Reputable Solar companies and what I need to know

OP
OP
timbop

timbop

Well-Known Member
First Name
Tim
Joined
Jan 3, 2020
Threads
63
Messages
6,729
Reaction score
13,758
Location
New Jersey
Vehicles
Solar powered 2021 MME ER RWD & 2022 Corsair PHEV
Occupation
Software Engineer
Country flag
hmm, lots to think about...
Sponsored

 

NJDevFan30

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 12, 2021
Threads
3
Messages
100
Reaction score
182
Location
NJ
Vehicles
'21 MME Premium ER, '19 Highlander Hybrid
Country flag
I got solar installed in August 2018 using a company called Green Power Energy. They're a smaller, NJ based company that I can't recommend enough.

I shopped around using EnergySage and they were the most competitive but more importantly the most responsive and informative. Their reviews online speak for themselves.

In terms of going solar, our only regret is not doing it sooner. We haven't paid a dime for electricity and our payback is right on track. We have Panasonic panels with a SolarEdge inverter.

I'd be glad to talk specifics about the process, GPE, or help answer any other questions you may have. It was a fun process to go through.
 
OP
OP
timbop

timbop

Well-Known Member
First Name
Tim
Joined
Jan 3, 2020
Threads
63
Messages
6,729
Reaction score
13,758
Location
New Jersey
Vehicles
Solar powered 2021 MME ER RWD & 2022 Corsair PHEV
Occupation
Software Engineer
Country flag
Thanks guys for all the info - I appreciate the offers for additional help!
 

GoGoGadgetMachE

Well-Known Member
First Name
Michael
Joined
Jan 23, 2020
Threads
153
Messages
5,614
Reaction score
12,654
Location
Ohio
Vehicles
2021 Mach-E 1st Ed., 2022 Lightning Platinum
Occupation
Professional forum cheerleader and fanboy
Country flag
I ended up using Tesla personally. After that derecho that moved through our area last summer that knocked out our neighborhood in some places for a week I started looking at getting a whole home generator. To get an appropriately sized one that ran on propane was between $5-10k. Then I read an article that Tesla had recently dropped their prices and guaranteed to match any competitor.
The Tesla purchase of SolarCity had a whole ton of question marks around it, there were the infamous Walmart panels, the ongoing Buffalo stuff... just a ton of shady stuff that mean I'll never go with them for a system. I'm perfectly happy to pay a little more (and based on the quotes so far, it is a little more) and not feel like I'm supporting such stuff.

I'm glad you're happy - really, I am - but I think people should do some research into the company before choosing them.
 

CHeil402

Well-Known Member
First Name
Chris
Joined
Sep 21, 2020
Threads
8
Messages
723
Reaction score
1,314
Location
King of Prussia, PA
Vehicles
2017 Audi A4, 2021 MME
Occupation
Electrical Engineer
Country flag
The Tesla purchase of SolarCity had a whole ton of question marks around it, there were the infamous Walmart panels, the ongoing Buffalo stuff... just a ton of shady stuff that mean I'll never go with them for a system. I'm perfectly happy to pay a little more (and based on the quotes so far, it is a little more) and not feel like I'm supporting such stuff.

I'm glad you're happy - really, I am - but I think people should do some research into the company before choosing them.
I'm just answering OP's request of providing first hand experience with which I haven't had any issues and had stuff added to my system design at no cost. And let's be honest, most of these companies are just solar installers using the same equipment. There's a benefit to having a company around in 10 years that you can reach out to with any warranty issues since the system is warrantied for 25 years. I'm happy with my choice you don't need to be.
 


GoGoGadgetMachE

Well-Known Member
First Name
Michael
Joined
Jan 23, 2020
Threads
153
Messages
5,614
Reaction score
12,654
Location
Ohio
Vehicles
2021 Mach-E 1st Ed., 2022 Lightning Platinum
Occupation
Professional forum cheerleader and fanboy
Country flag
I'm just answering OP's request of providing first hand experience with which I haven't had any issues and had stuff added to my system design at no cost. And let's be honest, most of these companies are just solar installers using the same equipment. There's a benefit to having a company around in 10 years that you can reach out to with any warranty issues since the system is warrantied for 25 years. I'm happy with my choice you don't need to be.
Completely understood and again I'm happy you're happy. But I didn't want to let it sit there without another point of view.
 

malba2366

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2019
Threads
7
Messages
448
Reaction score
427
Location
NY
Vehicles
911 C2S
Country flag
The Tesla purchase of SolarCity had a whole ton of question marks around it, there were the infamous Walmart panels, the ongoing Buffalo stuff... just a ton of shady stuff that mean I'll never go with them for a system. I'm perfectly happy to pay a little more (and based on the quotes so far, it is a little more) and not feel like I'm supporting such stuff.

I'm glad you're happy - really, I am - but I think people should do some research into the company before choosing them.
Are you getting installers with a solid track record to come in at $2/watt before incentives? I know a couple people shopping right now and the best they are doing is $2.60-2.80/watt. This is in the NY/NJ area. I see you are in Ohio, so local pricing may be different.
 

GoGoGadgetMachE

Well-Known Member
First Name
Michael
Joined
Jan 23, 2020
Threads
153
Messages
5,614
Reaction score
12,654
Location
Ohio
Vehicles
2021 Mach-E 1st Ed., 2022 Lightning Platinum
Occupation
Professional forum cheerleader and fanboy
Country flag
Are you getting installers with a solid track record to come in at $2/watt before incentives? I know a couple people shopping right now and the best they are doing is $2.60-2.80/watt. This is in the NY/NJ area. I see you are in Ohio, so local pricing may be different.
No, like I said it is more expensive. Tesla can't be beat on price, and they for sure have a track record. I just have major concerns about them to where the price doesn't matter to me. Personal choice thing.
 

malba2366

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2019
Threads
7
Messages
448
Reaction score
427
Location
NY
Vehicles
911 C2S
Country flag
No, like I said it is more expensive. Tesla can't be beat on price, and they for sure have a track record. I just have major concerns about them to where the price doesn't matter to me. Personal choice thing.
Ahh...you said a little more. So I figured you were close to that number.
 

GoGoGadgetMachE

Well-Known Member
First Name
Michael
Joined
Jan 23, 2020
Threads
153
Messages
5,614
Reaction score
12,654
Location
Ohio
Vehicles
2021 Mach-E 1st Ed., 2022 Lightning Platinum
Occupation
Professional forum cheerleader and fanboy
Country flag
Ahh...you said a little more. So I figured you were close to that number.
So far I've gotten on the order of $2.25 which feels to me like a little more, but depends on your definition of little I guess ?

fair to call me out on it!
 

malba2366

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2019
Threads
7
Messages
448
Reaction score
427
Location
NY
Vehicles
911 C2S
Country flag
So far I've gotten on the order of $2.25 which feels to me like a little more, but depends on your definition of little I guess ?

fair to call me out on it!
That is a good deal if you feel more comfortable with the dealer. What kind of equipment are they giving you? The one downside with Tesla is that they use Chinese Panels, and they use a string inverter and only include optimizers if they think you need it.
 

bruceski88

Well-Known Member
First Name
Bruce
Joined
Aug 12, 2020
Threads
6
Messages
269
Reaction score
310
Location
CA
Vehicles
Mach e
Occupation
Retired Engineer
Country flag
I installed my system myself and it wasn’t very large (8 panels) so microinverters were the way to go. But these inverters started to fail after about 7-8 yrs. I had to replace them at the cost of about $1000, which included adding real time monitoring, so this wouldn’t happen again. I am not sure microinverters are the way to go, but I am committed to it. Now I am going to doube the capacity of the system and it costs $2/W doing it myself. It is easier to expand a microinverter system. This system from mysolarpod does not need roof penetrations so it is something I will do on a 1 story house, but had a local installer do it on my 2 story vacation house. I see lots of advertisements for the materials to do it at around $2/W but not installed. These are prices before rebates and tax credits. Payback in Northern CA is 4-5 years at this price before rebates and tax credits.
 

GoGoGadgetMachE

Well-Known Member
First Name
Michael
Joined
Jan 23, 2020
Threads
153
Messages
5,614
Reaction score
12,654
Location
Ohio
Vehicles
2021 Mach-E 1st Ed., 2022 Lightning Platinum
Occupation
Professional forum cheerleader and fanboy
Country flag
That is a good deal if you feel more comfortable with the dealer. What kind of equipment are they giving you? The one downside with Tesla is that they use Chinese Panels, and they use a string inverter and only include optimizers if they think you need it.
Silfab Solar SIL-330 NL SIL with SolarEdge Technologies HD Wave SE11400H-US [240V] | Extended Warranty inverter. They look like decent panels - drop-off is a bit higher than normal though.

Waiting on more quotes before making a decision. When I last went through this I ended up with four very varied quotes, so we'll see.
 

louibluey

Well-Known Member
First Name
Joe
Joined
Dec 21, 2020
Threads
60
Messages
888
Reaction score
1,097
Location
NY
Vehicles
FE "Louibluey" GB
Occupation
retired
Country flag
If you like working some numbers, this simulator NREL's PVWatts® Calculator includes local climate. Years back, I found it helpful. The Google estimator is interesting, but the results for my home are too high (Google recommends 10+ kW). I have 7.5 kW, which before Louiebluey, some electric heat, and some supplementary electric hot water, was too much. In net metering where you give back any used credits, usually in March or April every year, bigger than you need is not better.

My cost was much higher 2016, I went for then high efficiency LG panels to get the most of early morning light. I'm running 28 LG 315 Watt Mono Black US Made Solar Panels, 28 Enphase S280 Microinverters, 1 Enphase Envoy Communications Gateway and Unirac Low-Profile Solar Racking. No failures, but the direct connection of the microinverters to my main panel was interfering with the enphase communications between the micros and the array. I did my EE thing and installed a separate PV panel with an industrial 240V line filter (tailored to the enphase power line communications signal frequency) to isolate the two systems (PV panel from home panel), and now I get 100%, full bars for all micros to the controller, and no micro com noise on my home power lines. But, that was a pain, both to understand the problem and to fix it (okay, kind of fun too). No failures so far.

I think the trends today are all towards Solaredge inverters with optimizers.
 

mdolan92869

Well-Known Member
First Name
Mike
Joined
Feb 25, 2021
Threads
21
Messages
871
Reaction score
2,008
Location
Orange County, CA
Vehicles
'21 Mach-e (Had '83 GT, '89 GT Ragtop, '13 GT)
Occupation
Retired Software Engineer
Country flag
I guess I'm lucky with SoCal Edison (SCE), I got my panels back in 2011 and they were sized for a pool and a pump running 6-10 hours a day depending on time of year. Got rid of the pool in 2019 and got a rebate check for producing more power than I used, this fall and that's including a Clarity PHEV and WFH for most of 2020.
Sponsored

 
 




Top