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First off, thanks in advance for all the information I have been able to gather from this forum. It has been very helpful. So I narrowed down my choices below to the top 3 and either I am a much worse negotiator than I thought or prices for solar in north San Diego county are higher than other parts of the U.S.
Installer #1. (Highly used company from other users I found from this website, very accommodating and nice guy)
$17,986 for a 4.48 kW system using 14 LG320's with SolarEdge SE3800 inverter and SE P400 power optimizers
Produce 591 kWh/mo. Cost per DC watt before tax credit $4.015
8 weeks to install
Installer #2. (Very Highly rated company from Union Tribune readers)
$17,978 for a 4.41kW system using 14 LG315's with envision S280 micro inverters
Produce 582kWh//mo. Cost per DC watt before tax credit $4.076
Can install this week.
Installer #3 (Highly rated company from Union Tribune readers)
$20,219 for a 4.8kW system using 14 SunPower 345's with appropriate SMA-TL inverter
Produce approx 647kWh/mo. Cost per DC watt before tax credit $4.212
Install contracted out but negotiated one of their "in house" contractors.
Can install in 2 weeks.
I recently bought a plug in hybrid for car pool lane access which is what's prompting me to get solar. I am now signed up on the EV-TOU2 rate with SDGE and used approx 647kW/mo last year (it was a very hot Sep and Oct). I believe with the TOU2 rate I should accumulate enough credits in the summer that I might not need "full" offset to get full offset and if I ended up having to pay the rate to charge my car, that would be fine since its .18ckWh.
I agree that SunPower is generally not worth paying the premium but that quote is from a friend so I feel like it might be the best discount but it's still more than the LG's. I also recognize that the micro inverters have their minuses, such as heat buildup and loss of efficiency and the financial health of envision. However, they do have a longer warranty than a SolarEdge inverter.
Lastly, a slim (50/50) chance if I install quickly I might get into net metering 1.0 but I'm trying to not let that rush my decision.
Any comments or thoughts would be much appreciated and thank you for the information I have already received from reading the forum and the tip for the solar power your home for dummies.
Installer #1. (Highly used company from other users I found from this website, very accommodating and nice guy)
$17,986 for a 4.48 kW system using 14 LG320's with SolarEdge SE3800 inverter and SE P400 power optimizers
Produce 591 kWh/mo. Cost per DC watt before tax credit $4.015
8 weeks to install
Installer #2. (Very Highly rated company from Union Tribune readers)
$17,978 for a 4.41kW system using 14 LG315's with envision S280 micro inverters
Produce 582kWh//mo. Cost per DC watt before tax credit $4.076
Can install this week.
Installer #3 (Highly rated company from Union Tribune readers)
$20,219 for a 4.8kW system using 14 SunPower 345's with appropriate SMA-TL inverter
Produce approx 647kWh/mo. Cost per DC watt before tax credit $4.212
Install contracted out but negotiated one of their "in house" contractors.
Can install in 2 weeks.
I recently bought a plug in hybrid for car pool lane access which is what's prompting me to get solar. I am now signed up on the EV-TOU2 rate with SDGE and used approx 647kW/mo last year (it was a very hot Sep and Oct). I believe with the TOU2 rate I should accumulate enough credits in the summer that I might not need "full" offset to get full offset and if I ended up having to pay the rate to charge my car, that would be fine since its .18ckWh.
I agree that SunPower is generally not worth paying the premium but that quote is from a friend so I feel like it might be the best discount but it's still more than the LG's. I also recognize that the micro inverters have their minuses, such as heat buildup and loss of efficiency and the financial health of envision. However, they do have a longer warranty than a SolarEdge inverter.
Lastly, a slim (50/50) chance if I install quickly I might get into net metering 1.0 but I'm trying to not let that rush my decision.
Any comments or thoughts would be much appreciated and thank you for the information I have already received from reading the forum and the tip for the solar power your home for dummies.
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