Taking the Solar Plunge!

[EELinneman]

I was all excited to take the solar plunge in addition to taking the EV plunge last year. HOA didn’t approve at first but now that they have i found out that the costs went up (inflation and lithium demand and thus price) by 10k from the same company. So not feeling worth doing it.

Federal law says you can tell your HOA to shove their approval process where the sun doesn't shine - LOL. Our system was installed in October and fought our shitty local utility for months as they kept changing their rules. They finally installed the net meter on Tuesday. Of course, it snowed on Thursday, but we are now producing 122% of my usage from last year.

Someone brought up a great point of not signing a lease on the panels. We got a HELOC from Figure.com and it was funded in 8 days start to finish including verifying my wife's self-employed income.

Because of the short days in the winter and the fact that we are a couple of blocks from the start of the Rocky Mountains, my days are shorter than average, but still very glad to have these on the roof paying for themselves. I sure wish I could tell Intermountain Flash & Flicker to pound sand, but cannot. The panels will be doing 90% of the charging of my car which makes me smile.

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[dtbaker61]

But then as I read earlier this week that companies (other then Tesla) are now making roof panels with solar, i am thinking maybe it’s ok to wait and get both the roof replaced and solar at the same time. Of course the tax credits might be gone by then. Oh well.

solar roof shingles are NOT very efficient, very expensive, and many are not UL listed which means the Utilities will not allow you to grid-tie them. It is far more cost effective to go with the best mon-crystalline panels available..... that have a 25/25/25 warranty.

 

[MustThee?]

solar roof shingles are NOT very efficient, very expensive, and many are not UL listed which means the Utilities will not allow you to grid-tie them. It is far more cost effective to go with the best mon-crystalline panels available..... that have a 25/25/25 warranty.

I mentioned earlier about another company introducing solar roof during the CES this month. Not sure if you saw that. Warranty and other things at the GAF site.
https://www.gaf.energy/timberline-solar/
https://www.gaf.energy/warranty/

 

[dtbaker61]

I mentioned earlier about another company introducing solar roof during the CES this month. Not sure if you saw that. Warranty and other things at the GAF site.
https://www.gaf.energy/timberline-solar/
https://www.gaf.energy/warranty/

These are not really 'shingles', they look to be 4' long frameless 'strips' of rigid solar panels that are flush mounted in an overlapping fashion with no air gap between panel and roof decking. I looked all over their site, and found a 25-yr degradation schedule warranty, but several exclusions regarding actual output. I also found no 'specifications' showing actual solar power output of each 'shingle'.

As an installer I see several significant problems with this design:
- MORE penetrations in roof decking at the ends of the panels than in a typical rail-mount system
- no air gap behind solar means higher heat, which reduces efficiency
- no actual specifications on voltage, amp, watt ratings for each 'panel'
- no documentation of thirdparty testing output or static loading.... I'd worry about the frameless rigid panel cracking if the roof decking isn't perfectly flat.

and servicewise.... it would be a true nightmare if one shingle in the middle fails.... you'd have to un-install the whole column to get to it for remove/replace. huge labor cost.

I see no advantage, several problems, and a lot of missing technical information as well as a convoluted warranty.

 

[MustThee?]

These are not really 'shingles', they look to be 4' long frameless 'strips' of rigid solar panels that are flush mounted in an overlapping fashion with no air gap between panel and roof decking. I looked all over their site, and found a 25-yr degradation schedule warranty, but several exclusions regarding actual output. I also found no 'specifications' showing actual solar power output of each 'shingle'.

As an installer I see several significant problems with this design:
- MORE penetrations in roof decking at the ends of the panels than in a typical rail-mount system
- no air gap behind solar means higher heat, which reduces efficiency
- no actual specifications on voltage, amp, watt ratings for each 'panel'
- no documentation of thirdparty testing output or static loading.... I'd worry about the frameless rigid panel cracking if the roof decking isn't perfectly flat.

and servicewise.... it would be a true nightmare if one shingle in the middle fails.... you'd have to un-install the whole column to get to it for remove/replace. huge labor cost.

I see no advantage, several problems, and a lot of missing technical information as well as a convoluted warranty.

Interesting thoughts, Thanks for sharing! This is new stuff and I am far from making any decisions but good to know.

 

[NJDevFan30]

I went solar in 2018 and my only regret is not doing it sooner. For those looking, I'd highly recommend www.energysage.com** as a way to get competing quotes and also as a great resource to learn the ins-and-outs of the process and the technology.

Any questions, I'd be glad to field them. If you're in NJ or the northeast for that matter, I'd be glad to refer you to the installer I used. They were top notch.

**Full disclosure: That's a referral link. If you happen to move forward they give both of us an Amazon gift card. A little perk they offer to promote solar adoption.

 

[dtbaker61]

I went solar in 2018 and my only regret is not doing it sooner. For those looking, I'd highly recommend www.energysage.com** as a way to get competing quotes and also as a great resource to learn the ins-and-outs of the process and the technology.

Any questions, I'd be glad to field them. If you're in NJ or the northeast for that matter, I'd be glad to refer you to the installer I used. They were top notch.

**Full disclosure: That's a referral link. If you happen to move forward they give both of us an Amazon gift card. A little perk they offer to promote solar adoption.

energysage is not a bad place to get some background information... but be aware they have a referral-based revenue generation biz plan when it comes to getting quotes, and not all good local installers 'participate' in their plan which tends to favor low-bid over quality.

balance your selection of Installer with cost, reputation, time in business LOCALLY, and what panels they use. If you want long-term value, stick to the panels with true 25/25/25 warranty. Use local financing, or cash from your own investment portfolio. OWN the equipment, and get the tax credits. Look for Installer that has at least one NABCEP certified Electrician on site with every install.

LG, REC, Panasonic, and Sunpower are all great panels.... find an Installer that uses them. There are cheaper options for sure, but they are cheaper....

 

[NJDevFan30]

energysage is not a bad place to get some background information... but be aware they have a referral-based revenue generation biz plan when it comes to getting quotes, and not all good local installers 'participate' in their plan which tends to favor low-bid over quality.

balance your selection of Installer with cost, reputation, time in business LOCALLY, and what panels they use. If you want long-term value, stick to the panels with true 25/25/25 warranty. Use local financing, or cash from your own investment portfolio. OWN the equipment, and get the tax credits. Look for Installer that has at least one NABCEP certified Electrician on site with every install.

LG, REC, Panasonic, and Sunpower are all great panels.... find an Installer that uses them. There are cheaper options for sure, but they are cheaper....

I agree with your points but I do consider EnergySage an unbiased resource that really allows the consumer to gain knowledge of the products, processes, and available incentives, especially for those just starting out. With indepth reviews of all the major players and equipment, I think it's a phenomenal resource. If using the marketplace to solicit quotes it provides easy apples-to-apples comparisons and shows the types and quality of systems competitors are quoting and ranks them on a quality scale so you aren't basing your decision solely on price.

I agree that you need to vet the equipment and installers and second your point of only considering LOCAL and experienced. The prices, ratings, and value were far superior to any of the big outfits. EnergySage need not be your only place you go when vetting solar but I do think it is an invaluable resource whose top interest is spreading its adoption.

 

[smd95]

Hi Everyone and thank you for posting to this thread. I live in the Northeast PA area and due to some very large trees, which help shade my house in Summer, I am not a good candidate for solar. BUT, I am considering what I can do to use Solar to charge my MME. The only thing is that i have no experience with solar nor the MME's requirements. Is there someone on this thread who is willing to help me design a solution? I would be very grateful. I have a three 100 watt panels and even a Victron charge controller. I have no idea where to go from here. Any help is appreciated.

 

[bshaw]

I have no experience building out solar systems, but just from a power perspective -- you are going to need a lot more than 3x 100W panels to add any meaningful charge to an EV in a reasonable amount of time.

I think you'd want to get over 1500W going so that you could get about what an L1 EVSE would provide to the car. Anything less and you're going to be losing so much in heat/voltage conversions, it would not be worth it.

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