chuck101 wrote:No corners are being cut, quite the contrary. I am using good parts, better than I need to. See above:
"I got a swinging deal on the panels from a guy exiting the solar business. $2k for 16 panels plus some various installation brackets and pieces.
I do need to buy 4 more panels, you are right. I am just a bit off for not factoring those panels.
So another maybe another $1200 if you can't' find them local. FWIW my price for SUNIVA, 270W PV MODULE, H4, PV WIRE, 40MM CLEAR FRAME, 60 CELL MONO, 15A FUSE, 600VDC, 240.3 PTC, OPT270-60-4-100-H4-40MM is $261.90
So will end up more like $1.25 a watt which is still really low considering those panels are nearly a $1 watt. I'm not sure what rules of thumbs installers use but something like $1 a watt for panels, $.5 for inverters and $.25 for the balance of the system seems like a reasonable rule of thumb these days, obviously with lots of variation based on what components are used, type of install, etc.