Help understanding quotes

[Benihect]

Hello All,

Big fan of the forum as a patiently await delivery of my Model 3.

I started to explore solar as IL the state I reside in has great incentives on top of the federal incentives. I got two quotes for two properties one is my single family home and one is an investment property.

I'm a bit frustrated with my advisor as I mentioned to him we were dropping the quotes for investment property a few weeks ago and I've now had to mentioned 3 - 4 times and correct him on the address he is building the system for. That's neither here nor there.


Here is my dilemma the systems at both homes are relatively the same size and production yet he sent me two prices 2K apart from one another. I'm waiting for an explanation from him but I've read ton of great help on this forum.

 

[cwied]

You're falling for the marketing numbers. Ignore the "net" numbers. In the second quote he calculated the tax credit on the gross amount before rebates. In the second quote he calculated it (correctly) on the actual amount you're paying. The tax credit has nothing to do with them, though - you're going to file it yourself next year.

It looks like he's quoting you the same amount for both installs: $ 13,444. That comes out to $2.32/W, which sounds like a good price to me, although I'm not an expert.

 

[Babaron]

But that $2.32/W is after rebates. It is $3.41 before, which is not that great. Many are getting quotes before rebates below $3/W. I would get additional quotes and try to negotiate it down.

 

[Cricket88]

is the difference in "projected system production" between the two quotes because its two separate properties and one may be more shaded than the other?

 

[Benihect]

Thanks for the responses guys.

Essentially I had him rework me another package that produces 11,000 kWh with anticipated delivery and usage of model 3. New price quote was 2.74 kWh before rebates and incentives

 

[Babaron]

Much better. Congrats!

 

[Piney999]

I would still get a few more quotes. I just installed an array and got 12 quotes, and they varied by as much as $23k. I think the $2.74/w is a decent price, but I would not be surprised if you could find better. Good luck, and welcome to the Solar World!

 

[wwhitney]

Essentially I had him rework me another package that produces 11,000 kWh with anticipated delivery and usage of model 3. New price quote was 2.74 kWh before rebates and incentives

If you are taking the cost before rebates and dividing it by the expected annual production in kWh, that is not the standard way to compare system costs. The standard way is to divide by the nameplate DC power rating (e.g. 12 panels of 250W each = 3000W).

Cheers, Wayne