Installed on 11/11/23, 7.89Kwp of solar panels with a 6kw hybrid inverter and 10kWh of battery storage🔋

Was a little cloudy in the morning so didn't break the 60kWh of production today.

Hobart Australia, any questions fire away!

Hey everyone!

I’ve been in the solar industry for a while and wanted to offer my knowledge to this awesome community. Whether you’re just starting to explore solar or already in the process, I’m happy to help answer any questions you might have.

Some common topics I can help with:

•	How solar panels and systems work

•	Costs and potential savings

•	Federal tax credits and other incentives

•	System installation timelines and what to expect

•	General tips for getting started with solar

Feel free to ask your questions here in the thread. I’m here to help with whatever you need… no sales pitch, just sharing what I’ve learned.

Looking forward to helping where I can!

Preface: I'm in California so I was looking around for solar installation because it would be massively beneficial here. And ended up getting in contact with a rep from sun run and got a review of my house and they drew up a plan. I haven't moved forward yet because I still have reservations.

He said as one of the main reasons to go with their service model is that in 10 years the battery is going to degrade and they'll replace it for me, because otherwise I would have to pay something like 3k to get it removed and hauled away. I was wondering how true that life expectancy estimate is. And also, if anyone has had to pay to have their battery removed, does that cost sound correct? Was it a hassle to find someone to do it? Does that cost/hassle really outweigh the benefit of owning your own system?

Another thing is that the monthly payment is to go up every year by 3.5% to account for inflation, and will eventually double by the 25th year and I'd end up having paid something like 100k over the term of the contract. I know buying your own panel+battery system costs roughly half of that or less, but to dissuade me from this, he mentioned again that the panels would have to be replaced in 25 years (my roof being brand new, I think it could maybe go 30) and they would do it for free, otherwise I'd be fronting the expense for that. Again I wonder if that life expectancy of the panels is true, and if there are ways to extend it past that? From my limited research and knowledge, 25 seems to be on the low end or low quality panels.

I read some of the sun run opinions in this sub while on the initial call, and they did frighten me a bit. But the rep has been courteous and doesn't come off as pushy which seems to be a departure from most other's experiences, lol. I know that doesn't say anything about how well they will install the system however.

Over the last 4 weeks, I've reached out to about 10 local installers. Only one responded. They sent a rep to my house to look at the roof, attic and circuit panels. They provided the following two proposals.

Both of these are pretty large arrays. I've only lived in this house for a few months so the consumption offset numbers below are based on some wild-assed guesses as to what my heat pump aux heating coil usage will be in Jan/Feb based daily kWh numbers during a recent cold week in November.

Location: Central Kentucky.

Utilities: Kentucky Utilities

| Proposal 1 | Proposal 2 ---|---|---- System size (kW)| 18.490 | 22.140 Annual output (kWh) | 22,251 | 26,180 Est. consumption offset | 102% | 120% Panels | 43 x Q.TRON BLK M-G2+ 430 | 54 x ZXM7-SH108 410 Inverter 1 | Tesla 7.6 kW | Tesla 7.6 kW Inverter 2 | Tesla 7.6 kW | Tesla 5 kW Inverter 3 | n/a | Tesla 5 kW Total Inverter output | 15.2 kW | 17.6 kW Price | $49,334 | $51,593 PPW before fed incentive | 2.67 | 2.33

My neighbor installed solar with a house battery. I have been reluctant to pull the trigger because I don't like the panels and I don't think the payback is there on solar given the number of panels I can put on my house. My main motivation is backup power.

I am thinking of adding a house backup battery and getting an electric car with bi directional charging. That way I can run off the battery then plug my car in to recharge it. I can then go to a supercharger and top off the car keeping me in power during a local outage. I know this does not generate any electricity but would cover me during outages.

Any thoughts on this idea?

Due to SolarEdge failure history and pathetic customer support, we are considering switching to Enphase microinverters. We also want to be able to throttle the output to match the house load when the Powerwalls are at a higher SOC, as we are fully off grid and don’t want the solar to shut off. Can we use the same cables on the roof to the distribution panel connecting the solar to the Gateway? Any other considerations? Thanks.

If I use most of my electricity at night, but obviously generate most of my electricity during the day… does that mean that I will be selling most of my generated power (at $.05/kWh) and still buying most of my electricity (at $0.15/kWh) even after buying a rooftop solar installation?

I'm curious about Briggs & Stratton batteries, specifically the SPHI 6.6.

I understand the B&S bought Simpliphi a few years ago, but I'm not seeing much info about either company.

Is a stack of 3 a decent option (20kWh will be fantastic for my needs)? How's the monitoring? Does Sol-Ark monitor these and give me all the good info? Can I use Home Assistant to monitor the batteries?

General thought on Sol-Ark 15 + B&S batteries is appreciated.

My uncle has a small 4.8kw solaredge system that covers basically all his electric usage.

16x300w system that is doing fine. His inverter is a basic SE3800H-US Solaredge inverter and he now wants to add a small battery to only back up fridge and maybe 2-3 more outlets in case of an outate which have been coming occasionally in his area for a day or so long. He is anti-Telsa. He is anti-gas so will not get any type of generator. He just wants a small battery add on, not whole home.

The company that put the system in says they do not do battery add on. The first company that he called all on his own recommended just ripping solaredge out and replacing it. He of course balked as it is paid off and he has had not a single issue with the system.

He is not DIY, he wants to hire a professional to install. What battery route options do you all think are best to look at given all the above info?

17 of my 60 panels are showing output of 1Wh or nothing at all. The rest are producing 130-150Wh. The system was installed about a week ago.

Panels are 415W Hanwa Q.Cell Q.Peak-Duo-BLK-Ml-G10+

Inverters are Enphase IQ8A-72-2-US

It's overcast with light rain today. All of the panels have some water beads on them but I can't see any visible difference between the ones that are producing and the ones that are not.

Looking for advice:

I'm new in solar and really like it! I went through a 3 month solar installation program where I received my OSHA 30, boom lift/telehandler license, and First Aid. After a 1 month OJT trial period I got hired on as an Installer 1/Helper with a company. This company has hired many candidates from this training program in the past and according to other folks in the field, the company is one of the better ones to work for in the area.

Problem I have is that I feel like I am not learning much of anything working in the field. No onboarding or training of any kind, just thrown out into the field and expected to keep up. Jumping from one job to another and never really completing one job from start to finish. The leads I've worked under are too busy with the site to instruct us in detail or just don't bother to.

I want to be a lead someday but don't see how I can get the knowledge or experience to be a lead when I am just a body on the roof. My company has had several people in management and senior leads leave the company in recent months and they haven't found qualified folks to fill those roles. I've looked at getting NABSEP certified to see if my company will offer me more money if I get my certification.

Is it worth getting NABSEP certified or should I look for a company with more hands-on training?

Is it just me or is it normal for Just Energy numbers not match Smart Meter Texas numbers? This last bill JE showed I used 44.24kWh more for a difference of 3.55% over Smart Meter. And on the other side JE showed I exported 47.3kWh less than Smart Meter or a difference of 5.46%. But the Free nights calculation this month matched exactly so zero difference. Now every month it is the same way, pay for more and get credited for less. Anyone else seeing this trend?

Husband just got a call from a solar company who promised installation, and back up battery was $0 down, also only $195 a month for electricity… me bring me I’m very wary to these kinds of things, I want solar but I don’t believe they are solely out to just make our lives easier, obviously they need to make a profit. Also we aren’t doing the best financially(living paycheck to paycheck) so should we say screw our $500 pgne bill and risk solar ?

Edit: I’m just a girl and don’t understand half of what y’all are saying 💀 but I appreciate the help

Hello All,

I am installing Solar at my home in Bay area with a reputed solar vendor.I heard conflicting information regarding tax credit.

Version 1 is that contract is good enough for the Tax credits.

Version 2 is that installation should be completed and permit to operate should be obtained.

Can someone please explain what exactly is the rule.

Cheers!

For those wondering if they should get solar. Please do not get it. It’s a complete scam in which there will be something better within the coming years. I had worked in the solar industry for 3 years doing contracts and all that. Reps are scammy and will milk you for as much as they can. They are not usually there to help you, they are there to make a quick buck. Solar should not be sales based as anyone can charge anything. Most people getting solar are not saving money until after their 25 year loan paying for solar, the contract, and even the utility bill if solar doesn’t cover it. In which sometimes it’ll be said to cover, but your production was incorrect from what they assume it to be. So now you’d need to wait a year for a full report before anything is done about that. I am not a victim to this, but I have seen it happen many times to customers and they just gotta suck it up.

Hi all, I’m located in Michigan and have been collecting quotes for the last few weeks. Quotes are for a system sized around 8200 kWh with first year production of 8900 kWh and an offset of the allowable 110% by DTE in Michigan. I am leaning towards two local installers that are in the middle of the pack when it comes to $/W. They are around $3.20 and $3.30 per W. I have been letting them know I am interested in REC/Panasonic panels with emphase microinvertors. Do these quotes seem fair? And if I go with Silfab panels, the $/W goes to $2.95/W. EnergySage says all three panels are excellent performance-wise but I’m not sure if the warranty is worth the extra few grand or not. Are there any other things I should be on the lookout for in these quotes? These are first quotes so I hope to squeeze a little bit more savings in by the end.

TIA!

Hi, I'm a PhD researcher, and I need to simulate an optical system that includes a lamp. From what I understand, Tonatiuh only allows simulations with solar rays, so this might not be feasible with it. Would SolTrace make it easier to achieve this, or should I consider other programs, such as Ansys Zemax OpticStudio?

I’ve seen lower quotes on Reddit but from a few months ago. Have prices gone up or should I keep looking? I’ve gotten two and both are around this.

Thank you!

I am having solar installed. I paid the down payment already but the install isn't going to happen until next year at this point I think. Would I apply the tax credit to 2024 or 2025? Would it matter if the deposit was made one year and the rest of the balance paid the next?

I had a sales person from solar pros come and pitch me yesterday. They basically broke down a 25 year loan that would even out the same as my Xcel Energy bill monthly.

I’m pretty new to all of this, but can someone shed some light on pros and cons to working with solar pros/freedom forever?

Hi All, been offered 10 panels, and invertor and wall battery for 500GBP

The owner had their roof done and decided not to bother putting the panels back.

This is what there is :-

10 x Perlight Solar PLM-250M-60

https://www.solarelectricsupply.com/perlight-solar-plm-250m-60-solar-panels

1 x Solax SK-SU3700E Invertor

https://www.renugen.co.uk/solax-single-phase-hybrid-inverter-3-7kw/

LG Chem RESU 6.4 EX Wall Battery

https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/lg-chem-resu-6-4ex-vs-tesla-powerwall/

I'm totally new to solar and looking at this from POV of either selling the kit on OR keeping it for house move?

I suspect the kit is at least 8 years old but there is no installer date stickers so that's a vague estimate and likely longer than that? Seems like the wall battery would not be worth that much without being able to test. The lowest price on eBay of the invertor is 450GBP. I've got no idea what the panels would be worth?

And the other caveat is that I have to strip out the invertor / wall battery from the attic (the panels are already off the roof)

Should I leave well alone or could this be the start of a brighter energy future for 500GBP?

Any comments / flames etc appreciated!

Looking to get a new home which unfortunately means leaving my 9kw system I put in under NEM 2.0. A lot of the houses have much smaller ~3kw systems and I use about 13kw a year (mainly EV charging at night). I believe many are under NEM 2.0 still so I am trying to see what the best energy savings strategy will be. Since I will use the EV plan, I could load up on batteries so that all the solar goes back for credits to maximize savings.

I‘m debating between two systems: Tesla Powerwall and EcoFlow Smart Home Panel 2. Any experience with these? The EcoFlow is cheaper and the other pro is that I can add more solar to my house and have it connected off-grid to the Delta Pro Ultra to have a mix of the old NEM 2.0 system and more capacity. Just worried about reliability. Any other batteries out there to consider?

Got some installers trying to sell me on a S6 EH1P8K-L PRO Synapse Ultra hybrid inverter, 8kW, 40A AC and batteries 5K0-LV Synapse Lithium battery, 5kW at a very reasonable price, problem is when googling these model codes only Solis comes up, does anyone know if this brand is a copy or is anyone using this brand?