gilscales
Banned
I can see that LG and Sunpower do make panels of 400w or more but only in the larger 72 cell format, I have not seen a 60 cell that produces more than 370w
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Different brands of solar panels
- Thread starter pkalhan
- Start date
Canadian Solar and LG are both good brands from among those you listed, the other 2 are lower tier modules. While lower tier modules might be ok, they also might go out of business, so the warranty wont really be worth much in 15 years if they start failing.
Microinverters like was pointed out above will cost more, but also leave you with a bit of insulation from failure, as no single point of hardware (inverter) failing will take out your whole system. Plus they will give the highest harvest over a string inverter, though without near shade elements that's probably not a huge issue.
Microinverters like was pointed out above will cost more, but also leave you with a bit of insulation from failure, as no single point of hardware (inverter) failing will take out your whole system. Plus they will give the highest harvest over a string inverter, though without near shade elements that's probably not a huge issue.
Hey @boriszima I am still conflicted. It would be cool to go with Tesla but seems like the rep I have really doesn't have answers to my questions as he said the engineers would be best to answer the questions I have. No matter what direction I go, I do not want to have an electric bill. I spoke to a local guy here and he was on point with everything. I gave him my last moth's electric bill and he felt that a 12.48KW system using LG NeOn 2 Modules would be best for me because I already have an electric car (got a 3 in October) and a future electric car. They would also be installing DC Optimizers (25-year warranty) and their HD Wave Inverter (with extended warranty to 25 years).
I like the convenience of being able to see me Tesla's system via the app, but some of the negative stories on this forum and the other one mess with my head. The local guy's reviews are top notch. I asked the Tesla rep to provide me with the cost of a similarly sized system and I will go from there.
I like the convenience of being able to see me Tesla's system via the app, but some of the negative stories on this forum and the other one mess with my head. The local guy's reviews are top notch. I asked the Tesla rep to provide me with the cost of a similarly sized system and I will go from there.
boriszima
Member
This is how i felt. Tesla rep was on point to respond, but not when it came to give me number, engineering info. He obfuscated it (like a black box) saying we got you setup, here is price. No line item inform, just general names such as tesla panels, delta inverter, etc. I also went with a local company who were able to answer majority of my questions. From personal experience, go with a local company. If and when you need help, it will be quicker. Try to get all your equipment with 25 year manufacturer warranty. If company goes under, you have them to fall on. Also, since you system will be grid-tied, you will be paying "connection bill every month, something between $3 to $20 or so a month (unless of course you read that you electric company does not those charges)
How soon are you planning to buy your 2nd electric car? Since you accounted it for now and will be paying extra $ that will go into credit, some? electric companies at trueup will almost erase those credits i think.
@Vines - I decided to go with SE inverter because i read about failure rate on enphane micro inverter and if when they fail, its more labor to go up on the roof, which has a chance to crack/break roof material, etc. Reading info about difference, each case is different.
Hi @boriszima I am thinking about adding another electric car in two years. I know that is a bit off but was not sure if it is better to just have a system in place now to handle that or just add to the system when I get the car. Also, I ended up going with Tesla. They basically matched the system size with the local guy (12.03kW for Tesla vs 12.24kW local guy) but were less expensive $38k vs $45k before incentives. They would also give me the same hardware (micro inverter and such) as the local installer.
Me being new to all this though, I am still confused on how they come to their proposals (not just Tesla but all installers). I don't know how, but my wife and I, in the month of December, used 1,112.kWh??? How was did that, I don't know. We did get the Model 3 in October so I know charging the Tesla contributed to that but considering December 2017 was 690kWh it couldn't have added that much. So if we used that much in December, I can't imagine what it will be like in June, July, or August. So I am wondering if the proposed 12.03kW system will be enough for us?
What size systems do you guys have and what is your annual kW usage? For 2018 we used 11,324 (but the last 3 month is with Tesla Model 3 ownership). We averaged 944 a month and I am sure 2019 will be higher as we will have the Model 3 for the entire year.
Me being new to all this though, I am still confused on how they come to their proposals (not just Tesla but all installers). I don't know how, but my wife and I, in the month of December, used 1,112.kWh??? How was did that, I don't know. We did get the Model 3 in October so I know charging the Tesla contributed to that but considering December 2017 was 690kWh it couldn't have added that much. So if we used that much in December, I can't imagine what it will be like in June, July, or August. So I am wondering if the proposed 12.03kW system will be enough for us?
What size systems do you guys have and what is your annual kW usage? For 2018 we used 11,324 (but the last 3 month is with Tesla Model 3 ownership). We averaged 944 a month and I am sure 2019 will be higher as we will have the Model 3 for the entire year.
gilscales
Banned
using Pittsburgh for pv watts 20 deg. tilt with optimal south facing you get annual production over 14.6kw
PVWatts Calculator
If you go with a west facing system at a 5 deg. tilt its still approx. 13kw
PVWatts Calculator
If you go with a west facing system at a 5 deg. tilt its still approx. 13kw
boriszima
Member
Tesla adds about 4,000 kWh to usage if one drives 10-12k Mikes a year, you can do math based on battery size, mikes and effiency. For me Tesla model 3 added about 300-400 a month kWh which is what I expected. Since I am on tier system, it adds up quick.
I ageee with you, spend as much as you can afford to maximize your solar. My south facing side could only do 15 panels, rest went in north which are way less efficient.
I ageee with you, spend as much as you can afford to maximize your solar. My south facing side could only do 15 panels, rest went in north which are way less efficient.
Does your utility company allow you to install any size system? Ours limited us to 120% of our previous year's usage. We put in the largest system possible but we know it can't cover our usage every month of the year. Hopefully the credits we ear next summer will be enough to cover us in the winter going forward. We've already asked about putting in more solar but they require us to wait at least a year before we can install more.
Are Tesla's Panasonic panels made at GF2?
I asked Tesla for a quote on a solar panel installation. I wonder if I erred when I checked the box that said I'm also interested in Powerwall, as I haven't heard from them. Maybe I should ask again and not check the box?
Because my electric company offers full net metering, I'm not seeing practical benefit from Powerwall beyond power for outages. Three installed Powerwalls would cost about $25,000. A built-in propane-powered generator would cost much less and would not run out of power.
nwdiver
Well-Known Member
Merrill
Merrill
You might want to get estimates for a propane generator, if you have one installed that can back up most of your house you might be surprised at the total cost. Also with the powerwall if you have tou and net metering you can get more credit for you peak solar production by running off the battery during that high per kWh price.
