greenleaf
Well-known member
Probably additional discount if you negotiate for two installations! :mrgreen:csriram45 said:
Solar Purchase vs Lease
- Thread starter csriram45
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csriram45
Well-known member
greenleaf said:
Good point. Let me ask the installer. Trevelan PM me if u want to try this approach?
davewill
Well-known member
To get back to the lease vs. buy discussion. I'm seriously considering the lease for these reasons:
1. It's a large outlay which I'd rather spend on other home improvements or keep for my retirement.
2. I will realize savings over my regular utility bill immediately, making my cash flow positive from day one.
3. The environmental impact is exactly the same...in fact I might get a bigger system this way than otherwise.
...and...
4. My wife about had a coronary when she saw the price tag, even with incentives.
It's really a personal thing...I'm just not that much into the "self-sufficiency" aspect, so it doesn't need to be "my" solar. I just think all these roofs shouldn't be going to waste.
1. It's a large outlay which I'd rather spend on other home improvements or keep for my retirement.
2. I will realize savings over my regular utility bill immediately, making my cash flow positive from day one.
3. The environmental impact is exactly the same...in fact I might get a bigger system this way than otherwise.
...and...
4. My wife about had a coronary when she saw the price tag, even with incentives.
It's really a personal thing...I'm just not that much into the "self-sufficiency" aspect, so it doesn't need to be "my" solar. I just think all these roofs shouldn't be going to waste.
csriram45
Well-known member
I too was considering Lease but I think in the longer run the purchase will be able to make sense. I believe with the 30% of energy to come from other sources by 2020, PGE will be dependent on us to get that # and as a result might be forced the owners to pay more to buy. It will be at this point that the purchase option will benefit you. if you lease it benefits Solarcity.
csriram45
Well-known member
Interesting turn of events. Real Goods tried to get in touch with me to find out what happened. When I told them that I got competitive quote they are now frantically trying to match it. It does help that I got few others who are interested to go Solar and I have told them that depending on how they treat me I can recommend to friends.
RGS is now trying to get me Sharp 235W panel. Any insights on that? How do those compare?
Thx
RGS is now trying to get me Sharp 235W panel. Any insights on that? How do those compare?
Thx
csriram45
Well-known member
drees said:
Yeah I agree. Here is the comparison between panels
PTC Power Rating
ET - 212.1W
Schuco - 213W
Sharp - 211.8W
STC Power per unit of area
ET - 13.4W/ft2
Sharp - 13.4W/ft2
Schuco - 13.4W/ft2
Power Tolerances
ET - -1%/+3%
Sharp - -5%/+10%
Schuco - 0%/+5%
So I guess ET is slightly better than Sharp?
If you're referring to the CEC numbers, the differences are negligible and could easily be explained by manufacturing tolerances.csriram45 said:
Sharp and Yingli are much bigger manufacturers than ET solar. If you were to rate the companies it'd probably go Sharp, Yingli, ET solar.
That said, in my opinion, I would normally go for the cheapest panels. They are basically a commodity item as long as you buy from one of the larger manufacturers. If pricing is same or similar I would also tend to prefer the panels with more domestic content as well which would likely mean they probably have a slightly lower carbon footprint being made locally since they don't need to be shipped as far - and factories in the US are run under tighter environmental regulations than China. Japan would be similar to US in terms of environmental regs, but still have to be shipped across the Pacific...
csriram45
Well-known member
drees said:
errr I mentioned Sharp while you referred to Sanyo so a bit confused. Also I thought ET was made by Canadian Solar and so was closer to home.
Sorry, bit of confusion there. Fixed it.csriram45 said:
Canadian Solar panels are mostly made in China, I believe, despite their name. They are not the same as ET solar as far as I know (but ET solar are also made in China).
csriram45
Well-known member
drees said:
Ok that made sense. Will wait for RG quote to know what they have to offer. Somewhere in this thread or another place I read the ET Solar is also made by Canadian Solar.
greenleaf
Well-known member
One thing to note is that the CA incentives are based on the PTC numbers. So even though the performance of the actual panels could be subject to manufacturing tolerances, your rebates are higher when you picked panels with higher PTC numbers.
Other than that, my approach in selecting the panels is very similar to drees'. My priorities are roughly
1) Lowest price (based on $ per PTC watt)
2) Large / reputable manufacturer
3) US made
Other than that, my approach in selecting the panels is very similar to drees'. My priorities are roughly
1) Lowest price (based on $ per PTC watt)
2) Large / reputable manufacturer
3) US made
csriram45
Well-known member
yes I agree with both of you. I am thinking on the same lines. yet to get the RGS proposal so will wait for them to get back.
csriram45
Well-known member
BTW, will AB 920 etc people who eventually consume more than what they generate? I wonder if utilities have to pay higher price for what you generate because it is generated by a greener method than what they sell to you which is by traditional method? This means I would have negative bill because even though I consume more but what I generate is sold to PGE at higher cost. A hopeful and wishful thinking but with Gov. Brown signing a bill that 30% of CA electricity should be from green sources it would mean utilities are dependent on us.
csriram45
Well-known member
Had not updated in a while. So the RGS quote was provided
Gross System Cost $19,669 ($5.98/watt DC, $7.02/watt AC)
CA Expected Perf-Based Buydown (EPBB)
Step 8
($932)
Installer Contract Cost $17,637 ($5.36/watt DC, $6.29/watt AC)
Federal Tax Credit/Tax Impact ($5,291)
Net Cost (year of installation) $12,346 ($3.75/watt DC, $4.40/watt AC)
Still higher than what I got from others and so not sure if I will go with them. Additionally I got quotes for some SunPower systems and the system prices for them seemed to be much higher price/watt. The only advantage I see in my case is that I can get a bigger system in my limited roof space compared to others.
Gross System Cost $19,669 ($5.98/watt DC, $7.02/watt AC)
CA Expected Perf-Based Buydown (EPBB)
Step 8
($932)
Installer Contract Cost $17,637 ($5.36/watt DC, $6.29/watt AC)
Federal Tax Credit/Tax Impact ($5,291)
Net Cost (year of installation) $12,346 ($3.75/watt DC, $4.40/watt AC)
Still higher than what I got from others and so not sure if I will go with them. Additionally I got quotes for some SunPower systems and the system prices for them seemed to be much higher price/watt. The only advantage I see in my case is that I can get a bigger system in my limited roof space compared to others.