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gregersonke

Active member
Joined
Oct 3, 2011
Messages
26
Hi everyone, my name is Kevin, I'm introducing myself here because I've had a number of customers who've visited me in Home Depot buying a Nissan Leaf and looking at getting a Solar System to offset the cost for it. I've been working with the company for just over a month. I also want to let you know, Solarcity does offer building your EV hookup for a really good deal cheaper than Nissan does. I'm also rather bit an energy efficiency junkie especially when it comes to lighting. I'm very much an auto enthusiast who can follow vehicles down to near the gear ratios. I'm very happy to answer any questions you may have about Solar, Lighting in General, LED lighting. I'm not an official rep for the company but it should be known where I'm working before I start poking my nose into related posts with my opinion.

A couple of questions customers have frequently asked.
Types of panels we use. As a company we can use many different types of panels, we test our panels to back our performance guarantee such that if our panels aren't producing what they are supposed to we will write you a check. Higher efficiency panels are available, but they will increase the price. It's not typically recommended to go this way unless you have limited space that you want to build a bigger system onto.

My own recommendation is to actually request better inverter setup rather than better panels. The number 1 thing to fail on solar systems that I've seen is the inverters not the panels. Better inverters are typically more reliable, and, they have higher conversion rates. Going from a 94% inverter up to a dc optimized 97.5% inverter setup will increase your output the same as adding two panels to your roof and typically costs less to do. This in my opinion is also better than doing a Microinverter setup in regards to parallel efficency at 96 percent with an inverter in a much easier to service place.

Contacting me:
Right now, I'm covering 21 stores from Daily City down to Salinas. I'm consistently in the Home Depot over in E Palo Alto on Sundays if you are trying to catch me for information or put a face to the name.

If you want to setup a free in home appointment to build a solid quote for your home, you can email me to find out where I'm going to be or set it up via email. My email is in my profile. I will donate to this site upon closing of sales that come from here.

If you have questions in regards to Solar City products or services I'll be happy to find the answers you seek.

Comments about the company:
A couple of major positives you'll find about Solar City Green Energy in comparison to the competition. We are the only 1 stop shop service Green energy company. Everyone from the energy advisor team to the installers that install the panels are working shareholders of the company. We offer performance Guarantee, and Best Value Guarantee. We offer three different lease options along with 3 different power purchase agreement options that are basically the same price as the lease but allow you to buy your system at a discount in 5 years.
 
you know i don't know why couldn't they just add a solar roof to their nissan leaf model that way you can charge the car on the go while the sun is up or add a salt water charging unit so you can keep th battary charaged while on the go like it's plain commen sense you have to have when your designing electric vechicles and hey good thing that the nissan company designed the nissan leaf so we can get out of our century's gas crave insantiy!!!
 
mechkid said:
you know i don't know why couldn't they just add a solar roof to their nissan leaf model that way you can charge the car on the go while the sun is up or add a salt water charging unit so you can keep th battary charaged while on the go like it's plain commen sense you have to have when your designing electric vechicles and hey good thing that the nissan company designed the nissan leaf so we can get out of our century's gas crave insantiy!!!
That's been discussed here many times already. It wouldn't be worth the added cost to the car because the energy production isn't high enough for the available roof space. You'd get *maybe* 5 miles of range out of 8 hours in full sun.
 
mechkid said:
you know i don't know why couldn't they just add a solar roof to their nissan leaf model that way you can charge the car on the go while the sun is up or add a salt water charging unit so you can keep th battary charaged while on the go like it's plain commen sense you have to have when your designing electric vechicles and hey good thing that the nissan company designed the nissan leaf so we can get out of our century's gas crave insantiy!!!


There aren't efficient enough panels that could be installed on your roof that still look good, don't cost too much, and produce enough power for your leaf. If you installed something efficient enough to charge the car, it would look like a tent on your roof, and you'd need to park in specific places and directions so that you got enough sun to charge the car.

-Kevin
 
gregersonke said:
Higher efficiency panels are available, but they will increase the price. It's not typically recommended to go this way unless you have limited space that you want to build a bigger system onto.

Hi Kevin,

I have a very limited south roof space (and I am not willing to use non-south parts of the roof).
What is a minimal square footage you work with, minimal system power you require, and efficiency of the best panels you sell?
 
Hi Jason, we've done as small as 1kw systems with microinverters all the way up to 100kw systems with multiple string inverters and DC optimizers. All depends on what you want to do.

But typical small 10 panel system size 2.35kw with 65"x35" panels starts at about 150 sq feet of roof space for standard panels at 11x15. HE panels from Sanyo with a 2.25kw system at 62.2 by 31.4 a piece reduce this down to around 135 sq. Basically takes up the space of 13w x 10.5L. For saftey and design reasons we typically need 180-200 of space.
 
Hi, Kevin,

Do you have any experience with east/west facing rooves? What loss of efficiency is to be expected from an east facing slope vs. a south-facing roof in the same sunlight (just rough ballpark)? (Panels would be mounted flat).

All the best,
-Brad
 
bradleygibson said:
Hi, Kevin,

Do you have any experience with east/west facing rooves? What loss of efficiency is to be expected from an east facing slope vs. a south-facing roof in the same sunlight (just rough ballpark)? (Panels would be mounted flat).

All the best,
-Brad
Depends on your lattitude and pitch really, but system wise, for Solar City installs in N California SF Bay area with a 22 percent pitch you'd be looking at a roughly 8-9 percent annual difference in production in with west facing panels and 10-14 percent with E facing panels. The difference is less with an 18 percent pitched roof.

I have a question, when you say mounted flat, do you mean flat on the roof with no racking to hold them up in the air? Reason I ask is that 5-6 inches underneath them will increase output during the summer months because the airspace underneath helps cool the panels.

I hope that answers your question,

-Kevin
 
gregersonke said:
Hi Jason, we've done as small as 1kw systems with microinverters all the way up to 100kw systems with multiple string inverters and DC optimizers. All depends on what you want to do.

But typical small 10 panel system size 2.35kw with 65"x35" panels starts at about 150 sq feet of roof space for standard panels at 11x15. HE panels from Sanyo with a 2.25kw system at 62.2 by 31.4 a piece reduce this down to around 135 sq. Basically takes up the space of 13w x 10.5L. For saftey and design reasons we typically need 180-200 of space.

Thanks Kevin,

I think I have around 28ft x 10ft of gross space (but that including some obstacles like a vent hole).
I guess that could fit an array of 10 panels in a portrait mode in a single row, or maybe more could be squeezed with three rows in a landscape mode depending on edge gaps you may require.
Can you give me an estimated quote based on the 10 Sanyo 2.25 panels?
Do you do estimations using aerial photos or by visiting a house?
 
jason98 said:
gregersonke said:
Hi Jason, we've done as small as 1kw systems with microinverters all the way up to 100kw systems with multiple string inverters and DC optimizers. All depends on what you want to do.

But typical small 10 panel system size 2.35kw with 65"x35" panels starts at about 150 sq feet of roof space for standard panels at 11x15. HE panels from Sanyo with a 2.25kw system at 62.2 by 31.4 a piece reduce this down to around 135 sq. Basically takes up the space of 13w x 10.5L. For saftey and design reasons we typically need 180-200 of space.

Thanks Kevin,

I think I have around 28ft x 10ft of gross space (but that including some obstacles like a vent hole).
I guess that could fit an array of 10 panels in a portrait mode in a single row, or maybe more could be squeezed with three rows in a landscape mode depending on edge gaps you may require.
Can you give me an estimated quote based on the 10 Sanyo 2.25 panels?
Do you do estimations using aerial photos or by visiting a house?

I usually take a look at the roof first via sattellite and ask a few questions before I set you up with an appointment over to the outside sales team who is trained on what to ask and look for to make sure they create an ideal quote for your roof. They also know a lot more about the local rebates and promotions going on around the states because every zip code is different for pricing. But to answer your question, we can setup appointments via onsite or on the phone. On the phone typically requires more work on your part as we get pictures of the electrical panel, mounting plane, etc. Right now, we've got a backup of about a week or two for appointments. Send me an email [email protected] and I'll be happy to assist in seting an appointment for you. I also donate to the board for each person who sets up an appointment for either EVSE or Solar through me.

Take care,

-Kevin
 
I can attest that Kevin has been very responsive in answering my questions about the
SolarCity options for my Leaf. I have a phone appointment with them this week to discuss the details.

The information required has been minimal so far .. just address and current PG&E bill.

I'll report back as soon as I get the details. Hope it works out because I'd love to not have to
have the car "on the grid" if at all possible.

jeff
 
I had had solar city come and evaluate earlier this year. What I found interesting was that they kept wanting to fush leasing over purchase. Somehow the system isn't as lucrative to buy over lease but I am concerned of being stuck on a 20 year lease. it will be left to the next owner to take over the leases or else I am stuck paying for it etc..
 
csriram45 said:
I had had solar city come and evaluate earlier this year. What I found interesting was that they kept wanting to fush leasing over purchase. Somehow the system isn't as lucrative to buy over lease but I am concerned of being stuck on a 20 year lease. it will be left to the next owner to take over the leases or else I am stuck paying for it etc..

So to answer your question, leasing has three methods of payment.
First is 0 down which has an adder into it where the payment increases 3.5 percent a year if you sold the house, you would transfer it to new owner pending his credit check. Or, prepay the lease and add into cost of house.

Second, is Partial prepay which locks in your payment for 20 years. If house is being sold, same rules apply but your payoff is a fair bit less than the first.

Third, which I personally think is the best deal overall with the way rebates are structured along with financing, Full prepaid leasing. This typically is the cheaper, and faster financial paypack. 6-7 years vs 8 with purchase. The cost is basically 10 percent up front and the rest on delivery and its good for 20 years with warranty included. Plus, it has no payments for the length of the lease which basically leaves the new owner after the end of the 20 years a few choices, purchase system at FMV(not a bad deal depending on what fair market value is at that time), renewing in 5 year increments(would be best as roof is likely 10 years from replacing), removing panels, or upgrading to the new tech with a new lease or purchase agreement.

Not that there is anything wrong with the purchase, it's just a longer financial payback than the prepaid lease for the owner. Though, from a production standpoint, consider getting asking for a quote with a better DC optimized inverter setup with the extra cash rather than purchase. This will let your system operate at its maximum capability for the period of use.

See link below for more information on DC optmizers.

http://www.solaredge.com/articles/blog/distributed-architecture" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Take care,

-Kevin
 
Thank you for the info. The advantage of purchase is the carbon credits you accumulate. In CA we can not yet sell much but eventually when things change these carbon credits would be useful. I was looking to get max system I could for my limited roof space (14 panels of Sanyo) for about 3.6kW system. Was given the string inverter though would prefer to go with micro inverter. I was almost ready to pull the plug but decided against it..... Solarcity wanted me to pay about $14K after credit but if I went with a private contractor the system was under $10K after credit.
 
csriram45 said:
Thank you for the info. The advantage of purchase is the carbon credits you accumulate. In CA we can not yet sell much but eventually when things change these carbon credits would be useful. I was looking to get max system I could for my limited roof space (14 panels of Sanyo) for about 3.6kW system. Was given the string inverter though would prefer to go with micro inverter. I was almost ready to pull the plug but decided against it..... Solarcity wanted me to pay about $14K after credit but if I went with a private contractor the system was under $10K after credit.

Microinverters on 14 panels will actually cost more than a single inverter as much as some manufactures would like to propose differently. Plus the advantage of a single inverter is that it can be easily serviced on the wall, or, replaced for a more efficient one in the future. The number 1 thing that kills inverters is heat and the hottest place to be is on the roof under the panels.

Solar City does provide best Value Garruantee, so if you find a better price for a similar product just bring it to your sales guy and he will get a match on it. We are also the only company in the industry to offer a 14 day cancellation period. Especially if there is as much of a price difference as you say it might make sense to let the number 1 residential installer in California lower your energy bills.
 
Kevin,
I live in San Diego County and have a paid upfront 3.29 Solarcity system. Who could I talk to about the details of a DC optimizer and what the improvement might be VS. the cost?
 
EV2E said:
Kevin,
I live in San Diego County and have a paid upfront 3.29 Solarcity system. Who could I talk to about the details of a DC optimizer and what the improvement might be VS. the cost?

Depends on the existing system most likely Fronius DC-inverter these days you can ask your salesperson what it is and he will know what your system is designed with. With the optimizers it would be 97.5 percent. Typical cost increase for your system to be DC optimized would be less than a thousand extra. If the current inverter is 97 percent then you'd only see a gain of about a dollar a month at current pricing. However if you add in shade from leaves, bird poops, etc. You could see a lot more savings. Send a note out to your sales contact and say that you want the SolarEdge DC optimizers and they can add it into the price for you.
 
Thanks Kevin.
I do have a shade issue in the fall and winter with big trees my wife loves so they will stay.
 
I just looked up the model you referenced here

http://www.fronius.com/cps/rde/xchg/SID-08D6E82D-CD848764/fronius_usa/hs.xsl/2714_1485.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The max efficiency is 96.2 with mostly at 95.5. Assuming you have a south facing roof this would be a gain for you of basically looking at your sun hours of 5.6 hours of avg sunlight times the 3.29 kw system times 95.5 and times 97.5 to find the roughly annual daily difference. The calculation comes out to roughly .36khwrs per day and an annual difference of around 135 kwhrs with shading issues you'd see even bigger difference.

How much you'd save is based on the tier that you are currently in. Based on your system size I'm guessing tier 3 (.27 khwr) most months and occasional tier 4 (.29 kwhr) based on San Diego Electric rates. Assuming (.27khwr) it would save you an extra 36 dollars a year on the low end basing purely on the conversion rating differences. With Shading changes this difference will likely increase especially on the months were shading is an issue across any of the panel strings being installed.

As for the big tree's I'm with you there and part of why I love California so much. For most customers, they can have the best of both world as long as trees stay appropriately trimmed.
 
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