What’s the latest PV install cost these days,...?

[BlueOvalFan]

I’m looking to expand my solar system by an additional four 330W Panasonic panels which the previous installer quoted me $4400 for the job. To me that is ridiculous since my inverter has plenty of capacity and all they need to do is add the panels in series. There’s plenty of roof space and all they need todo is bolt the hardware to the roof, slap the panels on, and plug them in...the system was designed with expansion in mind.

So can anyone share with me your cost for systems being install in the greater Sacramento CA area, or anywhere in NorCal for that matter as a striating point.

Seems I should be paying around $3000 for this job? Since I have an existing system does this need a new permit to expand by this small amount...?

By my math panels are about $300 online retail, solar optimizes are about $75 and think the total hard cost are about $1700 and my retail...I assume they have better purchasing rates....?

 

[Silicon Desert]

Coincidentally, I just had 5 LG modules of about the same wattage added to a SolarEdge 7600 inverter that had enough capacity. However, I am in Spark NV. The cost to add the rails, install the modules, optimizers, and do the permit was $3365. Yes, in most everywhere, there is a requirement to get a building permit when making even a modification like this. Of course labor is the big variable and might even depend on the roof pitch, height, etc.

 

[bmms8]

I paid 8500 for an additional 8 LG 335s adding to our existing 7600 SE.

You’re adding such a small amount. Their time is better used elsewhere which is why it’s 1100 per

 

[BlueOvalFan]

I paid 8500 for an additional 8 LG 335s adding to our existing 7600 SE.

You’re adding such a small amount. Their time is better used elsewhere which is why it’s 1100 per

I agree, but...

...I did spend between my pool solar heating and house PV system installs some $36.5k. Also, my inverter died just a tad over a year after they assured me SolarEdge was a great product—needless to say that the 5 weeks it was down I was paying full rates from PGE left me less than impressed. That cost me nearly $350 in full electrical rates for that warranty repair outage. What was great at least I got another unit with no installation or services charges to diagnose and swap the unit out.

Also, I had to point out a code violation they left behind from the original that the inspector didn’t catch either. The last thing a civil engineer should be commenting on is an electrical contractor’s work...and these guy are a large and reputable business in the greater Sacramento area.

Since, these guys do HVAC as well I’m sure I can dangle future havoc maintenance inspections as a carrot.

I’m confident I can get the price down...just have to figure out how much. More to come in this topic...

 

[Uncle Paul]

Totally normal for a customer to want to get their price as low as possible, and for the contractor to get his profit as high as possible.

This is why it is wise for most consumers to shop around for value.

 

[bmms8]

I agree, but...

...I did spend between my pool solar heating and house PV system installs some $36.5k. Also, my inverter died just a tad over a year after they assured me SolarEdge was a great product—needless to say that the 5 weeks it was down I was paying full rates from PGE left me less than impressed. That cost me nearly $350 in full electrical rates for that warranty repair outage. What was great at least I got another unit with no installation or services charges to diagnose and swap the unit out.

Also, I had to point out a code violation they left behind from the original that the inspector didn’t catch either. The last thing a civil engineer should be commenting on is an electrical contractor’s work...and these guy are a large and reputable business in the greater Sacramento area.

Since, these guys do HVAC as well I’m sure I can dangle future havoc maintenance inspections as a carrot.

I’m confident I can get the price down...just have to figure out how much. More to come in this topic...

Sorry to hear about your issues.

I understand you have a large pv system, and I’m sure you’ve saved at least 1k from it. I’ve had no issues with my install and 7600. I’m sure it varies but I’m very happy with my 1.06k cost for additional panels. Different roofs and connecting everything was still laborious.

 

[mrobinson]

I’m looking to expand my solar system by an additional four 330W Panasonic panels which the previous installer quoted me $4400 for the job. To me that is ridiculous since my inverter has plenty of capacity and all they need to do is add the panels in series. There’s plenty of roof space and all they need todo is bolt the hardware to the roof, slap the panels on, and plug them in...the system was designed with expansion in mind.

So can anyone share with me your cost for systems being install in the greater Sacramento CA area, or anywhere in NorCal for that matter as a striating point.

Seems I should be paying around $3000 for this job? Since I have an existing system does this need a new permit to expand by this small amount...?

By my math panels are about $300 online retail, solar optimizes are about $75 and think the total hard cost are about $1700 and my retail...I assume they have better purchasing rates....?

I do Solar Design for a few contractors, I think most installers would stray away from adding to a system as there are a bunch of unknowns and requires a lot of research to what was installed and how it was installed:

Are you sure the strings have less than 15 optimizers on them?
Do you have the plan sets and SLD's?
330 W Panasonic modules are one of the most expensive around and require large optimizers P400P.
Is the inverter already oversized?

That's a pretty good price for 4 modules. I can check if my guys can beat that?

Michael

 

[BlueOvalFan]

S

Sorry to hear about your issues.

I understand you have a large pv system, and I’m sure you’ve saved at least 1k from it. I’ve had no issues with my install and 7600. I’m sure it varies but I’m very happy with my 1.06k cost for additional panels. Different roofs and connecting everything was still laborious.

Seems I was able to coax them down some, which they agreed to knock the price down to $3872.00. Although much better, I still think this is overpriced for what it is. At any rate I’ll be pulling the trigger soon. Thanks everyone for sharing your info...

 

[dipper]

I went with PetersenDean. Had a bad panel, called support and got it replaced in less than a week. Surprised how fast they took care of me.

 

[israndy]

Well, I am at the beginning. Following Craigslist I kept seeing people selling their old system. So I bought a 4.32kW system from a family for $1500 and spent an additional $180 on a used Envoy on eBay to communicate from their microinverters to the internet. I also got their racking, although I may need a different setup, and they reused their roof penetrations so I need to buy some IronRidge or Quickmount kits. I'll need a breaker for the wire from the solar disconnect, also electrical wire and ground copper to reach my roof and a way to raise the Northern rail to angle the panels to the sun as my roof is pretty flat. Possibly Enphase cable extensions as my layout may be different from the way this system was originally set up.

I'll need a permit and a design and an electrician to check that all my wiring is to code, but I am crossing my fingers to have it all paid for in the first year's savings. Hopefully, I will find the design help I need to prevent the city from demanding changes before provisioning.

-Randy