DIY system in CA; 8.68kw system

wow, you have been shopping for solar since 09/2013... finally?

Supplier I'll probably spend the least was buying labels - $22.10 (including shipping)

Other expenses:
permit ($297.31)
sawblade (for cutting alum rails)
conduit reamer
conduit bender
shingle ripper
SS bolts
anti-sieze compound
chalk (to mark locations on roof)
Drill
roof sealant
conduit
wire 8AWG ground
40A breaker
jboxes
6 AWG to panel

and the expenses for a new main panel/meter:
new panel
trenching
2/0 wire
2" PVC conduit
sand
grass seed
stucco repair
irrigation repairs

It isn't much, but why choose P400 optimizers when P300 is what is intended for 60 cell panels?

I'd suggest the P300-5NA4ARS, which has better sealing than the -2 series and has MC4 inputs and outputs.

No. since 08/2014. a little over 4 months.

Took me a month or two of looking at buying a system from an installer.
And then another month of getting the plans created, estimates of solar production, permits pulled, rebates filed for.
Then with the holidays I didn't do much - and now there's a little sale on the SE7600, so I'm making my purchase.

The installation will take me a while as well - I'll be doing it on Saturdays when the roof is dry enough. (and all of us here hope that it isn't dry very often for the next 4+ months)

I don't have a good reason.
I think I'll see about switching to that.
For P300's both models on the website have H4 connections (one is H4 on the input, the other on the output)

If it were you, would you do H4 connectors on the output (are they as easy to do as MC4s? as reliable?)
Or would you spend more (if necessary) for MC4 on both.

I thought you were foobar

Congratulations on your project. A couple of questions/thoughts:

The pricing you found matches the best pricing I've found. I'm sure it is the same vendor. Did you get quotes from other vendors as well?

How did you end up choosing the 280W ($1.00/W)panels? Going to the 270W ($0.95/W) LGs would save you $680 from your vendor and you only lose 310W DC.

Also, not sure what your layout looks like, but did you consider going with heavier rail (XR100) to possibly cut down on the number of roof flashings you'll need to buy/install? I'm going with (30) LG panels/XR100 rail and Quickmount Flashing (not the less expensive E-mount) and I'll have 46 Quickmounts to install and a total racking/flashing material cost of $1782.

-SAM

Because of local rebates (and roof constraints) the LG280's after rebate (and after fed tax incentive) are better choice for me. The rebate is based on the size, so $257 for 270s -> $279 for 280s winds up being <$10/panel more, and an extra 10W at <$1/watt (post-rebate) pays for itself in a fairly short timeframe.

If I went with heavier rail, I could possibly drop a few of the feet/qmpv, but not a lot because I have a bunch of short rows. (2 1-panel, 3 2-panel, 2 4-panel, 1 3-panel landscape, and then the "big" array of 2 rows of 6.)

While you are at it...buy some spare parts now...you will be glad you did down the road.

Those panels and optimizers will not be available in a few years at any price.

I tend to agree with you on the panels, at least if a uniform appearance is important. Electrically, not such a big deal with SolarEdge. I don't see any projectable reason that compatible optimizers will no longer be available for many years. The most likely reason I see is that SolarEdge gets bought up by someone like SolarCity, in the same way that ZEP solar did. As cool as it was, people who have arrays with Zep frames are going to have a hard time replacing or upgrading later.

I didn't...
If 1 panel fails I'll probably just live with the ~3% lower output.
if 2 fail, I'll replace them since I can do that and it'll be fine aesthetically.

If an optimizer fails, I think I'll be able to find a replacement - or if Solaredge is gone (which seems unlikely) I'll either live with the downgraded output, or buy a new inverter and switch part of the array to the new inverter (freeing up a bunch of optimizers to replace failing ones)

Of course it'll be a bigger PITA to diagnose a failed optimizer/panel if Solaredge is gone - since the per-optimizer monitoring makes it easy to see which one isn't responding/performing. But I'll worry about that bridge if we ever come to it.

You need to match the connectors that are on the panels. From the datasheet, it looks like it uses MC4.

I think only the input to the optimizer has to match the panel.
I don't see why the output from the optimizer would have to match anything other than the cables it connects to.
And my question was whether to do H4 or MC4 for the cables and the outputs from the optimizers.

Anyhow, I bought version with MC4 on input and output - so really only an academic discussion.

Suggestions for DIY Installation

Hi,
I am thinking of installing solar myself. The size will be 4.86KwDC (18x270w panels) & enphase micro m-215. I will be installing on a concrete tile roof. I plan to get the panels & components myself. My plan is to 1) have a 'design/permit' service do the drawings. then i can submit to get the city permit. 2) have a licensed electrician do the connection to the main panel. my questions/request for suggestions are:
1) what tile roof hook to use: I see QV hooks (expensive)/creotec hooks - these don't require any filling, etc on the roof, but these are a bit expensive compared to Grace Solar hooks. Suggestion on which is better? Grace hooks are 50% cost of other hook types. OR should I go for different mount - like tile trac (which requires drilling the tile)? I am confident I can do the drill, etc (but would end up breaking some tiles & can replace; but would like to avoid the drilling process). Would love to hear from someone who has done on concrete tile.

2) Has anyone used 'design/permit' services. I see a few offering this type of service for about 300 to 500.

3) Has anyone used licensed electrician to do the electrical connections (the final piece)?

for the answers/suggestions that require name of person or business, please send a PM. Greatly appreciate that.
The bids I got from commercial installers were in the 3.60 to 3.85/watt range (before rebate). I estimate $12 to $13 K if I do the install myself with some help from friends. My main motivation is both satisfaction/fun part of DIY & cost savings.
thanks,