1kw system = $4,300 installed

[SKY888]

Hi Guys,

I talked to one installer here in RI, and gave me a quote of 1kw system for $4,300 installed.

I'm planning to get 4-5kw system on my house.


here are the products that he'll be using:

Modules- AU optronics aka BenQ 260 watt efficiency 16.1%. All black module
with high output under low light conditions
Inverters- Enphase M215 CEC weighted efficiency 96+%
Module PTC rating- 233.4 watts
Module warranty- 10 year workmanship, 10 year 90% output 25 year 80% output
Power tolerance- (-)0-+3%
Mounting- Quick mount integrated flashing, low profile mounts (about 4" off
roof for air circulation), Uni-Rac black anodized rail system with one inch
equal spacing between all modules for air circulation and best snow
remediation. Modules are 1.5" thick



so for a 5k system, it will be around $21,500

$21,500 - $5,375 (25% RI grant) = $16,125

$16,125 - $4,837.50 (30% fed tax credit) = $11,287.50 total in the end


What do you guys think of $4,300 installed for a 1k system?

what about the products that he'll be using?


thanks!

[QueenBee]

Hi Guys,

I talked to one installer here in RI, and gave me a quote of 1kw system for $4,300 installed.

I'm planning to get 4-5kw system on my house.


here are the products that he'll be using:

Modules- AU optronics aka BenQ 260 watt efficiency 16.1%. All black module
with high output under low light conditions
Inverters- Enphase M215 CEC weighted efficiency 96+%
Module PTC rating- 233.4 watts
Module warranty- 10 year workmanship, 10 year 90% output 25 year 80% output
Power tolerance- (-)0-+3%
Mounting- Quick mount integrated flashing, low profile mounts (about 4" off
roof for air circulation), Uni-Rac black anodized rail system with one inch
equal spacing between all modules for air circulation and best snow
remediation. Modules are 1.5" thick



so for a 5k system, it will be around $21,500

$21,500 - $5,375 (25% RI grant) = $16,125

$16,125 - $4,837.50 (30% fed tax credit) = $11,287.50 total in the end


What do you guys think of $4,300 installed for a 1k system?

what about the products that he'll be using?


thanks!

I would expect there to be a much bigger price difference between a 5kw system and a 1kw system. There are other installers on the other coast who are selling them in the mid $3.00s per watt (Mother Nature Solar) but I have a feeling it'll be hard to find other installers as fair as him so I wouldn't be surprised if other quotes came in close to your price but I'd expect them to have some room to negotiate.

As for the products, you are paying a little bit of a premium for black, I assume the racking is black as well. I'm not sure what the total per watt ends up costing more but I could see it being $.25 per watt. Having said that I suspect they'll look really nice. As far as appearance how do you think the extra spacing between panels will impact appearance?

The QuickMounts are great and I get impression that unirack is a premium more expensive product. I'm not familiar with BenQ Solar but I'd suspect they are good. Their 260 watt rating on a standard sized 60 cell module seems pretty impressive as 250/255 or less seems to be what most people are putting out.

Efficiency doesn't really matter except when it allows you to get the total per watt cost down. So paying for the most efficient panel generally doesn't allow you to get a cheaper system since the panel per watt costs more than the rest of the materials saved from needing less panels to achieve the same output.

Have you had a solar survey and/or are you pretty comfortable with the expected output from the system? If so what's your ROI to break even?

I'd want to make sure the installer has a good reputation but everything you've said seems great, one question to ask is to this include the Envoy that allows you to see the production stats on their Enlighten website, it's ~$400 (I forget exactly).

And on that note the roof installers just showed up to install a new roof before I upgrade my 4.8kw system to ~15kw

[essaunders]

I have a quote (got it yesterday, actually) for a 4kw install for (after taxes credits and state rebates) $8800.

[SKY888]

I have a quote (got it yesterday, actually) for a 4kw install for (after taxes credits and state rebates) of $8800.

thats a good price

what parts/brands tho?

[SKY888]

I would expect there to be a much bigger price difference between a 5kw system and a 1kw system.

As far as appearance how do you think the extra spacing between panels will impact appearance?


Have you had a solar survey and/or are you pretty comfortable with the expected output from the system? If so what's your ROI to break even?

hello, thanks for the reply and feedback! I appreciate it.

when you said that you expect that there would be a much bigger price difference between a 5kw and a 1kw system, what do you mean by that?

my vendor told me that its basically 1kw system = $4400. So if I chose 4 or 5kw system, it doesnt really matter. Everything will be multiplied by $4400.

the spacing and appearance will look good. So no worries there.

with a 5k system which will probably produce around 5500watts here in Rhode Island. I'm good with that.
so, 5500 x .15 cents = 825

with $11,550 (after RI grant and Fed credits) divided by $825 = 14 years ROI

[essaunders]

I have a quote (got it yesterday, actually) for a 4kw install for (after taxes credits and state rebates) of $8800.

thats a good price

what parts/brands tho?

Canadian Solar 250w panels with enphase M215s

[SKY888]

I have a quote (got it yesterday, actually) for a 4kw install for (after taxes credits and state rebates) of $8800.

thats a good price

what parts/brands tho?

Canadian Solar 250w panels with enphase M215s

do you mind sharing your vendor?

I saw that you're in southern NH. I'm an hour or so away from you (northern RI).

I was wondering if your vendor also do Rhode Islanders

[essaunders]

My quote is from Revision Energy. the do mostly Maine and NH. When I first got quotes ~18 months ago (higher $ for less kw then!) I had two quotes that were very similar.

[SKY888]

thank you bro!

I heard from one installer that it will continually decrease in price through 2nd quarter of this year.
And might stabilize by the end of the year.

but the prices you got........is already awesome!

[QueenBee]

I would expect there to be a much bigger price difference between a 5kw system and a 1kw system.

As far as appearance how do you think the extra spacing between panels will impact appearance?


Have you had a solar survey and/or are you pretty comfortable with the expected output from the system? If so what's your ROI to break even?

hello, thanks for the reply and feedback! I appreciate it.

when you said that you expect that there would be a much bigger price difference between a 5kw and a 1kw system, what do you mean by that?

my vendor told me that its basically 1kw system = $4400. So if I chose 4 or 5kw system, it doesnt really matter. Everything will be multiplied by $4400.

the spacing and appearance will look good. So no worries there.

with a 5k system which will probably produce around 5500watts here in Rhode Island. I'm good with that.
so, 5500 x .15 cents = 825

with $11,550 (after RI grant and Fed credits) divided by $825 = 14 years ROI

I'm obviously not in the business of selling solar installs but as the system got larger I would expect the price to come down per watt because there are some materials which you need the same or a similiar amount of if its a 5kw or a 1kw system. And with those materials there are parts of the labor that are the same. THen you consider the cost to quote the bid, deal with you, deal with the permitting agencies, etc. Those are are all very similar on a 1kw or a 5kw job. My point just being that at the pricing your are seeing I would expect their profit margin to be fairly substantial higher on your 5kw quote vs 1kw.

5500 seems like a realistic production number, people around here like to use 1 watt of DC system to 1KWH annually but IMO that is conservative.


I applaud you for continuing with this project considering that kind of ROI. I can guarantee you that you will not regret it (Unless you move . I'm looking at ROIs of about half that but that's doing it myself, buying the materials through a distributor, and being as cost effective as I can be. 14 years also doesn't factor in the cost of electricity going up so the reality is it'll end up being much lower. The other question that is hard to answer is how much is the satisfaction of producing your own electricity worth? Prior to owning a system I wouldn't have considered that but had my ROI been 14 years having felt what I feel now I would have still done it.