Is $3.8 per watt a good deal?

I'm considering putting 8kw of panels on my roof and have received a couple quotes so far. Both are around 40k for the setup, and that does seem high to me. Any advice?

Sounds high to me.
is that before or after tax credits?

$40k for 8,000 watts = $5/watt, not $3.80, a little on the high side, but my only reference is the systems I installed for myself and a few friends. The panels are down close to $1/watt now, which has always been the biggest cost. I'm pretty sure I could install those same systems again for ~$2/watt. But, a lot depends upon where you are located, zoning laws, electrical code, etc. Here in Florida I'm allowed to self install as long as the electrical work is done by a master electrician.
http://sunelec.com/cms/newsletter-best-deals/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I recently have my solar panels installed. $40k for 8,000 watts = $5/watt is the highest I seen with 8k watts system.
Should be $4 per watt or less.

Unless you are in Washington state that is really high and in WA it's only a little bit high.

Thanks. Yeah I'm just getting into the pricing and effect of tax credits, SERC's, etc. I'm in MA.

One quote I have is for a 7 KW system at $25,000 before any credits, producing 8 KWh a year. After the federal and local credits are factored in it's 16k. I wish I had more to compare to but this is the one I'm pursuing at the moment. Based on my last year of electric use it will cover about 46% of my needs, largely because I have electric heat and pretty much used it all last winter. Going forward I'm going to gather firewood for use in two wood stoves I have, which will cut down a lot of the excess energy use. Probably should have last year but I got lazy and it costs me a small fortune with the freezing winter we had.

Back in 2010 my system (8Kw Panels & 7Kw inverter) cost $4.42 / Watt. It worked out to $3.09 after all the incentives.

Of course the price of panels dropped in a major way the following years. The pure materials cost is now under $2.00 a watt so the rest is going to the installation company. The biggest factor is the watt density of the panels. You will pay much more for smaller higher output just like you pay 50% more for a computer with a 20% faster CPU.

buy the panels that have micro inverters in and put install them yourselves and then hire electrician to connect to your main power, if you piece meal the install it becomes much cheaper. $2.50 a watt installed if you do it yourself.

aluminumwelder said:

buy the panels that have micro inverters in and put install them yourselves and then hire electrician to connect to your main power, if you piece meal the install it becomes much cheaper. $2.50 a watt installed if you do it yourself.

Click to expand...

Can you recommend a panel with these features?

How much does an electrician typically change to connect it?

In MA, if you want to get the MA Grant and SRECs, (and you do), you have to contract with a MA CEC approved installer, (literally hundreds), and you have to get a Mass Save home energy audit done first.

I took 17 proposals for a 6.72 kW ground mount array with Enphase in 2012 and the qoutes ranged from $31k-$45k, all the higher end being national companies with large sales forces and high overhead, and all the low end being locally owned and operated.

Compare your qoutes to Absolute Green Energy in Worcester.

Good to know - the thought had cross my mind to do the install job myself. Without the SREC's I doubt it would be worth it. They're gold.

My extra array that we just added was $1.40/watt for another 3kw array or SolarWorld panels

That's racking, inverter, etc.

If you do DIY, you'll win..

I believe the MA CEC will allow you to install yourself, with a licensed electrician, but you have to get certified by them like anybody else. See their website. I could be wrong.

JasonA said:

My extra array that we just added was $1.40/watt for another 3kw array or SolarWorld panels

That's racking, inverter, etc.

If you do DIY, you'll win..

Click to expand...

Depends how much you get paid at work I guess if you need to take any time off to get this job done. Yes you can work on weekends sure, but how long will it take for a rookie to install a non-trivial size array? And it is not a 1-man job, so you need someone to help you too. Then you pay an electrician, pay to get all the permits, and deal with your utility company to get a PTO. Because of these reasons I'm working with an installer, yes my payback period will be 2-3 years longer and I won't be as proud of myself with no right to brag about the DIY route, but I can live with that.