I've separated this Guide into multiple parts so I could provide more explanation in each step while limiting the size of each post. I hope this Guide will help you with your solar choices.
Steps in the process:
- Get a general understanding and overview of solar PV systems for the home.
- While I did most of my research online, I did find a useful book in the library titled Got Sun? Go Solar by Rex A. Ewing and Doug Pratt. The book was a great starting point and it provided me with a good practical overview and guide for understanding solar (and wind) for the home. Some of the items in the book that I found useful were the requirements and considerations in choosing a PV system (simple grid-tied or battery system) and the simple rules-of-thumb to help me easily understand and estimate energy production and other output. The authors also had lots of technical information (e.g., electrical calculations) and their opinions on some of the components and manufacturers that they used over their many years of installing PV systems (kinda like a Consumer Report for solar). All of this information was packed into less than 100 pages of text making it a quick read and nice reference guide.
- Cooler Planet provided good overview information. I used this site mainly to create my checklist of things to consider (Solar 101 tab) and to to get a rough estimate the size and cost of the system I wanted for my home before I started calling installers (easy to use calculator in the Solar Tools tab).
- Determine a rough estimate for your solar PV system.
- Pull together the last 12 months of electric bills. This is your starting point for evaluating what size system will make sense for your energy usage. This is also the first thing an installer will ask you for so it's good to have it at your fingertips.
- In California, electric rates are based on a tiered system. There are five tiers with significant price increases as you move up from the lower tiers to the higher tiers. Tier 1 is also called "Baseline" and is very inexpensive, whereas Tier 5 can be very expensive (in my area it is 3X). In my area, the Baseline usage is 13.8 KWH (kilowatt hours) per day in the summer and 10.5 KWH per day in the winter and the rates are as follows:
- Tier 1 (Baseline) 11.8 cents per KWH
- Tier 2 (101-130% of Baseline) 13.8 cents per KWH
- Tier 3 (131-200% of Baseline) 23.0 cents per KWH
- Tier 4 (201-300% of Baseline) 26.5 cents per KWH
- Tier 5 (Over 300% of Baseline) 30.0 cents per KWH
- Optimally, you want to build a PV system that will cover your higher tier usage. If you are a heavy energy user, solar really makes a lot of sense because you are paying expensive rates.
- My electricity usage is in the Tier 3 range most months and I bought a PV system that should offset around 40% of my usage. Looking back, I think I would have gotten a bigger system since it really wouldn't have cost me much more per month. I think it's similar to the saying about buying a house - buy the biggest one you can afford - since it's a little more difficult to add on to your system later.
- Before I started calling installers, I used the Cooler Planet Calculator to get a rough estimate the size and cost of the system I wanted for my home (based on what percentage of energy I wanted to offset with solar).
- Find installers and request quotes.
- As with most things, it's important to get multiple quotes. It's also very important to find an honest and reliable installer that you trust as your installer will guide you and be your primary resource for your new solar PV system. Of course, it's best to find some personal referrals. If not, there are sites that can provide recommendations for installers.
- Cooler Planet Mentioned above. I got referrals for some local installers here and I ended up purchasing my system from one of them.
- 1 Block Off the Grid evaluates and negotiates a group/volume discount rate with a designated installer for a particular area. The installer they recommended was very knowledgeable and the pricing was great. I think they are a great starting point. To me, they are like CarsDirect for solar - they'll provide you with a good installer at a good price. I would have been happy going with the installer 1BOG recommended.
- The installer will have an initial phone call with you. He will likely ask you to get onto Google Maps or Bing to look at your house configuration and have you provide your electrical usage over the last 12 months.
- The installer will then schedule a site visit so they can see your house and gather information to do a true assessment of your solar possibilities. Using a Solmetric SunEye, Solar Pathfinder or similar tool, the installer will be able to get an accurate reading of your sun and shading for every month of the year. Click this link for an example of one shade report I got for my house. With a site visit, the installer will take measurements of your roof and will be able to note any physical obstructions (eg, steam vents, dormers, DirecTV dish, etc.). It is very important to get a site visit in order to get an accurate assessment of your solar potential and where to put your system. Surprisingly, some installers do not do site visits before they give you a quote - I was told by one installer that they would do a site visit "if I was really serious".
- After the site visit, the installer should be able to give you a comprehensive quote(s) for your solar PV system based on the tilt angle and direction including hardware, cost, estimated electricity KWH production and $ savings, utility rebates (significant in California and other states) and other items.
- You may go through a few iterations of various configurations, size, placement, etc. of your system with the installer. Ask your installer a lot of questions since he will be your primary resource throughout the process.
- In my opinion, if you have gotten to this point, you have made the biggest step in going solar because you have actually started the process going instead of just "sitting around and thinking about it". And, most of the work up to this point is actually done by the installers who are preparing all of the quotes for you.
- Standardize your quotes so you can compare and evaluate them on an apples-to-apples basis. (Detailed in post for Part 2)
- Evaluate your quotes and your options. (Detailed in post for Part 2)
- Evaluate your financials. (Detailed in post for Part 3)
- Select an installer. (Detailed in post for Part 3)
- Other factors to consider. (Detailed in post for Part 3)
- Go solar and enjoy the sunshine. (Detailed in post for Part 3)
System Size DC (STC): 2.28KW
System Size AC: 1.93KW
System Size AC (California CSI rating): 1.63KW
Panels: 10 Sunpower Serengeti 228 Watt
Inverter: 1 Sunpower 3000M (SMA Sunny Boy 3000 rebranded under Sunpower)
Estimated Annual Production: 2,781 KWH
Direction: East facing
Cost of System Before California Utility Rebate (Installed Cost): $13K
Cost of System After California Utility Rebate: $10.5K
Cost of System After Federal Tax Credit: $7.4K
Cost per DC (STC) Watt: $5.73
Cost per AC Watt: $6.77
Cost per AC CSI Watt: $8.01
Installer: Martifer Solar (Matt Rakocija)
Mortgage Electric Bill Total Mo. Pmt
With Solar $1,050 + $ 54 = $1,104
Without Solar $1,000 + $100 = $1,100
Difference $50 $(46) = $ 4
It costs me only $4 more per month to have clean energy.
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