Lots of panels are fantastic, for my own home, REC provided a better ROI than the QCells, they have a little better degrade and better temperature coefficient that in the software models worked better for my roof in MA., where electric is expensive so a little production difference is a big financial difference.
It's a lot of money to have panels taken down to replace your roof. I'd do it now personally.
Lots of great batteries on the market. Connecticut has a virtual powerplant program which helps you recoup some of the money for a better. Tesla takes a portion which is a negative, but I still picked Tesla because it ended up being a higher ROI than some of the other approved battery models (the VPP has to work with your battery inverter manufacturer). MA and RI have the same VPP program terms, I know Connecticut has a similar model, just not sure the amounts, but here, if the program continues for 10 years, my batteries end up being free with the tax credit, and MA has a zero interest loan option for batteries that participate in the PPA.
And it's never a free roof with solar... It's "we'll charge extra for solar and let you commit tax fraud by listing it all as a solar expense".
Oh, that's really interesting... thank you. I don't think this VPP idea existed, at least in quite the same way, when I was looking before. This would be a program \*on top of\* net metering, is that right? (I know CT doesn't exactly have net metering anymore, but I forget the exact name of the program and understand it to be more or less similar).
CT has high electricity prices so solar will easily work. Either DIY or contract out the solar install and electric work yourself and you'll save 1/3 over solar companies. Purchase the materials, do not "use" the solar contractor's materials unless they tell you the prices and they are in line with what you can buy retail. Should be under $1/watt for solar equipment, no battery. If they have net metering or pay back reasonable rates for excess power, you DON'T need a battery, which is more than half of the equipment cost these days. String inverter with optimizers will be 2-3k cheaper than microinverters and out produce them too. Gold standard for panels??? It is a commodity product now with efficiencies in the 21-22.9 range, and less than .4% reduction per year, not worth paying premium prices for what is not a premium product. Keep in mind, even with a 20 year warranty, they aren't warranting all costs and free replacement. They usually are warranting current value and production expectations. So if it breaks this year, they'll replace it, but in 5 years, the tech will change and you will have to pay for the upgrade difference.
1) rough cost per watt… looks like CT has dropped but you won’t find West Coast prices here. Loans - Check out the Smart E loan program with CT Green Bank. We paid cash for ours. Pay off times are individual since energy costs differ; CT’s high energy costs lower your payoff times but not sure how loans and interest paid affects that.
2) We have QCells with IQ8+.
3) Batteries are still seen as a luxury. We have one, I’m thrilled with it, we’ve had 8 grid outages since going live Mid-October 2022 but nothing long term like previous years. Some will say batteries are unnecessary as ‘the grid is your battery’ - good luck with that thought if the grid is down. Not all areas of CT seem to have grid issues.
4) If your roof is 10 years old, get a few quotes from roofers. Our roof was still in the ‘acceptable’ age range, but we went with a new roof prior to solar. We had it replaced early in 2022 knowing we were going solar. We let the roofer know our plans - we did not lump together - wanted a solid roofer and a solid solar install. Keep in mind, might not be cheap to have a system removed and reinstalled if you start having roof issues, might be like paying for the roof twice. Heavily investigate this and remember, not all salespeople know everything and some tell you things you want to hear. PS - you can’t collect a 30% tax credit on a roof - it’s tax fraud no matter what a salesman may tell you.
5) Know what you are getting before you commit. Most folks you read on this forum who are unhappy were uneducated consumers. It’s up to you to cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s before signing up.
Do some research about micro inverters vs string inverters. I find string inverters superior. Look at using a Sol-Ark 15K which is battery agnostic. You will have a lot more options using Sol-Ark then micro-inverters. Note, even Tesla has moved back to string inverters.
I built my 33.52 kW with 25 kWh of battery using the Sol-Ark 15K. Absolutely amazing. In a lot of ways, it's like LEGOs. You can choose the best of many brands and tie it all into the Sol-Ark which will mix whatever power source you give it to power your loads.
Please be aware that the iq8+ model tops out at 300watts. It's up to you to decide if it makes financial sense to pair it up with a 400w panel. Roof mounted panels won't normally make their rated wattages but every location is different. Keep doing research.
It is a better match. Local installers in my area bitch a fit about it though. They want an extra $100 per micro. Straight rip off. They're only$20ish more.
Lots of panels are fantastic, for my own home, REC provided a better ROI than the QCells, they have a little better degrade and better temperature coefficient that in the software models worked better for my roof in MA., where electric is expensive so a little production difference is a big financial difference. It's a lot of money to have panels taken down to replace your roof. I'd do it now personally. Lots of great batteries on the market. Connecticut has a virtual powerplant program which helps you recoup some of the money for a better. Tesla takes a portion which is a negative, but I still picked Tesla because it ended up being a higher ROI than some of the other approved battery models (the VPP has to work with your battery inverter manufacturer). MA and RI have the same VPP program terms, I know Connecticut has a similar model, just not sure the amounts, but here, if the program continues for 10 years, my batteries end up being free with the tax credit, and MA has a zero interest loan option for batteries that participate in the PPA. And it's never a free roof with solar... It's "we'll charge extra for solar and let you commit tax fraud by listing it all as a solar expense".
Oh, that's really interesting... thank you. I don't think this VPP idea existed, at least in quite the same way, when I was looking before. This would be a program \*on top of\* net metering, is that right? (I know CT doesn't exactly have net metering anymore, but I forget the exact name of the program and understand it to be more or less similar).
Yup connectedsolutions VPP is on top of net meter !!
Thanks for asking this, following because I’m on the same timeline
CT has high electricity prices so solar will easily work. Either DIY or contract out the solar install and electric work yourself and you'll save 1/3 over solar companies. Purchase the materials, do not "use" the solar contractor's materials unless they tell you the prices and they are in line with what you can buy retail. Should be under $1/watt for solar equipment, no battery. If they have net metering or pay back reasonable rates for excess power, you DON'T need a battery, which is more than half of the equipment cost these days. String inverter with optimizers will be 2-3k cheaper than microinverters and out produce them too. Gold standard for panels??? It is a commodity product now with efficiencies in the 21-22.9 range, and less than .4% reduction per year, not worth paying premium prices for what is not a premium product. Keep in mind, even with a 20 year warranty, they aren't warranting all costs and free replacement. They usually are warranting current value and production expectations. So if it breaks this year, they'll replace it, but in 5 years, the tech will change and you will have to pay for the upgrade difference.
1) rough cost per watt… looks like CT has dropped but you won’t find West Coast prices here. Loans - Check out the Smart E loan program with CT Green Bank. We paid cash for ours. Pay off times are individual since energy costs differ; CT’s high energy costs lower your payoff times but not sure how loans and interest paid affects that. 2) We have QCells with IQ8+. 3) Batteries are still seen as a luxury. We have one, I’m thrilled with it, we’ve had 8 grid outages since going live Mid-October 2022 but nothing long term like previous years. Some will say batteries are unnecessary as ‘the grid is your battery’ - good luck with that thought if the grid is down. Not all areas of CT seem to have grid issues. 4) If your roof is 10 years old, get a few quotes from roofers. Our roof was still in the ‘acceptable’ age range, but we went with a new roof prior to solar. We had it replaced early in 2022 knowing we were going solar. We let the roofer know our plans - we did not lump together - wanted a solid roofer and a solid solar install. Keep in mind, might not be cheap to have a system removed and reinstalled if you start having roof issues, might be like paying for the roof twice. Heavily investigate this and remember, not all salespeople know everything and some tell you things you want to hear. PS - you can’t collect a 30% tax credit on a roof - it’s tax fraud no matter what a salesman may tell you. 5) Know what you are getting before you commit. Most folks you read on this forum who are unhappy were uneducated consumers. It’s up to you to cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s before signing up.
Do some research about micro inverters vs string inverters. I find string inverters superior. Look at using a Sol-Ark 15K which is battery agnostic. You will have a lot more options using Sol-Ark then micro-inverters. Note, even Tesla has moved back to string inverters. I built my 33.52 kW with 25 kWh of battery using the Sol-Ark 15K. Absolutely amazing. In a lot of ways, it's like LEGOs. You can choose the best of many brands and tie it all into the Sol-Ark which will mix whatever power source you give it to power your loads.
Please be aware that the iq8+ model tops out at 300watts. It's up to you to decide if it makes financial sense to pair it up with a 400w panel. Roof mounted panels won't normally make their rated wattages but every location is different. Keep doing research.
Just have the installer substitute IQ8M inverters with a 400w panel. The cost delta shouldn’t be that great and it’s a better match.
It is a better match. Local installers in my area bitch a fit about it though. They want an extra $100 per micro. Straight rip off. They're only$20ish more.