SOLAR for the house (price per KWH)

SANDFORME

SANDFORME

Active member
Joined
May 7, 2021
Messages
101
Reaction score
76
Looking at getting Solar. Need a system of around 15000kwh yearly. Looking at the no cost up front. You get a fixed price on the system charging you by the kwh. Was curious what price you have or have been quoted if that makes sense.

 
I haven't gone solar yet, but depending on where you are (CA?) there are some changes coming down the road that make it a lot less attractive. They're going to increase "infrastructure fees" only on customers with solar, claiming they aren't paying much for solar, thus not paying their fair share of the system wide infrastructure costs. That seems like BS to me for 2 reasons.

First, if a person had a properly sized solar system with a big enough battery bank, they could be completely self sufficient and would not need the electric company grid at all. So why should they pay for it? That's like charging people who walk to work to pay for fwy improvements. However, the politicians love to do this because the taxes NEVER go to who they claim it does. Look how many different things we pay for that supposedly pays for the schools. Yet the schools had better funding when I was a kid, they had cars to driver's ed, band instruments, orchestra instruments, athletic gear, etc.

Second, one of the bigger supporters of increased fees for solar owners (a front paid for by the electric company) actually admitted it was a "wealth redistribution" plan to shift more costs to those who could afford solar, since they are apparently wealthier, and subsidize those of low incomes. Of course if we follow the money, it will go straight to the profit margin of the electric companies.

Of the several people I know who got solar, 1 of them signed up for the HERO plan and after paying for 8 yrs and thinking he had paid off his solar system at $5,000/yr  for 8 yrs = the $40,000 he owed, it turns out they had snuck in loan paperwork and he had signed a loan at a crazy interest rate so now, he still owes the original $40,000 and the $40,000 he already paid was just interest on the loan.

Another friend of mine got a system where they installed the system for free and he had a minimal monthly electric bill from the company that installed the solar. Essentially they own the equipment for 20 yrs, he pays them for electricity which is a lot lower than current rates and after 20 yrs, they turn it all over to him and he's responsible for maintenance and whatever extra he has to pay the local electric company if he uses more than it makes. However, he told me he just got a shockingly huge bill, suppose.ldy from this new infrastructure price hike, but I didn't think it has taken affect immediately.

My next door neighbor bought a ridiculously small system (1200w output for $17,000) and the new owner added on to it, something like another 2500w for another $17,000. I think the first guy got raped, the 2nd owner got screwed.

All this to say, look over the fine print carefully, nobody I know feels they got a fair deal and CA is getting ready to really screw solar owners for more money.

 
SANDFORME said:
Looking at getting Solar. Need a system of around 15000kwh yearly. Looking at the no cost up front. You get a fixed price on the system charging you by the kwh. Was curious what price you have or have been quoted if that makes sense.
Click to expand...
Do not get a system that you are paying by the KWH (Sunrun sells this system a lot).  I had it, guess what, you will not save a lot of money when all said and done. They are nothing different than edison, you are paying to produce power and you pay them for it.   I kept track of every bill and KWH for 5 years, net saving was about 3-8% a year.  Not worth it, and then when you try to sell your house with this lease, it is a pain in the arse to sell it.  I lost three buyers that didn't want the system when I sold.  The new owners have complained to me about the system as well, they have like 7 years more before it is done.

My feeling after having solar on two different house, buy it outright.  Get a 2nd or something, it should pay for itself in 4-5 years and then you own outright.

 
Cookie said:
Do not get a system that you are paying by the KWH (Sunrun sells this system a lot).  I had it, guess what, you will not save a lot of money when all said and done. They are nothing different than edison, you are paying to produce power and you pay them for it.   I kept track of every bill and KWH for 5 years, net saving was about 3-8% a year.  Not worth it, and then when you try to sell your house with this lease, it is a pain in the arse to sell it.  I lost three buyers that didn't want the system when I sold.  The new owners have complained to me about the system as well, they have like 7 years more before it is done.

My feeling after having solar on two different house, buy it outright.  Get a 2nd or something, it should pay for itself in 4-5 years and then you own outright.
Click to expand...
i second this, simular company was in my old neighborhood trying to sell the system, i did a bunch of number crunching and i would of saved about $5 per month. not worth it to be stuck in the lease. there were a few other things i really didnt like but i cant remember it and im sure the contracts have changed in the last 7 years since i looked at it

 
PAY UPFRONT.  you get screwed if you do it any other way.  I have 12k on the roof.  Cost me in total about 18k.  Already paid for itself two years ago.  I run 5 AC units and a pool pump in the summer in Phx.  Aug is the worst just under $400 for the month. most other months $150.     Panels should be around $1 a watt for new panels.  Racking is like $.60 per watt and the install wasn't too much.  Inverters you will need at least 2 or 3 if you go that big.  2500 to 4000 per inverter.    I would also look at the battery banks and add one of those.  If I paid more than 2500 per year I would add the batteries to my system.  OH yeah I think you still get a 30% tax CREDIT so take 30% off what ever it cost. You miss out on that savings if you pay monthly and not upfront.  

 
$16.5k for 6kw of Panasonic panels in San Diego from a reputable business.

pay for it outright, get the 26% tax credit. Break even in under 3.5yrs

goes up in a few weeks.

 
BrapBraap said:
$16.5k for 6kw of Panasonic panels in San Diego from a reputable business.

pay for it outright, get the 26% tax credit. Break even in under 3.5yrs

goes up in a few weeks.
Click to expand...
Could you give me the name of the company that has this deal. Do they have any other discounts if you have a license ?. I am currently shopping for a system and perhaps if I mention your name they could give you a deal on something you may purchase in the future for a recommendation. Probably a hat or a shirt , No one gives anything good anymore for a  recommendation . As someone mentioned above, Is that a Battery bank would be nice and I understand that these batteries are getting cheaper. 

 
Johnny said:
Could you give me the name of the company that has this deal. Do they have any other discounts if you have a license ?. I am currently shopping for a system and perhaps if I mention your name they could give you a deal on something you may purchase in the future for a recommendation. Probably a hat or a shirt , No one gives anything good anymore for a  recommendation . As someone mentioned above, Is that a Battery bank would be nice and I understand that these batteries are getting cheaper. 
Click to expand...
Pm sent

 
So I’ll add that from what I found that $2.75 to $3 per watt installed seemed to be the going rate. Probably more cost effective for bigger systems, but my install is super easy on a single slope of the roof and I’ve already got a 200A panel. Just bare bones no battery or anything, but the panels and microinverters are Tier 1 so won’t degrade as much over the life of the system. Sunpower was almost $4/watt for reference and they were slimy to boot. Tesla has a decent price but their panels are rebranded cheap crap and degrades majorly over the system lifetime.

you gotta pay outright to get the best deal, get the tax credit, and avoid the headaches or sneaky charges like others have said. Also if you are retired Etc. or don’t show enough federal tax liability then you can’t claim the credit against anything so the 26% goes away.

looking forward to it getting installed as the electric bill is up to $450/mo and I’m not even running the AC right now. 

 
.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Do not lease, or do the PPA, or any other creative way they come up with. Buy them and negotiate the lowest price based on what you will use. Always go a little bigger to cover weather fluctuations. I have a 16K system and have had since 2017. Bought outright. I am going to look into the storage next. I would love to get off Edison grid. They will always find a way to screw you.  

I will say this, if your bill averages $100-$150 a month, I wouldn't waste your time on solar.  

 
I can't find a solar calculator without providing my address or email.  I don't want these azz klowns calling or showing up.

Before my pool, I had no reason to get solar as my monthly bill is low, even in the summer.  Now with the pool, I want to go solar and switch to a heat pump and get rid of gas. I plan on heating the pool and spa year round.  I am also in the planning stage of building my RV barn and will be putting AC in the garage(s).

As mentioned, I will overbuild the system to make sure I have more than enough energy to do what I want.  I also plan to purchase the system.

 
BrapBraap said:
$16.5k for 6kw of Panasonic panels in San Diego from a reputable business.

pay for it outright, get the 26% tax credit. Break even in under 3.5yrs

goes up in a few weeks.
Click to expand...
Can you PM the contact info. Thanks

 
I'm paying about 20k (cash, not lease or payments) for a 6.3kw system that is supposed to cover about 10,000 kwh a year. I've consumed around 8,000 kwh the last couple of years. Hopefully I will be up and running by May. I am a building inspector and I inspect several installs a day. The response time from permit issuance to install varies widely by these solar guys. Stay away from Sunrun!

I expect 5k back on my tax credit and should pay for itself in 6 years or so. 

Solar Max. PM for contact info if you want. 

Add to this, I will do the batteries when they come down some in price. There is very little competition in that market so prices are high. They'll get cheaper. The state of California is pushing EVERYTHING) in new homes away from gas and into electric. Combine that with electric car chargers in every home and I have no idea how Edison will keep up.........but for sure the cost of electricity will continue to rise.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Glamis44 said:
I would love to get off Edison grid. They will always find a way to screw you.
Click to expand...
Your not getting off the grid, you can limit your exposure to it but 90% of the inverters out there require a sine wave for you to make power.  We use to install a lot of solar systems and the people were shocked when the power went out in the neighborhood and they were in the dark as well. That first time we would always get the call that their solar wasn't working.

 There are some systems out there that do not require that input power, back when we were installing solar the cost for those systems were about 40% higher though. It is the same panels it is the inverters that they get you on. So be careful and ask that question  because even with a battery pack your going to need to have the proper set up so that you have power without the grid power present.

Also if your going to think you will just run your Honda 2000, remember this you need 240 volts to make the inverters make power so the 2000's don't work even piggybacked. 

 
I paid $23k for a 8.64kw system with micro inverters installed 2 years ago. Not sure of the price now but the company (Solar Watt Solution out of Carlsbad) was awesome to deal with. They had the permit in 3 days and was installed a week later. They are one of the few companies left that give a referral bonus ($500 Amex). I went over what they recommended by a few panels but at the end of last year SDGE owed me $96. I used to pay $400-500 a month in the summer. I live in Fallbrook and now keep my AC set at 72 in the summer all day when it’s 90-100 deg outside. And got $6300 back from the tax credit. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Installed 42 panels about 6 years ago, system paid for itself in 4.5 years. System produced approx 21k kw last year.

Palomar Solar, Andy and crew are good peeps.

91FEF037-D7A8-4E3C-B68B-DA58B39679EC.png

E3D94912-DD7B-4F82-A91D-697EF6C8DD19.png

 
So I decided to throw in a little extra coin for backup power options. I only really care about the food in the fridge not spoiling or charging phones etc, and don’t really care about much more beyond that so nothing major needed. As some have said, if your system stops seeing 240vac like during a power outage, that you get shut out from your own panels. To protect the grid workers from electrocution or whatever...

I didn’t choose batteries since they are still pricey and last what maybe a 7 to 10 yrs before replacement.

solar company recommended a natural gas home backup generator as the most effective money spent. 

But I ended up upgrading the micro inverters to the Enphase I8, which makes a micro grid for “daylight backup” only. Getting the smart switch panel so I can add batteries later or hook up the rv gennie to power the house, or add a natural gas gennie whenever. For my small system 6kw  it was a ~$4k upgrade and gives me options for emergencies.

for what it’s worth.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top