Cheap 4-life
My body is 2.63 trillion volts, .07v per cell
I could be wrong but I’d say most DIY installs are under or at the $26k range and this is a DIY forum which SolArk gets a lot of business from.
Sol-Ark's Comment on EG4 18k-PV-12-LV
- Thread starter HighTechLab
- Start date
Cheap 4-life
My body is 2.63 trillion volts, .07v per cell
Zwy
Emperor Of Solar
I've also found that commanding a higher price than the prevailing price among competitors leads to a better clientele and a status of being a level above the competition.
Don't compete on price; compete on quality along with customer satisfaction and retention. If you do those 3 correctly, the market you are looking for will find your product.
Zwy
Emperor Of Solar
Why do both? If you offer quality with customer service, charge for it.
Limited resources of time, employees. If you are overwhelmed, raise the prices.
Commodities are priced different, the average customer doesn't know one brand of item from another, so they base the price of the commodity by price.
However if you are selling a commodity with customer service, then it is value added. Resources are limited, so the price can command a premium based upon quality, perceived customer service/satisfaction and retention. The value added portion consists of knowledge and expertise about the product. The product you are selling needs to be a complete package of quality, service, expertise knowledge along with ensuring customer satisfaction. That all comes at a price.
Quattrohead
Solar Wizard
robby
Photon Vampire
- Joined
- May 1, 2021
- Messages
- 4,168
I appreciate and pay for this kind of service or product anytime I can afford it.
If I cannot afford it then I typically just do without the item until I can.
robby
Photon Vampire
- Joined
- May 1, 2021
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- 4,168
I think "a lot" is very relative. I have no idea how many Inverters they sell per week but given their facility size and the amount of staff they have I would assume they must sell several hundred per week. ( A Huge guess on my part, but if anyone has a better number I would love to hear it.)
The reason why this argument goes on and on is because Sol-Ark cut a deal with Deye for exclusivity in the USA, cutting off a cheaper solution for the DIY community. I don't know who developed the technology, but why does it matter. Enjoy your new EG4 like I enjoy my new Sol-Ark 15K.
cs1234
Solar Wizard
- Joined
- May 9, 2022
- Messages
- 2,305
I'm surprised you don't have full access to all their numbers, with how buddy buddy you are with them.
Probably unlike most here, I'm actually buying a hybrid inverter soon and was dead set on the Sol Ark 15k before the EG4 18KPV was announced. I've currently got 32 bifacial panels running a grid tie.
For me, the extra 3kw of solar power in the EG4 is less useful than what I consider a more usable setup in the Sol Ark. I can easily hook up my existing setup as as it sits on just 2 MPPTs on the Sol Ark, where I'd have to butt up against the 600 VOC alleged limit on the EG4. Either way an extra 26 amp MPPT is more useful than an extra 15 amp.
Plus in the future I want to screw around with more panels in non-traditional locations on my house, and the lower MPPT min voltage of the Sol Ark will make this more doable.
The extra 3k AC on the Sol Ark when there's active PV honestly isn't a big deal to me. Maybe if I was completely off grid, but in that case I wouldn't be buying a hybrid.
I don't really care about the 5 vs <20ms transition time. I don't lose power enough that it will be all that inconvenient even if there is a noticeable flicker.
I really wish I could do a side by side test for some of the other nit picking on flicker and edge cases some people accuse the other system of. I've actually got access to tools to view and measure the waveforms which I think would be insightful.
At the moment the winner for me is the Sol Ark. I can't justify a <$2k (after tax credit) cost savings to try the new kid on the block, even as fun as it would be.
Now if Signature Solar wanted to cut a deal on a unit in trade for a video review from an engineer with a pretty unique DIY solar setup, I'd have to reconsider lol.
Either inverter I end up with I'm planning on running EG4 batteries so SS is getting a sale regardless.
For me, the extra 3kw of solar power in the EG4 is less useful than what I consider a more usable setup in the Sol Ark. I can easily hook up my existing setup as as it sits on just 2 MPPTs on the Sol Ark, where I'd have to butt up against the 600 VOC alleged limit on the EG4. Either way an extra 26 amp MPPT is more useful than an extra 15 amp.
Plus in the future I want to screw around with more panels in non-traditional locations on my house, and the lower MPPT min voltage of the Sol Ark will make this more doable.
The extra 3k AC on the Sol Ark when there's active PV honestly isn't a big deal to me. Maybe if I was completely off grid, but in that case I wouldn't be buying a hybrid.
I don't really care about the 5 vs <20ms transition time. I don't lose power enough that it will be all that inconvenient even if there is a noticeable flicker.
I really wish I could do a side by side test for some of the other nit picking on flicker and edge cases some people accuse the other system of. I've actually got access to tools to view and measure the waveforms which I think would be insightful.
At the moment the winner for me is the Sol Ark. I can't justify a <$2k (after tax credit) cost savings to try the new kid on the block, even as fun as it would be.
Now if Signature Solar wanted to cut a deal on a unit in trade for a video review from an engineer with a pretty unique DIY solar setup, I'd have to reconsider lol.
Either inverter I end up with I'm planning on running EG4 batteries so SS is getting a sale regardless.
misterbubbacat
Solar Enthusiast
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2021
- Messages
- 168
Zwy
Emperor Of Solar
Yes, you can have 2 but not all 3.
SignatureSolarJames
Try Solar, the Grid will always take you back
I'll take that criticism, and will try to do a better job of staying on math and facts.
SignatureSolarJames
Try Solar, the Grid will always take you back
I think this is more of a tech revolution, in that case, gravity may be suspended for a time, and at some moments you can have it all.
The real competitor is the grid IMO and companies have to get to parity with solar and storage. it will happen at some point and that is worth pushing hard for imo.
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pilotdrh
New Member
I retired in 2021 and moved to the Philippines. Last fall I decided to have a solar power system installed. I knew very little about solar at the time so I gave myself an education. I decided what I wanted and requested quotes from 4 different installers. Labor is one of the cheapest things here in the PI and I'm not adverse to spreading the wealth around some, no need to be a cheap charlie. Three gave me quotes, none of them were even close to my spec. Only 1 replied with an updated quote as I requested and it still wasn't close to my spec. Basically they just want to give you their standard. So after more research I decided I liked the Sol-Ark 15, advised that they did not ship to the PI but I was given a contact that could sell and ship it. That company wanted over $11k to supply it. Being a veteran I wanted to support a vet company but I could get a Deye 16 kW delivered to my door for $3.2k. Well I have a Deye. I installed my system (with the exception of using some of my wife's family members to put the panels on the ground mount), Ground mount, 21 kWp of PV (30 x 700 watt bifacial) breakers, disconnects, cables, conduit, 30 kWh of battery, shipping, labor for the panel installs and some concrete work, 16 kW hybrid inverter.....all in approx $21k. I'm actually spending another approx $150 for 2 new control boxes since I don't like the original ones I used. My monthly usage before the system was installed ran about 1100 - 1200 kWh a month. I'm grid tied but I don't export, not worth the hassle to me. Grid tied for the surge capacity. Although Uncle Sam requires me to pay taxes to the US I can't get the solar tax credit because my house isn't there. IMO the tax credit is one of the reasons installation cost so much. Plus the permitting and stuff. Here, I didn't need any permits or inspections. And a side bennie of retiring here is my 11 year old twins are not getting exposed to all the gender affirming care and grooming going on in the US.
Oh yeah, my system has been online since the end of Oct 2022. I did have an issue with importing power which was fixed after about 6 weeks with an update. I think it was a result of the grid not being very stiff.
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: Remindme 10 years
Hedges
I See Electromagnetic Fields!
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2020
- Messages
- 20,902
Says your accountant, or did you determine that by reading the tax rules yourself?
Double check if that is really true. Sounds like you do use the equipment for your home, so I thought it would have been eligible.
pilotdrh
New Member
That's what the tax rules say. Just like when I got married years ago I couldn't claim my stepsons as dependents unless they lived in the US, Canada or Mexico. WTF.
