Looking for home solar advice

[ajdelange]

I think they half-assed their assessment because they just used a satellite photo of my roof to determine how many they could fit.

That's what a lot of them do but there is a lot more to it than that. The direction your roof facets face, shadowing trees, the weather in your vicinity etc. But before getting into that you need to determine your requirements.

I'm looking for solutions that will also let me charge my truck

You have a truck with high consumption - close to 400 Wh/mi. The average American drives about 35 mi/day. That will take 0.4*35 = 14.5 kWh out of your battery and in addition to that you will have to cover approximately 1.5% of 130 kWh = 2 kWh phantom drain per day for a total of 16.5 kWh. The average American household (no BEV) consumes 30 kWh/da. An RIT uses more than half of this.

As an example of how this translated to solar panels I have 45 of them on the garage where I park the BEV and they produce 13 kW in full sun so that I need 16.5/13 = 1.3 hours of full sun (hFSE) just to maintain the R1T. In the summer I get 5 or 6 hFSE/da. In the dead of winter 2 or less. So while there is plenty of margin for other loads (lights, A/C, the Tesla...) in the summer, in the winter, there isn't.

I have some rather high power requirements

One installer said they wanted to install 97 panels!

Beyond the truck you have, of course, the other loads to think about. I heat and cool the main house with heat pumps which suck a lot of electricity to the point that my average load is right around 3 times the national average at 100 kWh/day over the year. Quite by coincidence I havre 97 panels which produce 80% of that (on average - it's a net metered system independent of the panels on the BEV garage).

It's probably clear that 97 panels is not practical for most but another factor to consider is that there is probably no way to fit that many panels on south facing facets of your roof even if you are willing to foot the bill. Panels on east and west facing facets will not collect as much sun as ones on south facing surfaces but they do collect sun and are worth considering if you have high electric loads or if you want to cover more of your bill. Tesla even recommends doing this in its PowerWall installation app notes. The local installer whose website you visit will NOT consider this. They will propose a system that may cover half to 2/3 you total need if your loads are typical. If you want more you will have to hire an engineer to design a system for you (or do it yourself) and then tell the installer what you want done.

All this is to let you know that you will probably be disappointed with respect to how much of your electric bill solar can cover. But keep in mind that half of it isn't to be sneezed at!

One more note: Solar is in big demand now. You may have trouble getting the attention of any installer in your area and asking one to deviated from his cookie-cutter approach isn't likely to get him to cooperate.

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[Moon]

We recently got Tesla solar installed.

Before finalizing Tesla, we had also contacted a local company Wells Solar, comparatively they were expensive, considering they were also going to install Tesla panels. Their service included reinstallation in case we are changing the roof, also included relocation, in case we wanted same system installed on another house we move in, all at no extra cost. Anyway, for $30k we were getting 13.6kw installed with Tesla compared to $43k for a 9.4kw system with Wells Solar, all those extra perks did not make sense to us.

Originally we had placed order for 36 panels, 14.4kw, during design, Tesla Energy reduced it to 34 panels, 13.6Kw, claiming roof is not large enough. They completely skipped some part of the roof, we are no experts, but we still feel, it is best if they could come down and take a closer look instead of designing based on satellite images.

Order date: 06/19/2022
Installation date: 08/29,30/2022

We had to argue with our HOA, regarding street facing panel placement, we have NW facing home, most of our panels face street. We requested Tesla for detailed design, they were kind enough to share us a loss of production letter and PVWatts results, our HOA approved without further delay. In fact, in Texas and many other states, HOA cannot deny home owners the right to solar solely based on asthetics.

We also got two power walls and in the original plan ( again based on garage pictures that we had sent), they were suppose to be installed inside, but on the day of installation, they decided to install them outside, we did not complain.

15 panels facing SE and 19 facing NW. On an average, in the morning time, generation is about 0-6kw, afternoon about 7-11kw, and evening, 7-0kw. Overall, on a fine sunny day in September, the system is able to generate 50-60kw.

We already own a Tesla Model Y and soon R1T. As of today with one EV (we just plug it in every day, about 10kw), our monthly average home electricity usage is around 1000kw. We are hoping to generate enough and manage two EVs, well, theoretically.

Overall, 34 panels, 2 PW and installation cost us about $51k. We had no problem dealing with Tesla Energy, they were very responsive and friendly, the installation was neat and I must mention, their panels look beautiful. Tesla app is also very well integrated.

--
Little late in the process, but we are on right track, saving it for our children. EVs, Solar, Composter etc are easy choices we could make. Minimizing the plastic usage has been hard one, we are working on it. We are even carrying empty tiffin boxes to restaurants just in case we have to bring home the leftovers, perhaps another topic, modern life has become very complicated.

 

[svet-am]

@Sgt Beavis - as a Coloradan presumably on Xcel energy, keep in mind that Xcel will only let you size your system to 120% of your current 3-month average usage. It may not matter what the installer wants to do, it will be dependent on what Xcel allows. Also, here in Colorado, Xcel is running about 3 months of lead time to inspect/approve the system before it can start generating.

 

[ChampagneUnicorn]

@Sgt Beavis - as a Coloradan presumably on Xcel energy, keep in mind that Xcel will only let you size your system to 120% of your current 3-month average usage. It may not matter what the installer wants to do, it will be dependent on what Xcel allows. Also, here in Colorado, Xcel is running about 3 months of lead time to inspect/approve the system before it can start generating.

Yep. I second all of this and we just installed in Spring. Did go to 120%, but it’s pretty obvious so far that ain’t gonna cover it between our Volvo XC90 and soon to be R1S.. I used Alex P at Empower Energy, he’s local and does actually care… the rest of the experience is just what it is in Covid World..
+1 (813) 733-2900

 

[emoore]

Oh.. maybe putting the cart before the horse here, but try to go with the Emphase IQ microinverters vs. old school optimizers and string inverters.

You use one microinverter per panel and don't need any other conversion equipment downstream. That also means if you lose on panel or microinverter.. that's all you lose, it doesn't take out a good portion of your array like the optimizer/string inverter system does.

That's not true with the opimizers. I have those and and string inverter and lost a panel early on (manufacturing defect). Only that 1 panel went out, not the entire string.

I went with Tesla 5 years ago since they were the cheapest. Installation crew was teriffic and I've only had one issue (dead panel) that they replaced. No other issues.

 

[Moon]

That's not true with the opimizers. I have those and and string inverter and lost a panel early on (manufacturing defect). Only that 1 panel went out, not the entire string.

I went with Tesla 5 years ago since they were the cheapest. Installation crew was teriffic and I've only had one issue (dead panel) that they replaced. No other issues.

We got Tesla installed recently, if one or few panels fail, how can this be detected ?

 

[emoore]

We got Tesla installed recently, if one or few panels fail, how can this be detected ?

I got access to my solar edge inverter and can see each panel production. Plus the inverter states how many optimizers are reporting. My said 23/24 so I knew 1 panel was down.

 

[miasm]

Have Tesla solar with power walls. It was a fine experience, and has been working great. Price and financing at the time was unbeatable, and I quoted 5 local companies. All we're significantly.mire expensive for less solar and without batteries (no power when the grid is down if that's the case).

 

[SANZC02]

Someone mentioned look for a local company. That will be very helpful as they will be tuned into local city and power company requirements.

Someone also mentioned that the local power company only allows 120% max of your current average. That would be to get on a NEM program but you may be able to get them to wave that, I was able to get SCE to wave it and went 200% of current daily average because of the Rivian on order.

Don’t get too hung up on number of panels, the new ones are getting pretty dense. I was able to get a 6.3 kW system with 17 panels. Also some local codes may require the micro-inverters, mine does but a local company will be aware of all of that.

If you are planning on the federal tax rebate don’t look at leasing, the leasing company would get the tax break not you.

If you want to be able to use solar during a power outage you need to pair it with some sort of power backup system, I’m using a Tesla Power-wall, without a backup the solar will not work in a power outage.

 

[DTown3011]

Good Morning everyone,
I've started shopping solar panels for my home. I looked into SunRun but they told me I could only get 10 panels on my home. I think they half-assed their assessment because they just used a satellite photo of my roof to determine how many they could fit. There are other homes in my neighborhood that have the exact same roof with up to 20 panels.

Anyways, I'm looking for advice on Solar providers I should look into. I know about Tesla but I also know about their <sarcasm>legendary service</sarcasm> I have some rather high power requirements and I'm looking for solutions that will also let me charge my truck. I'm still kind of a noob at this so any advice is appreciated. Links to good education sites or youtube vids are also appreciated.

Thanks,

Don't waste your time with Sunrun. They are a national company and install both cheap panels and their pricing isn't competitive. They really focus on people that know nothing about solar and just looking for plug and play.

I went through this entire process years ago when we got our system installed, shopped about 8-10 local companies and made a spreadsheet of the different options. One thing that was very clear was the panels and production rates were very different across all providers - I was willing to pay a bit more for quality. We ended up going with LG panels and have not looked back.

We ended up going with Sandbox Solar out of Fort Collins and have been happy. Best Solar Company in Fort Collins - HOME (sandboxsolar.com) I would have done Namaste but they were extremely backlogged with install times, but provided competitive rates. ION is a waste of time, don't bother. Photon Brothers not bad, but pricing wasn't in line with Sandbox. I have my old spreadsheet if you'd find it helpful.

I am trying out https://www.energysage.com/ have not picked a provider yet but it looks promising.

I actually used Energy Sage to get my initial quotes and installers, just to find local companies.

@Sgt Beavis - As a fellow local guy, reach out to Namaste Solar. Get them on the phone and explain your situation. That's what I'm doing.

Last I checked with Namaste, they were backlogged for months but YMMV.

 

[zefram47]

Don’t get too hung up on number of panels, the new ones are getting pretty dense. I was able to get a 6.3 kW system with 17 panels. Also some local codes may require the micro-inverters, mine does but a local company will be aware of all of that.

That's impressive. I have a system that was installed in 2015 with 22 panels and I think it's rated at 5.5 kW. On the best of days I generate just shy of 40 kWh/day, but average on a clear day is probably low to mid 30 kWh. I wish I could increase capacity, but I doubt Tesla would do it since I'm in the middle of a PPA contract. In my case, it was installed while the home was being built, so there wasn't even an estimate on baseline usage. Now that I own an EV it's nowhere near adequate.

 

[mpw81]

I also had a good experience with Photon Brothers in 2020. Did a 15 panel array with a Powerwall and they also did a service upgrade (100 to 200) upgrade and installed a run to my detached garage with a 15-40 outlet for my Audi wall charger so I could claim the tax credit on all of it.

 

[JeremyP]

@Sgt Beavis - as a Coloradan presumably on Xcel energy, keep in mind that Xcel will only let you size your system to 120% of your current 3-month average usage. It may not matter what the installer wants to do, it will be dependent on what Xcel allows. Also, here in Colorado, Xcel is running about 3 months of lead time to inspect/approve the system before it can start generating.

Xcel actually changed that rule this year and now allows you to go to 200% of historical usage. When I put my system on I was right up to the 120% limit.
Also the NEC changed and now vent stacks can be trimmed down so panels can go over them. It drives me crazy when I see solar on a house with a big space just because of a vent pipe!

 

[zefram47]

Xcel actually changed that rule this year and now allows you to go to 200% of historical usage. When I put my system on I was right up to the 120% limit.
Also the NEC changed and now vent stacks can be trimmed down so panels can go over them. It drives me crazy when I see solar on a house with a big space just because of a vent pipe!

Good to know. I have a ton of vents on the south facing roof which limited panel count when my system was installed.

 

[MVR1S]

Lots of good advice in this thread. One additional thing you should consider is the condition and age of your roof. If it’s old or in anything other than good shape, you may not want to spend a bunch of money on solar knowing that you’ll need to spend more to have it removed, stored (if you don’t have space) and then re-installed whenever your roof needs work. Not every solar installer will tell you this, unfortunately.

Another thing to think about, especially regarding local companies, is that most if not all of the large regional companies use subcontractors to do the installation. That means you might get the exact same crew showing up to punch holes in your roof whether you go with Tesla or Joe’s Local Solar. I know this from experience, as I used a regional solar company (via EnergySage) and while they do have local employees, the installers who did mine were all subcontractors. One even showed up wearing a Tesla t-shirt, and when I asked him about it he said he also did jobs for Tesla.

In the end, I wish I had just gone with Tesla. Yes, microinverters (which I have) are newer technology, but you really can’t beat Tesla’s pricing. If you’re also adding battery backup, then you won’t find anything even close.

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