Getting ON the Grid

[TPA]

I just did solar and I could not justify grid tie, in fact I could not justify using any of the incentives either.

Both of those require a professional installation.

If you can do the installation yourself, you can cut the cost of the project in half which is competitive with incentives, and I do not want to be on the government "hook".

Most places you go for panels, you will find the price to be somewhere between $4 and $5 per watt. I went here http://sunelec.com/ where panels are half that price, however, they are factory B panels but are guaranteed to have the same specs. I had them delivered, and they arrived fine. They seem to be a reputable company, but are very busy. They are located in Miami FL so maybe Reid Welch can comment on them.


I'm installing them myself as part of a 48V off grid system. I did about as well as if I had used any incentives, or hired someone to do a grid tie system.

I can, however, tie the grid to my system to charge the batteries in the event I happen to have multiple cloudy days in succession.

 

[John in CR]

TPA,

Thanks for that Sunelec link. At those kinds of prices, PV starts to make real economic sense. I haven't looked into PV in a few years, because I though we were still looking at $10 or more per installed watt. I may have to organize a group to have a container full shipped down here to Costa Rica.

John

 

[dogman dan]

Not following your math too good. It looks to me like if the power takes 10 cents a kwh to produce and the power company buys if from you for 12 thats 2 cents profit, not 22. Must be not understanding something.

In my case it figures different, The power would cost at least 15 cents to produce, and the local E company would only pay 6 cents for any excess power you produced. You would get a check for the excess power if you disconnect from the grid, not monthly or even annually. So anything bigger than 4 kw would be stupid for me, unless I ran the AC more.

Also I don't know where you get 10 kw installed for $40,000. Do your costs include the loan on $40,000, or do you have it in cash?

I still want solar PV myself, but it just isn't quite there, and the cost of the loan is one of the main sticking points. The state of NM is trying to set up a deal where homeowners can get interest free loans for PV or other solar home improvements. That, and the fed incentives would make it doable for me, along with another year of the austerity program paying off other stuff.

 

[TPA]

TPA,

Thanks for that Sunelec link. At those kinds of prices, PV starts to make real economic sense. I haven't looked into PV in a few years, because I though we were still looking at $10 or more per installed watt. I may have to organize a group to have a container full shipped down here to Costa Rica.

John

They sell Evergreen, kyocera, suntech, and sun panels.

The Sun panels are the cheapest but they are not UL listed so beware that. You will not be able to meet building codes without the UL listing. I'm told that the plant that makes the Evergreen panels in Germany does the UL inspection on the best panels it produces and labels them Evergreen. The panels that are lesser, are labeled Sun. Close to the same quality, but not quite, but at half the price.

If you want to make a station to recharge batteries or something that will not have to pass an inspection, these panels might just be the ticket.

I will report their performance when they are up and running.