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diy solar

What should you pay for a Solar Installation?

svetz

Works in theory! Practice? That's something else
Joined
Sep 20, 2019
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Key Largo
The cost of a professionally installed PV system varies by location and by the amount of PV installed. With these numbers you might be able to better negotiate a price for your roof. Pricing is always changing over time and these tables were from 2018, so your mileage may vary.

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So did you DYI or Buy? How was your $/watt? This information can help others as they set sail on the solar tides!
 

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Member$/watt b4 RebatePV Size WBattery Size kwh/$/kWhLocationInverterPanelsDIY or Buy?System Age
@Will Prowse GT/EV$3.034,500?Las Vegas, NMSolarEdgeBuy10/19
@Thor$2.618,7600Venice FloridaSolarEdge 7600 HDMission Solar 365WBuy10/19
@ebertoli$2.9411,7250Austin, TXSolarEdge HD Wave SE10000H-USLG335N1C-V5Buy10/19
@svetz GT$3.407,82013.3/$958Key Largo, FLEnphase IQ7+LG 340 NeonBuy1/20
@sillyfreak$2.6710,5000Central TXSolarEdge 10000H-USPanasonic HIT 335WBUY11/19
Bivitar$2.4511,700Pensacola, FLEnphase IQ7+300w Trina Allmax plusBUY9/18
jasonhc73$2.716200Wichita, KSSolarEdge 5000HD20xMission Solar 310WBuy9/19
jasonhc73$1.253360~42 / $87.86Wichita, KSDual MPP Solar LV504812x280w 72 unbranded 20xMission Solar 310WDIY12/19
JerryRigEverything$1.66258,0000UtahAP Systems YC600DIY/Kit4/20
@iamrich$1.4020000TexasHybrid LV2424250W DIY4/21
$ do not include federal or other incentives/rebates

Email me your numbers and I'll update the table!
 
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I am getting a (30) Panasonic HIT 335W panel = 10,050 watt system installed with SolarEdge 10000H-US inverter on my home in Central Texas at a cost of $2.67/W (before federal credit)
 
In 2000 I designed and installed my own system. Parts cost was $14,000 which included 1400 watts of panels @4.50 per watt, batteries @$2600 830a-hr. Total was: $10/w for the parts

This past week I found out a friend had contracted an installation in southern Utah for $22,000 for a 4.6kw panel array, Grid-tied. I told her, you should have talked to me first. That put her are $4.78/w - geez

dougbert
 
I had a 11.7 kWh DC system installed in Aug 2018 near Pensacola FL. 39 x 300w Trina Allmax plus mono panels with the Enphase IQ7+ micro inverters for $28,665 ($20,065 after tax credit). That's the fully installed cash price (includes permits, fees, etc). It would have been more with financing. $2.45/W before tax credit, $1.715/W after tax credit.

First 12 months production (Sep 2018-Aug 2019) was 17,330 kWh. Almost all panels are facing SSW
 

Google's Sunroof Project


Your own personalized solar savings estimator, powered by Google Earth imagery. Just click the title-hyperlink to get started.

Doesn't work in my area yet so can't compare it to my actual system.
Ours was about $39000 in Oct of 19 before federal tax credit, local city rebate of about $3500 and a cash rebate thing from the company of about $1200. This says, for about the same size, $36000. I'd say it's a pretty accurate estimate.

For last year, we generated more than 16.28 MWh based on SolarEdge. There were a couple of weeks during August that our inverter stopped counting what was being generated and it took some time to get the guy out to do whatever tweaking needed doing. So that's about 65kWh more per day during that time. It's doing a good job.

It's not easy to tell exactly what's going on with respect to our electric bill because Austin Energy seemed to be using a system created in the 90s or something and we had been on bill averaging, I had a sizable credit on the account and the system could not distinguish between overpaid credits and solar credits. They figured it out eventually, but it wasn't very clear even then. We since got off the averaging and eventually allowed the overpayment to go away which took a while because no electric bill. :D Their solar reporting app isn't a whole lot better seeming than their utility billing system.
 

Google's Sunroof Project


Your own personalized solar savings estimator, powered by Google Earth imagery. Just click the title-hyperlink to get started.

Doesn't work in my area yet so can't compare it to my actual system.
Thanks for the link. Very informative. I was surprised to see I only need about 3.5kW to cover 97% of my energy needs. I have to conduct a cost/benefit analysis to see if I want to cover 100% or more. I'm assuming the estimate is for grid-tied and does not include the cost of batteries and misc. items.
 
So looks like the average is $3 per Watt according to the original post of this thread? Yikes. In Peru the installation is not too expensive, but you get gouged on the products with the 18% sales tax, customs fees, shipping, etc. For a 6.4kwh array-based system, I'm looking at probably spending $16,500-$17,000 total including installation for an off-grid system. This includes Victron CerboGX, Touch 50, Multiplus 48/5000/70, SmartSolar 250/100 MPPT, cabinet, 4 Pylontech US3000 batteries.

If I were in the USA, I wouldn't even consider hiring someone to install. I'd just buy my own tools and watch youtube videos. Maybe pay a friend to help pass me the panels up on the roof. No way would I hire someone. If you DIY the install in the USA it turns out much cheaper than here in Peru, but when you pay someone else, the total price ends up about the same in both cases.
 
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Google's Sunroof Project


Your own personalized solar savings estimator, powered by Google Earth imagery. Just click the title-hyperlink to get started.

Doesn't work in my area yet so can't compare it to my actual system.
Thanks for sharing! Great to see what the roof coverage looks like around here. If only I could get it to realize our place is 4 connected townhouses and now 1 big 3,841 square foot roof :)
Screen Shot 2021-04-26 at 11.51.40 AM.png

We are getting installation quotes for a small system with battery, mostly for grid down backup. The only one even close to our financial ballpark is Tesla.
 

My roof doesn't show on Google yet (too new), but I have $2800 in my system (including $250 of stuff I didn't end up using). Off Grid, non UL

~2000 watt of panels (9x250w)
~5kw of 24v battery (BYD 3kw x2)
~2000 watt inverter (LV2424)

Not sure how we are doing the $/watt calculation, but I think it was pretty affordable.
Source​
Device​
Cost​
QTY​
Total (incl Shipping)​
Santan Solar​
250w snail trail panel​
$49​
12​
$584​
Battery Clearing House​
LiFePO4 24v battery pack​
$425​
2​
$850​
Watts247​
Hybrid LV2424​
$669​
1​
$669​
Amazon​
TEMCo 100' Red and Black 12AWG wire​
$58​
1​
$58​
Amazon​
Crimpers & Connectors​
$25​
1​
$25​
Amazon​
Parallel wires and fuse​
$15​
1​
$15​
eBay​
Midnight Solar 15A breaker​
$21​
3​
$64​
eBay​
Midnight Solar MNPV6​
$90​
1​
$90​
Amazon​
Misc parts​
$73​
1​
$73​
Digi-key​
Misc parts​
$12​
1​
$12​
GexPro​
Racking​
$265​
1​
$265​
Amazon​
Misc parts​
$100​
1​
$100​
 
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