Solar company in orange county area

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Andolyn

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 4, 2014
Messages
52
Location
orange county CA
I'm looking into solar for my home in Orange county california. I'm looking for recommends of solar companies some of you folks here have used and have had good success with?
Thanks for any info
 
Heliopower installed mine. They were good, but I really needed to ride them on getting the job started as scheduled, because my installation was tiny/inexpensive compared to the high five-figure installations that appeared (4 years ago, at least) to be their stock and trade.

My sales person, Bret Pursuit, was the most pleasant part of the experience. He's gone on to be an independent solar consultant since then, and I don't have contact information for him right at hand (on my office PC), but I can get it for you by the middle of next week. He's worth giving a call, just to see if/how he can help you through his industry contacts. In the meantime, here's his Linkedin profile:

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/bret-pursuit/6/45b/759" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
I went with solar city purchase. They were on the ball the entire time. Excellent service and followup. Navigated all the HOA and city issues with ease. Install was one day including all stucco and paint. Came back in ten days to replace a few broken roof tiles. Absolutely no issues. Liked making the payment through paypal on a credit card.
 
smkettner said:
I went with solar city purchase. They were on the ball the entire time. Excellent service and followup. Navigated all the HOA and city issues with ease. Install was one day including all stucco and paint. Came back in ten days to replace a few broken roof tiles. Absolutely no issues. Liked making the payment through paypal on a credit card.
No problem feeding it back into the grid to be reimbursed and or credited for the power you are making with your system?

I ask because here in the Chicago area, it's reported that the power company, (Commonwealth Edison,) keeps loosing the paper work that the installation company submitted, so people go for months with no credit.

Maybe someone in the Chicago area can chime in on this.
 

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No issues, no delays. Full and proper credits on the billing statements.

Although the net metering in OC may change some in 2017 so best to get this ball rolling if you are on the fence.
 
Also look into RGS (Real Goods Solar), they are the oldest and longest running residential solar company in the USA (http://rgsenergy.com/) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Goods.

When I got my Leaf and wanted solar ASAP, I asked on here and was refereed to them and highly recommended. As you can see in this thread, we went all out and got an awesome system and they did a great job!

As well as cheap! We had bids from EVERYONE! and I mean EVERYONE! Good luck on your solar adventure!

Just make sure to get multiple bids!!!

EDIT: I'm approaching 1yr to PTO so I'll post all the monthly stats soon! http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=15050
 
Findally started my solar search. talked to sungevity yesterday
4KW system is what they recommended. 15K to purchase usual solar tax incentives rolls out to be about $4300
Or $99 lease for 20 years at the end of the lease, 3 options
A- panels i now own
B- i can have them removed at their cost
C- i can update to what is the solar stuff then. ( 20 year)
German panels Trina was the brand ( 14) 15% efficient 6-8 weeks approx install time.
single inverter, Girl had said the the inverter per panel was a problem because the inverters are under the panels and get hot and have been needing to be replaced.
I'm talking to solar city this week.
I have solar city and RGS next
 
Andolyn said:
single inverter, Girl had said the the inverter per panel was a problem because the inverters are under the panels and get hot and have been needing to be replaced.
There is some truth to that. I have studied this in some detail and posted a thread on the findings. While the failure rate on the previous generation of microinverters was too high, the current generation shows no indication of a problem. You might want to take into consideration that the warranty for the microinverters is 25 years, while that for the central inverters is only 10 years.

And there are other considerations besides reliability and warranties, some of which we have discussed in some detail in this thread.
 
Andolyn said:
German panels Trina was the brand
Ummm NO!!!

Trina's are pure Chinese.. If you are renting or Leasing a system and have no vested interest then fine. But if you are purchasing, go with something else.. and not Sungevity. When we were looking, they were the highest watt/$ out of all the quotes. Don't let them fool you :roll:

Trina Solar was established in 1997 in China and has been listed on the stock exchange since 2006. The name "Trina" is a transliteration of the original Chinese name TianHe. Roughly translated, it means "to combine harmoniously with the sky"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trina_Solar

P.S. Solarcity has supposedly gone into an agreement to buy Trina or their manufacturing because it's the only panel they and Tesla use for their setups and they want exclusivity. But still, you get what you pay for :roll:
 
Over at the Arizona Wind & Sun forum, a user SolarPowered, documented his work for a client out West, I thought in California but I'm not sure. You can at least follow the installation that he did and possibly ask a few questions too.

http://forum.solar-electric.com/for...69-my-7-5kwh-micro-inverter-build-in-progress

Even if you're not going to do the work yourself, it is very important to know the fundamentals and if things are being done right. For example, on my installation, I hired a roofer to install the brackets. When he was starting I casually asked him why he didn't snap a chalk line. He said, "I've been doing this for 20 years and I don't need a chalk line." OK, but ... you guessed it, when I went up and looked it was as crooked as a sidewinder in the Sahara. I ended up having to loosen everything and readjust as best I could to get it at least close to straight. He also left me to haul the panels up to the roof myself, backwards up a ladder thinking it is $1000 if I drop this and I sure hope the wind doesn't pick up right now. I got worried about the electrician when he said, "Wow, it's been awhile since I bent conduit." So I finally had to, as the guys in the electrical store kept saying, "fire the electrician," because when I looked him up his license had lapsed. Just an oversight but it would have cost me the $18K rebate. So yes, it still can be a project even when you hire people. In the end, I found a great electrician who came in and did the last bit of the project.
 
This is Solar city's proposal
Attached is a design and proposal for a 4.16kW solar system that will produce at least 6,498 kWh’s per year. As you can see, I included two different zero down options:

1. Pay As You Go PPA – Solar system is installed for no up-front cost and you just buy the electricity that the system produces at 15 cents per kWh ($81 avg per month).

With this plan, the rate does go up annually, but only at 2.9%. Historically SCE raises their rates at 4.8% per year.

This plan includes a 20 year warranty, insurance and monitoring by SolarCity

2. MyPower – Solar system is installed for no up-front cost and you would own the solar system. This is essentially a loan for a $21,216 solar system with a 4.5% APR. You can buy out the remaining payments whenever you want, or you can pay the monthly minimum over 30 years.

In terms of price per kWh, this is like getting the electricity at 17.7 cents per kWh in year 1 ($91 avg per month), and then we drop your price per kWh down to just 12.7 cents per kWh ($65 per month) after the Federal Tax Credit is passed on to us.

This plan includes a 30 year warranty, insurance, and monitoring by SolarCity
 
What is your annual usage in kWh? Do you expect usage to remain the same?
Are you on a TOU plan?

IMO you should be aiming for 60% to 85% of usage. Completely zeroing out your bill is overrated. Good chance TOU rates will effectively zero out the money before you zero out the usage.

I am inclined to do the purchase.... as in ask for option 3 where you purchase and get the tax credit yourself.
For zero down use HELOC etc. Otherwise I would tend to go option 2.

I put mine on a credit card through Paypal, then used savings.
 
During the months of August, Sept and Oct this year i was around 700 kWh in elec usage. Other months about 600kwh.
Im not sure what tou is? I do expect to get another elec car in the EV in the future.
 
TOU is Time Of Use. Different rates at different time of day.

Allows you to sell at higher day or on-peak rates and charge your vehicle at lower rates at night.

click here: SCE TOU Rates

System size seems about right as it is just a bit short of your annual usage. I would expect the output to be a small amount better than stated.
Either plan should work fine. I am just inclined to own stuff.
 
So far the two companies i have posted are are the only two i have been contacted by. sungevity and solar city. Both quotes are about the same. solar city has their own crew and does not farm out the work. If that has a plus or not? If i can put this question out their.

Is it better to own and pay on it for 20 years or lease the solar system for twenty years and own the system at the end of the lease? One of sungevitys options is to lease the system and at the end of lease, either they remove the solar panels at their expense or we just keep the system and now own the panels?
How many folks out their are leasing versus purchasing? I do not have a big enough tax liability to take advantage of the current tax rebates in southern california.
Looking forward to input
thanks
 
Purchase seems better to me. I bought mine. SC let me put it all on a credit card through what else but paypal :D (just for the points)
Worst case put it on HELOC.
Turbo tax got me the refund. No doubts on the payback period of 5 to 6 years.

Neighbor did the lease or PPA something and periodically wonders if it was a good deal :|
I prefer to be able to sell if needed with an asset vs another payment to explain to a buyer.
 
We're going with Solar Energy Exchange for the 6 kW system for my son's house in Mission Viejo. Solar World 285 panels. Very honest people. We know the CEO personally.

Give them a call. You might be happy you did.

http://www.solarenergyexchange.net/index.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
I like the lease idea beacuse no down payment and I end up owning the system it looks like you own afterwards if you want. Im stuck on the initial rate and the annual increase over the 20 years. IE; start .15 a kwh first year follow ed by a 2.9% increase yearly.
:geek:
 
I just installed a 4.0 kWh system by Solar Max, they seem very professional. I'm just waiting for SCE approval so the power can feed into the grid.

I have a question. I'm so excited when the system got installed, but find out I can't turn it on until SCE approval. If I turn on the system now, will SCE find out?
 
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