for 20 years. So, if your payoff is approaching 15 years or so, you are reaching the useful life of the system and have effectively, going to have to just buy a new one just when you are paying off.
I love solar. However, its just not a good fit for most folks. At my new home location, electricity is about 9.5 cents per KWh. Payoff would be ridiculous.
I am not sure where you got $5 to $8 per watt? I paid $3.49 two years ago from a top of the line contractor with all the bells and whistles. Like I mentioned before, $3 per watt is pretty common and I think you would be hard pressed to get to $2 per watt unless you were using the lowest quality products
I am all for doing most things myself but when it comes to carrying 36 solar panels up on my 2 two story roof and then installing them, I will let the younger guys do it.
For the most part, any new solar customers in California are required to use one of the Time Of Use plans per the net metering 2.0 agreement. The tiered rate system is a thing of the past unless you were grandfathered in.
By the time you wait for solar installs to get down to $2 per watt, the 30% Federal Tax Credit will be history


Not sure if this helps but the average price per panel of an installed system is about $1200, which includes everything.
If you can pickup at a retailer like Solar Boulevard out here in CA, you can get state of the art high-volt panels for about a buck a watt. They've really come down in price.
Your unique situation does not cover everyone nor the average.
I found zero solar companies at $3.49/watt. Good for you!![]()

Oh, and I pay in tier 3 for power - last month was $400, or close to 40cents a kwh. The new AC's doubled our bill.![]()
I didn't get some special deal, that is the going rate, and I am on the high end. Just google it! Here is an example:
![]()
You must be one hell of a negotiator to get bids in the $5 - $8 range when everyone else is around $3
It sounds like you need to sit down with a reputable contractor and get some real estimates/bids. Tier 3 at this time of the year, if you are serviced by SCE, is almost 1,900 kWh in one month. That is some serious usage. How much do you spend annually on electricity?

Not that I am interested in DIY, but you could buy FOUR 300 watt bare panels for less than $2,000 ! Somebody is making a lot of money somewhere !!
Please don't insult. There's nothing wrong with my ability to negotiate. That's just rude and uncalled for.
Yeah, it was something like that - maybe 1700. 3 refers, 2 ac's a reef tank, tv's and computers, pool pump, etc. Normally our bill is a couple of hundred, so annual costs are in the mid-$2K.
We are on the 5-year plan to retire and move out of state. That and the 20-yo roof doesn't make sense to put panels on it. Sometime in the next few years it will get replaced for selling, but I wouldn't be in the house long enough to make panels pay for themselves.
Last time I was looking at this was a couple of years ago - so prices have obviously become more realistic. When I was looking, it was obvious that prices were ridiculously inflated - they would take the federal rebate and ADD it to the quote, then deduct it back off. Very few were what I would consider reputable. Most wanted to put panels on your roof and sell you the power they made at a fixed rate. Foggedaboudit.![]()
Not that I am interested in DIY, but you could buy FOUR 300 watt bare panels for less than $2,000 ! Somebody is making a lot of money somewhere !!
I just did an email exchange if a friend of a friend. His grid tie system has been running for over a year. Just he and his wife and they use very little power. He said his last 3 bills were NEGATIVE ! I wonder how long the PoCo will keep paying HIM !
The Kw that he sells back is in 1/10 or 1/20 of the original value not 1:1 what poco sell you... so if you are paying .10 per kw, you'll be lucky if you get 1 cent.... It's in the fine prints... read it when you get your net meter.
That depends on your PoCo. Some will credit you dollar for dollar, some credit you a depreciated rate. Others give you the wholesale rate. It varies across the country.
Google project sunroof uses google maps to analyze your roof and give you estimates based on your location roof size and angle and the electric utility company.
https://www.google.com/get/sunroof#p=0
California solar contractors are just salivating at the fact that all new homes in 2020 and beyond are required to have a certain number of solar panels installed.
There is going to be some fierce competition, with the result being a drop in the price....or not.
I have some friends with solar and after the initial novelty wore off, they all said that they wouldn't do it again.
I should add that California has mandated that by the year 2045, all electricity has to come from a 'clean energy source'
Almost never, and it won't make business sense for PoCo's to pay you 1:1 at the rate they charge you... that is like giving $$$ away, if you actually follow this solar poiltics, this is one of those little hidden nick nacks for them to agree with the goberment to go solar... they get a piece of this pie...... unless you have a really non-profit environmental oriented PoCo... If that is the case I would see a lot more people with large mass of land jumping to Wind/solar energy generation.
California solar contractors are just salivating at the fact that all new homes in 2020 and beyond are required to have a certain number of solar panels installed.
There is going to be some fierce competition, with the result being a drop in the price....or not.
I have some friends with solar and after the initial novelty wore off, they all said that they wouldn't do it again.
That's an executive order, that can be overturned by any future sane governor. Moonbeam Brown is not sane.
I have some friends with solar and after the initial novelty wore off, they all said that they wouldn't do it again.
There was no insult - note the "beer" emoji after my comment
And for you to say that you received quotes in the $5 to $8 range per watt a couple of years ago, which is when I had my solar installed, is just not believable...
The 100% renewable bill was actually passed by the California state senate and house before being signed by the governor. The executive order was only that the state be carbon neutral as well.