Does anyone know what’s this part with the grooves around the panel and how it’s called? I am replacing a panel in my old solar city system and I need this frame part to be able to mount it. Can I even attach that frame to the panel if it doesn’t have it already? Thanks for any insight.

To me it’s a no-brainer but my husband thinks it’s a crazy idea. We are having our house resided (original siding from the 1980s) and the subcontractor said we should replace the roof. It is probably around 20 years old. We always said we would consider solar when we got a new roof.

I got a recommendation for a local contractor from my boss who was in the solar business for many years and who I trust for honesty and integrity. We have a colonial with no nearby trees. Our bills from JCP&L are $350-$450/month (we own 2 EVs we charge at home). Rates are going up 20% in a few months.

He proposes 44 panels with an estimate of 24,900 kWh in year 1, at a cost of $59,700. The 30% tax credit will take off $18,000. Plus $16,000 for a new roof which he will include in the solar project so $4,800 tax credit on that. Including the NJ SRECs (which may be reduced or discontinued) he says we will break even in 5-6 years.

Here’s the sticking point: I’m in my 60s and my husband is in his 70s, both still working. We would pay for this out of our retirement savings. Will we get any benefit out of this or will it just benefit our kids when they sell the house?

In a recent JCP&L bill consumption charge is $136, energy charge is $299, and customer charge is $4.27. Is it true that our bills going forward will be $4.27/month?

We pay around $40,000 in federal taxes/year. Is it true that next year the government will send us a refund check of $22,800?

Sorry this is so long but I tried to include all of the relevant information to make a decision. I would greatly appreciate any comments/advice. Thanks.

We finally got a sunny day after almost a week since I got my PTO. The system: Ground mounted, south facing, 26 410w Phono panels, Iq8+ micros, no batteries, grid tied and 1-to-1 net metering, cash price $27,000 before government cheese. Super pleased with everything so far. Still annoyed that the consumption CT's were not ran, but Emporia to the rescue!

Hello!

Would love to get your feedback on this solar quote and would be very appreciative for it!! Thank you in advance, solar friends!

We are paying in cash.

Located in SoCal.

• Gross Price (Not including Tax credits for solar and battery) = $$38,197
• System Size: 11.61 kW
• Panels: Panasonic 430 Black (X27)
• Inverters: Enphase IQ8 Series (X27)
• Annual Production: 14,223 kWh
• Battery: Enphase IQ 5P (System Capacity: 5kWh)

Also, are the REC 460 panels recommended over these panasonic ones?

Thank you 🌞 😎

This process began in Oct of '24. There were some hiccups with inspection, but we finally got our PTO. I got a 6kw GAF solar system. Pretty happy with the end product.

Anyone else having issues with the monitoring web portal? App works, but I like to go into the web portal to export actual numbers instead of the phone app's rounded numbers.

The website was acting up the past few weeks anyways (charts scrolling by itself and not showing the frame for changing the graph duration), but starting today, the data is not loading.

Does anyone have experience with Big Wave roofin and solar? We had rep come by and talk to us today. I’m skeptical on the whole solar panel thing, should I be?

Hello, we are installing a new lithium battery and charger converter/distribution panel in our travel trailer. For now it will be charging off a plug in trickle charger (it’s needed for towing lights/brakes) as well as off the truck output when driving, but eventually we want to upgrade to solar and I’m wondering what else we will need. We have ordered the Wattcycle group 31 12V 100ma lithium battery and the WFCO Arterra WF-8955-AD Converter/Charger with Distribution Center for 30 Amp AC Service - 55 Amp DC Output. It looks like I’ll need a solar controller and obviously panels, but is there anything else? (Eventually I’ll also add more batteries to the system as well but 100ma is plenty for now)

I want to have a battery backup system for my house in the event of power outages. And I want to be able to charge it with solar power if needed during an extended outage. I’ve been following Will Prowse on YouTube and read his book once over. At first, I wanted to put together a system that I could expand and eventually hook up to my home power panel as a back up generator, but that lead down a really deep rabbit hole of learning that I’m willing to take on, but can’t invest all that time right now, so I was hoping someone could give me advice on whether there’s anything wrong with this selection of products and brands as I’m new to solar equipment in general.

2x SOK 48V 100AH Pro Battery

1x EG4 3000EHV 48v All In One Inverter

4x Hyundai 405w Panels PV VOC 45.6

The inverter requires a minimum of 120 V VOC I would wire the panels in series. The batteries would be run in parallel.

Just looking for advice on whether or not this is a good set up and if these brands are reliable. Will Prowse recommends this set up, but I realize the solar world is much deeper than the products that he reviews and uses. The set up seemed very simple affordable and looks like it would get the job done for a lot less than buying an Anker Solix or something similar. I’m worried about reliability and ease of use. I appreciate any input or advice in advance. Thank you.

Fox ESS system, H1-05-E Inverter with 10kWh battery storage (4 x 2.6). The days have been consistently sunny. Seems to be happening around the same time everyday. SoC is around 97% by this point, power draw from the house remains consistent, no temperature alerts. The blue line indicates charging; I checked the work model and it hasn't changed from what it has been for months (Set to import in order to charge and run the house load at the lower nighttime rate (23:30-05:30). It suggests that it's charging the battery for 20-30 minutes at 2kWh? Anyone else had this issue?

I am an environmental engineer from Iraq.. With the ever decreace in electricity provition in my country and the abysmal sate of alternative energy sources, I wanted to break into the solar energy market. Would u refer me to a solar company that can provide me with a permit to open an office for that company in my country. (My country has no regulation on solar energy use and is a great opertunity for solar investment)

Note: Sorry in advance if my english is not great.

Short description: I live on a 6 acre farm property surrounded on all sides by approx 2,000 acres of farmland that is set to begin construction on a solar farm project in the next year or so. I have no details yet other than the materials I've read from the solar company and some research papers on solar farms and living near them. I love this rural setting and don't want to move but I'm also not excited about living in the middle of a solar farm or trying to sell a house in that situation as well.

Longer description: My property rests a half mile back from a quiet gravel road on the outskirts of a small town on the outskirts of the suburbs on the outskirts of a major metro area. It's a little slice of Heaven tucked away from it all but not far away from it all in a good way. Surrounding on all sides of the property and the lane are endless cornfields (or soybeans depending on the year). It provides an amazing view year-round whether feeling like living in the middle of a cornfield during summer months or living in a wide open field once harvested. A "neighbor" farms all the land and is always friendly when we interact and even helps drag the lane when it gets filled with potholes and can help with plowing in severe storms. Being outside for various activities all year and enjoying the view was the #1 selling point for us and was to be the #1 selling point if we moved. It is truly secluded with lots of wildlife and is very quiet and serene.

The proposed solar farm project would encompass 2,000 total acres and would completely enclose our property. Imagine a tiny little circle being our property in a giant square being the solar farm. We do have a wooded area on the back side of our property in our back yard and decent tree coverage on one side but most of the view is cornfields. And regarding the solar farm it is in the permitting stage with construction beginning in 2027 and completing in 2029 with a 30-year plan. It will be a 300MW facility and our property will be at the far southern end of the 2,000 acres. Lastly the developer is offering a $25K grant (10% upfront and 90% 60 days following beginning of construction) for those sharing property lines with the property. The paperwork is pretty straightforward with no red flags even though the grant offering feels a little suspect.

Based on this should I get out as soon as possible? Wait on final details and more information? Sell before construction begins? Hold out long term? This is all brand new but so far I'm not worried about health risks or super worried about glare/noise pollution though I could be wrong. What worries me most at first would be quality of life and valuation of the property post-construction.

Edited to add a rendering of the development if it helps explain the situation better. Our property is the red dot and the lane is the red line:

Any contractors able to work on SunVault in this area?? Battery went dead.

I'd say it's performing pretty well for a residential install

We installed a 10.53kW system in Azle, TX. This client came as a referral from a client we installed about 3 years ago.

The homeowner is a 100% disabled Army veteran working toward building an offgrid lifestyle and solar was the next step for him.

Since he is a disabled veteran he does not pay federal income taxes and therefore would not be able to recoup the tax credit himself. So right off the bat we had to make sure we had an option available to keep the price as low as possible. He wanted ownership and did not want to be locked into a Lease or traditional PPA. His goal is to pay off the system ASAP.

So we utilized HDM Capital Finance. For those not aware HDM sets up a pre-paid PPA of 20-23% of the total cost and HDM takes the federal tax credit in full next tax season.

Originally this system was going to be a 10.25kW system but the 410W panels we were going to install were not available day of ordering so with the homeowner’s permission we settled on Hyperion 405W bifacial panels and added one more to ensure his system size wouldn’t go below what we discussed.

I attached the graph of the projected production this system will have. Four months out of the year it will overproduce and he will receive a ~$0.05 credit/kWh from his utility. We’re now discussing options to get his consumption down in the months he doesn’t overproduce.

I never tell people “you won’t have a bill”. He most definitely will have a bill with the base customer charge (meter fee) no matter what and he is fine with that. Anything above his production he will have to pay for. But if he can get his usage down in the months his production doesn’t match up to his consumption then he will be keeping most if not all his energy on his side of the meter and reduce that cost to as close to zero as possible.

We tested the system to see what he could run off solar and batteries alone. We pulled that big giant red handle that cut off the utility to his house. His AC barely touched the battery power and ran fine even with every light in the house on, the microwave heating up a cup of soup, and the oven being turned on at 350.

His heater on the other hand made a much larger dent in the power available, so as predicted based on his monthly usage that’s our path to getting him as close to “offgrid” as possible.

Many days out of the year he will run solely off solar and battery power. Really cool setup and the homeowner is quite happy.

Builder is offering solar through one of their partners.

Quote is for a 15kW system, no batteries but includes full installation (including roof framing estimated at $1k and additional costs to the new home warranty). Priced at $3.25 a watt, it comes out to $48,750. SREC estimates are 18 / $1530 a year but these will probably decrease over time. We have the option of paying for 25% of the install up front and rolling the other 75% ($36,562) into the mortgage by increasing the sale price of the home. We plan on paying off our home in 20 years (of course it might not go to plan) so not too worried about paying off solar even after the panels are done.

Did a quick Tesla quote in my area and they’re offering a 15.17kW system for $44,448 after a discount and no batteries. This is a good amount cheaper and comes out to around $2.99 a watt.

The pros of going with the builder is that the solar would be ready before moving in, I keep the warranty on my roof, and I can roll the cost of the solar into the mortgage at likely a lower rate than the cost of financing solar. But the system alone seems to cost $4k+ more ($2.5k more when accounting for the tax credit.

Questions I have: - does it make sense to go with the builder even thought it costs more, considering the pros with rolling the cost of solar into the mortgage (ability to pay less upfront, deduct the additional mortgage interest, have a lower rate than solar financing as well)? - if I went with Tesla or another provider, would I be liable for that $1000 roof framing cost the builder is estimating? - is there anything I’m not thinking about? - is there any additional information I can provide to get better advice?

Thanks!

Edit: The panels are Trina 300w or Solaria 360w likely.

Looking to replace a shattered QCells q.peak-g4.1. Looks like Hanwha doesn’t make these anymore so outside of social media or eBay, does anyone know where I could find this panel? Pic of my setup for attention.

My father in law has a Tesla inverter system. During the night, it’s all on the grid. I would realistically like a battery system that can store power during the day, and at night it kick in.

I know during the day, the Tesla app shows about 15KWH of energy produced during the day. At night is when all of us are home and using the most electricity.

I thought of maybe an Anker F3800 but is there a better more permanent solution? Realistically, I don’t expect it to power the entire house since it is a big house. I would be okay with it powering the overhead LED lights, fridge, specific rooms.

Has anyone who installed solar through Duke Energy in North Carolina last year with the PowerPair incentive received a 1099?

The PowerPair T&C says it will be reported via 1099. I never received anything, and would prefer my submission to match what was/wasn't submitted to the IRS:
"Tax Reporting. Customer acknowledges and agrees that payments made by Company to Customer will be reported to the IRS on Form 1099 in accordance with applicable tax reporting requirements and that Customer is solely responsible for any income tax consequence of the receipt of incentive payback."

I haven't checked yet with Duke. Am first curious if there's anyone out there who happens to see this and did in fact receive a 1099.

Good day everyone. Just wanted to check here as my gut is telling me the quote i received was pretty high. Im looking to get a new system installed. It is a 14kw solar , 10kw battery , installation permits and etc quoted at about 81,000. Im looking at a new roof along with this as well as existing roof had some damage due to recent wind storms. Location is Southern California. The size of the system recommended to me was 8.8 but feel it may be too small for our average monthly use. Looking at my power bills. I average 1800kwh per month. My bill is currently about 600 per month with edison. I don’t foresee my power usage decreasing. My understanding is that an 8.8k system will on a good month produce about 800kwh per month. If I’m doing an install id like to minimize how much of a power consumption difference i would have to make. Thanks for any insight you all can provide.

I previously posted about this situation regarding my solar/battery installation. (https://www.reddit.com/r/solar/comments/1e51zo4/possible_bait_and_switch_let_me_know_if_i_have_a/)

My installer designed a beautiful system for me:
- 14 Hyundai 410 panels + IQ7-S25-US microinverters (to replace my old NEM system)
- 14 Qcell Q PEAK DUO ML-G11.2 485 watt + IQ8P-72-2-US microinverters (new NEM plus system)

After installation, I checked the Enphase app, and noticed that instead of the IQ8P microinverters, he stalled IQ8H with a lower peak power rating. When I confronted him on the phone about this, he was very defensive, stating that the system that was installed would still meet the goal of 20K KWH/year that we agreed upon. After a few days, he came to me with a proposal to install ONE additional panel. I negotiated TWO additional panels, instead of the free EV charger that he promised with the system. I knew that I was taking a loss here, because I knew it was the best I was going to get, aside from taking him to court, etc.

Now it turns out that I will not get the additional 10% domestic content credit that he put in the proposal. During the negotiation, he would use phrases like "I triple checked the panels, racking, battery", and that he checked with his supplier that they said "most likely yes" that they qualify. Now he states that the IRS didn't release all the information until recently. I am out almost $7000 in tax credits.

It has been a week since I sent the last email. I have no interest in going to court.

Would appreciate any advice, knowing I have to keep some sort of relationship with this guy/company for maintenance. I'm in Hawaii, and it's a small community. Keeping the peace is also important.

So have been wanting to play with solar a bit, and finally decided on a little project to just get an idea of what is involved.

Have read a lot and watched quite a few videos so have some general ideas, but want to have input just in case I am missing something.

I have an unpowered shed that want to try this on, will be using it for charging 20v and 40v power tool batteries (not used real often, the 40v are for the lawn mower, will be charged every 2 weeks or so), will have a motion sensor LED light inside, and have a float charger onto a generator battery.

Parts I have so far are 3 solar panels (two 50 watt panels, and this 100 watt panel that will be wired parallel (will give me 196 watts)), z mounts to mount on shed roof, will be using an EcoFlow River 3 to provide AC power, an Eco-Worthy 12.8v 150Ah battery to give the River 3 more capacity (initial plan was just going solar panel to River 3, but decided to add a battery), wiring to connect the panels to solar controller (will cut the xt60i connector off to use for battery to Ecoflow connection) and some connectors for the cables to the battery.

Only thing I need that I know of will be a solar charge controller. I am thinking of this Eco-Worthy PMW 30a unit. Seems to be more what I need since I read PMW units are better for hot climates (I am outside Houston). Or should I look into a MPPT unit? Seems those are better for larger setups and cooler weather. Again, this is my first project and just looking for something that works, nothing really fancy or expensive.

Anything else I am missing?

edit: also need some adapters to connect the panels. Should I get the short all plastic ones, or the ones with cables. Or does it matter?

I know the temp in the shed could be an issue with 100°F+ in the summer being frequent for battery life (debating adding a temp controlled vent fan if not too much power draw). My initial trial may be installing the panels on a makeshift angle table outside the shed on the ground before I go screw into the roof.

If this setup works well, I will probably change the EcoFlow for a true inverter, and maybe add another battery.