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Price of Solar Has Dropped 50% in Last 16 Months (1 Viewer)

joffer said:
down to two companies.  Freedom Solar and Alba Energy.  Both seem pretty local to TX.

Alba is about 20% cheaper and uses LG panels

Freedom uses SunPower panels and has better warranties

Sunpower seems to be the Cadillac of panels right now.  LG not quite as good but solid reviews.

If I can talk down Freedom a little on price i'll probably go with them.

Both are 6kW systems that will generate about 8700 kW-hr per year.  Both under $3/Watt after the 30% Federal Tax credit.
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Why is Sunpower considered better, besides the warranty?  Do they generate more power?

 
tdoss said:
Why is Sunpower considered better, besides the warranty?  Do they generate more power?
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Yes.  Efficiency is about 20% for SP. About 17% for LG.  Not that big of a deal as I have the space to just use another LG panel.  SP also supposed to be a little more durable.  

 
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joffer said:
down to two companies.  Freedom Solar and Alba Energy.  Both seem pretty local to TX.

Alba is about 20% cheaper and uses LG panels

Freedom uses SunPower panels and has better warranties

Sunpower seems to be the Cadillac of panels right now.  LG not quite as good but solid reviews.

If I can talk down Freedom a little on price i'll probably go with them.

Both are 6kW systems that will generate about 8700 kW-hr per year.  Both under $3/Watt after the 30% Federal Tax credit.
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Alba has to be about 20% cheaper when their efficiency is 3 percentage points lower rated  (about 20% of 17%).

If I were Freedom Solar I'd probably not move on the price given these facts (I'm sure they know this too)

 
Is the downward pressure on cost due to better/more efficient technology, increased efficiency in scale and/or cheap Chinese dumping of heavily subsidized product? Or another factor?

 
msommer said:
Alba has to be about 20% cheaper when their efficiency is 3 percentage points lower rated  (about 20% of 17%).

If I were Freedom Solar I'd probably not move on the price given these facts (I'm sure they know this too)
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You may be right.

Found a good message board for solar and the consensus seems to be that Sunpower are great panels, but not worth the premium unless you're constrained on available panel space.

 
Going with Alba Energy.  They came down another $1K.  In the end the longer warrantee just didn't seem worth it. They're coming out to assess the roof and finalize the design in a few days

:thumbup:

 
Latest news is scientists believe perovskite panels can be built that are efficient up to 31 percent.

 
mr roboto said:
Yep. Entrenched industries rarely use their considerable resources (financial, human, intellectual) to innovate away from their cash cow. Instead they use the same to swat down newer players. 
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Its a business strategy.  Creating barriers to entry.  Very common.  What is in the best interest of a business is often not what is in the best interest of society as a whole.

 
tdoss said:
I pay a set amount that is basically tier 1 pricing for all energy they produce for 20 years.  Then they're mine.  No issues with transferring them to new owner.  Would be just like Edison Electric utility when a new owner buys the house.  They take care of all warranty/service issues.

Basically...instead of paying whatever tier Edison likes to throw at me...I pay a set amount per kilowatt.  While Edison goes up every year and has multiple tiers for more usage and during peak hours.
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What is the life of a panel?

From my understanding, by the time they're transferred to you, they'll be producing about 50% less energy than when they're first installed.

 
(HULK) said:
What is the life of a panel?

From my understanding, by the time they're transferred to you, they'll be producing about 50% less energy than when they're first installed.
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IIRC about 25-30 years

Not sure about the second part

 
Tangential thing:

My electric company keeps coming by trying to sell me on this box they'll install that regulates power during peak times.  This is code for shutting down or limiting my power when the grid is at peak.  I've rejected them like 10 times and they keep trying.  They even called to schedule them doing it and I said I never approved for them to do it.  WTF?  The last thing I want is my power cut on some superhot day when everyone and their mother is blowing their AC full blast.  They're offering like $100 off my bill one time as an incentive.  Like I want to be subject to sweating every hot day for eternity for a measly $100.

Tempted to switch to solar just so I can stop dealing with these incompetent fools.

 
(HULK) said:
Tangential thing:

My electric company keeps coming by trying to sell me on this box they'll install that regulates power during peak times.  This is code for shutting down or limiting my power when the grid is at peak.  I've rejected them like 10 times and they keep trying.  They even called to schedule them doing it and I said I never approved for them to do it.  WTF?  The last thing I want is my power cut on some superhot day when everyone and their mother is blowing their AC full blast.  They're offering like $100 off my bill one time as an incentive.  Like I want to be subject to sweating every hot day for eternity for a measly $100.

Tempted to switch to solar just so I can stop dealing with these incompetent fools.
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Obviously you'd need to have sufficient panels to run your a/c at max ;)

 
(HULK) said:
Tangential thing:

My electric company keeps coming by trying to sell me on this box they'll install that regulates power during peak times.  This is code for shutting down or limiting my power when the grid is at peak.  I've rejected them like 10 times and they keep trying.  They even called to schedule them doing it and I said I never approved for them to do it.  WTF?  The last thing I want is my power cut on some superhot day when everyone and their mother is blowing their AC full blast.  They're offering like $100 off my bill one time as an incentive.  Like I want to be subject to sweating every hot day for eternity for a measly $100.

Tempted to switch to solar just so I can stop dealing with these incompetent fools.
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I did this with BG&E when I last lived in Maryland. It was almost always done while I was at work, so it didn't bother me. The one time I can recall being at home, it wasn't bad - the AC was off for maybe an hour and the fan kept running.

 
Uruk-Hai said:
I did this with BG&E when I last lived in Maryland. It was almost always done while I was at work, so it didn't bother me. The one time I can recall being at home, it wasn't bad - the AC was off for maybe an hour and the fan kept running.
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I'm in MD too.

Wife and I both can work from home occasionally.

 
(HULK) said:
I'm in MD too.

Wife and I both can work from home occasionally.
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You PepCo or BG&E? Just wondering because they may not do it the same way.

In any case, I think the general perception is that these kinds of programs shut off power (or, at least the AC) for hours at a time. That wasn't the case with the BGE plan; like I said, it might have been an hour and there was no difference that I could feel. But that was 6 years ago, so maybe they've changed the process. 

 
(HULK) said:
What is the life of a panel?

From my understanding, by the time they're transferred to you, they'll be producing about 50% less energy than when they're first installed.
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Most have a production warrantee that they will produce >80% after 25 years.  That's the LG panel I'm getting have.

 
(HULK) said:
What is the life of a panel?

From my understanding, by the time they're transferred to you, they'll be producing about 50% less energy than when they're first installed.
Click to expand...
Warranties may be different from different panels, but IIRC, I was quoted that they're supposed to be at least 90%efficient after 20 years.

 
Uruk-Hai said:
You PepCo or BG&E? Just wondering because they may not do it the same way.

In any case, I think the general perception is that these kinds of programs shut off power (or, at least the AC) for hours at a time. That wasn't the case with the BGE plan; like I said, it might have been an hour and there was no difference that I could feel. But that was 6 years ago, so maybe they've changed the process. 
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I think they would need to pay me $10K to make up for just the potential of this happening at any given time. $100? GFY. 

 
Uruk-Hai said:
You PepCo or BG&E? Just wondering because they may not do it the same way.

In any case, I think the general perception is that these kinds of programs shut off power (or, at least the AC) for hours at a time. That wasn't the case with the BGE plan; like I said, it might have been an hour and there was no difference that I could feel. But that was 6 years ago, so maybe they've changed the process. 
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Pepco.  They're literally the worst.  Maybe tied with Comcast.

 
Dragons said:
Warranties may be different from different panels, but IIRC, I was quoted that they're supposed to be at least 90%efficient after 20 years.
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Oh, that's much higher than I thought it was.  Haven't really looked closely at solar in a while.

 
(HULK) said:
Oh, that's much higher than I thought it was.  Haven't really looked closely at solar in a while.
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i hadn't either.  lots of improvement.  the panels are isolated a lot better now.  individual monitoring.  one bad one doesn't hurt the string.

 
=Smackdown= said:
I purchased. Number shook out as follows - rounding here . .

Panels cost around 25K

Tax credits got me back around 10K.

The remaining 15K is financed thru my utility company (PSE&G) over the next 15 years. My bill over the past year or o averaged around $200 a month. For the next 15 years I'm locked in at $140 a month. After that  . . . no more electric bills.

Really a no brainer imo.
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Live on the Island as well.  Would you mind passing along name of Solar company you used.  If you don't want to name it publicly, a PM would be appreciated.

 
Dragons said:
Warranties may be different from different panels, but IIRC, I was quoted that they're supposed to be at least 90%efficient after 20 years.
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How do you verify that?  Is there some calculation you can run that tells you that so you know if you can collect on that warranty?

 
Last two months my house has used on average 2700kWh (rate is 11.5 cents/hour) on my two story 3100 sqft home (mostly sun).  I was thinking of installing a small 2 kW system.  How much does that cost and what could I expect my energy bill to be?

 
rascal said:
Last two months my house has used on average 2700kWh (rate is 11.5 cents/hour) on my two story 3100 sqft home (mostly sun).  I was thinking of installing a small 2 kW system.  How much does that cost and what could I expect my energy bill to be?
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For it to be worth it, you'd want a bigger system than that.  Do you know what your total usage is for a 12 month period?

before the tax credit, you'll be around $4 per watt.  After the rebate, around $3 per watt.

 
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joffer said:
For it to be worth it, you'd want a bigger system than that.  Do you know what your total usage is for a 12 month period?

before the tax credit, you'll be around $4 per watt.  After the rebate, around $3 per watt.
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I'll check when I get home, but I'd estimate about 24600kWh.

Also wondering about geothermal.

 
rascal said:
I'll check when I get home, but I'd estimate about 24600kWh.

Also wondering about geothermal.
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Mine is jut under half that, and I'm getting a 5kW system.  The solar companies recommend to target covering about 75%-80% of your annual usage.

 
Do you still need to have a pretty new roof?  Mine was replaced in 2007. I figure I will go solar when I need to roof again. 

 
BoltBacker said:
I guess my point is more than half the population in the country already lives near the coast and that % is growing rapidly.
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Wind Power to Dominate Power Sector Growth

By 2030 wind power could reach 2,110 GW, and supply up to 20% of global electricity, creating 2.4 million new jobs and reducing CO2 emissions by more than 3.3 billion tonnes per year, and attract annual investment of about €200 billion.
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But as the sceptics say - small potatoes, could never have an impact where it matters, i.e. in the US because the US is big

 
Anybody else gone solar?  Got a $25k bid to bring out $320/mo bill down to zero.  Need to do more digging....

 
5Rings said:
Anybody else gone solar?  Got a $25k bid to bring out $320/mo bill down to zero.  Need to do more digging....
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Do they give you guarantees?  Are these guarantees insured so that when they go out of business and start another business just like it, you aren't left holding the bag?

 
5Rings said:
Anybody else gone solar?  Got a $25k bid to bring out $320/mo bill down to zero.  Need to do more digging....
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Very unlikely they take it to zero.  Most companies target about 80% of your bill.  Figure out what your power draw is for the year and what they estimate your array will produce.

 
Thinking about solar for our cabin.  Do they make reasonably priced batteries / storage?  We probably will only use the cabin 5-10 days per month on average so our need will be a lot less than most homes but for those few days we might use a lot. 

 
FUBAR said:
Thinking about solar for our cabin.  Do they make reasonably priced batteries / storage?  We probably will only use the cabin 5-10 days per month on average so our need will be a lot less than most homes but for those few days we might use a lot. 
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Tesla wall?

 
msommer said:
Tesla wall?
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$5,500 doesn't seem bad, but we'd need 2.  I vaguely remember, some years back, it being said that people could sell power back to the utility company.   Or maybe that was just a proposal.  While that has to depend on your local policies, is anyone doing this (if it is an option)?

 
FUBAR said:
$5,500 doesn't seem bad, but we'd need 2.  I vaguely remember, some years back, it being said that people could sell power back to the utility company.   Or maybe that was just a proposal.  While that has to depend on your local policies, is anyone doing this (if it is an option)?
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Check if your state allows net metering:

https://www.google.com/search?q=states+with+net+metering&oq=states+with+net&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l3.12215j0j4&client=ms-android-verizon&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

 
I've read about people using old Nissan leaf or model S batteries. But I'm not sure how to find the market for them or what they cost.

 
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