ᐅ Roof Covering and Choosing a Solar Installer – Making the Decision?
Created on: 10 Aug 2022 18:21
E
Elias_dee
Hello everyone,
I am about to decide whether to hire a solar installer. I am building a turnkey single-family house with a general contractor in the 84xxx area, featuring a gable roof with a 25° pitch, oriented north/south. There are no skylights, chimney, or other obstructions on the roof, so conditions are optimal.
I am having some difficulty even requesting quotes and now have at least two offers. I would appreciate help evaluating and choosing between them (both the company and whether to include the north side). I have not asked for a battery system but might consider adding one later if it becomes more affordable.
So, first I am facing the question: include north side or not? I can fit about 25 modules on each side, resulting in roughly 10 kWp. PVGIS estimates around 10,000 kWh for south and about 7,000 kWh for north.
Offer 1 comes from a solar installer with many years of experience, who not only works on single-family houses but also builds large-scale systems in the megawatt range. My general contractor, who is building the house turnkey, also has long-standing experience with this installer and recommends them.
Offer 1 details:
- 20.5 kWp
- 50 x Q-Cells Q-Peak ML G10 410 heat pump compatible modules
- 50 x SolarEdge Power Optimizers, S440 Worldwide (v1)
- SolarEdge StorEdge three-phase inverters: SE10K-RWS-EU-APAC/AUS (v1) and SE7K-RWS-EU-APAC (v1)
- SolarEdge Smart Meter for self-consumption monitoring
- All other materials, installation, and commissioning services included
- Cost: €31,980 net, which equals approximately €1,560 net per kWp — reasonable for today, not really cheap but not very expensive either
Now to Offer 2. This offer is from a very small and new electrical company I found through a neighbor's recommendation. The company does not even have a finished website yet because it is so new, but they have already done electrical work in the development area (not sure about PV though). Two different neighbors have told me this company is good.
Offer 2 details:
- 20.9 kWp
- 51 x JinkoSolar Tiger NE HC N-Type black solar modules JKM410N-54HL4-B
- 2 x SMA inverters STP10.0-3SE-40
- 1 x SMA Sunny Home Manager HM-20
- Other materials are not specified here, but all installation, planning, and commissioning services are included
- Cost: €25,570 net, equaling approximately €1,223 net per kWp
My questions now:
- What do you generally think about the materials used?
- Are the SolarEdge power optimizers in Offer 1 really necessary? I expect practically no shading from trees, chimney, or anything else given the location
- Company 2 is probably a bit risky, but the price is really attractive. Is it worth taking the risk here?
- Does installing modules on the north side make sense at all in the case of Offer 1? If I calculate north and south separately, south obviously makes sense in both cases. North seems worthwhile (based on my calculation) only with Offer 2... with Offer 1 I would be running at a loss.
I would be very grateful for a brief assessment!
Best regards
I am about to decide whether to hire a solar installer. I am building a turnkey single-family house with a general contractor in the 84xxx area, featuring a gable roof with a 25° pitch, oriented north/south. There are no skylights, chimney, or other obstructions on the roof, so conditions are optimal.
I am having some difficulty even requesting quotes and now have at least two offers. I would appreciate help evaluating and choosing between them (both the company and whether to include the north side). I have not asked for a battery system but might consider adding one later if it becomes more affordable.
So, first I am facing the question: include north side or not? I can fit about 25 modules on each side, resulting in roughly 10 kWp. PVGIS estimates around 10,000 kWh for south and about 7,000 kWh for north.
Offer 1 comes from a solar installer with many years of experience, who not only works on single-family houses but also builds large-scale systems in the megawatt range. My general contractor, who is building the house turnkey, also has long-standing experience with this installer and recommends them.
Offer 1 details:
- 20.5 kWp
- 50 x Q-Cells Q-Peak ML G10 410 heat pump compatible modules
- 50 x SolarEdge Power Optimizers, S440 Worldwide (v1)
- SolarEdge StorEdge three-phase inverters: SE10K-RWS-EU-APAC/AUS (v1) and SE7K-RWS-EU-APAC (v1)
- SolarEdge Smart Meter for self-consumption monitoring
- All other materials, installation, and commissioning services included
- Cost: €31,980 net, which equals approximately €1,560 net per kWp — reasonable for today, not really cheap but not very expensive either
Now to Offer 2. This offer is from a very small and new electrical company I found through a neighbor's recommendation. The company does not even have a finished website yet because it is so new, but they have already done electrical work in the development area (not sure about PV though). Two different neighbors have told me this company is good.
Offer 2 details:
- 20.9 kWp
- 51 x JinkoSolar Tiger NE HC N-Type black solar modules JKM410N-54HL4-B
- 2 x SMA inverters STP10.0-3SE-40
- 1 x SMA Sunny Home Manager HM-20
- Other materials are not specified here, but all installation, planning, and commissioning services are included
- Cost: €25,570 net, equaling approximately €1,223 net per kWp
My questions now:
- What do you generally think about the materials used?
- Are the SolarEdge power optimizers in Offer 1 really necessary? I expect practically no shading from trees, chimney, or anything else given the location
- Company 2 is probably a bit risky, but the price is really attractive. Is it worth taking the risk here?
- Does installing modules on the north side make sense at all in the case of Offer 1? If I calculate north and south separately, south obviously makes sense in both cases. North seems worthwhile (based on my calculation) only with Offer 2... with Offer 1 I would be running at a loss.
I would be very grateful for a brief assessment!
Best regards
S
SaniererNRW12313 Aug 2022 13:49driver55 schrieb:
4000 kWh for 2 “noses” is definitely (too) much. But I need almost that much as well – also with a home office and two computers, a waterbed, cooking daily, and so on. All electrical appliances are new and energy-efficient, and all lights are LED.
SaniererNRW123 schrieb:
But I also need that roughly—with a home office and two computers, a waterbed, cooking daily, etc. All electrical devices are new and energy-efficient, all lamps are LED. That was the general consensus when I discussed the consumption here as well… I even did a test during the holiday period, leaving everything as usual and going away: 10 kWh consumption daily. Then I turned off everything I could (3 TVs, both PCs, printer, fully automatic washing machine), and it dropped to 3 kWh. However, that is naturally without washing, cooking, or the dishwasher, which would run daily when we are home.
I estimate therefore that the 2 laptops with separate screens and the 2 TVs in the basement consume a significant amount, but even with saving, I am already at 1080 kWh operation when I am not home at all… The infrared heating is on about one hour per week on average… The ventilation system is the Zehnder 350, running all day, of course.
If you have any tips, always happy to hear them…
S
SaniererNRW12313 Aug 2022 15:27Snowy36 schrieb:
If you have any tips, always welcome …If I had any, I wouldn’t consume so much electricity. I could drive to the office every day – but then I’d be using electricity or diesel for over 80 km (50 miles). Not very efficient either. Or give up the waterbed – but that’s no fun. Or give up the TV and just read. Or do daily shopping and cook fresh every day – then the fridge (or the freezer chest) could go. None of these makes much sense. So I can live with the consumption (especially with photovoltaic systems).E
Elias_dee13 Aug 2022 17:28Elias_dee schrieb:
Hello again everyone,
So, since I don’t feel confident anymore with the first solar installer and his unusual 10 kW (10.9 hp) inverter, I’m now leaning more towards the second installer. I just spoke with him on the phone, and although he doesn’t yet have references on his website, he has already installed several systems (he only completed his master craftsman certification last year), and I also know two others from the neighborhood who recommend him.
And he is really quite affordable. Here are the technical details again:
- 20.9 kWp (29.7 hp)
- 51 x JinkoSolar Solar Modules Tiger NE HC N-Type sw JKM410N-54HL4-B
- 2 x SMA Inverters STP10.0-3SE-40
- 1 x SMA Sunny Home Manager HM-20
- I’m leaving out the other materials, but all installation, planning, and commissioning services are included as well
- Cost: €25,570 net, so about €1,223 per kWp (please note exchange rates may vary)
I just want to make sure everything looks okay or if there might be any “hidden” issues that I might miss with my limited knowledge ^^ The two inverters should be fine, and so are the modules. Anything else I should watch out for?
Thanks in advance! Does anyone have any feedback on this? ;-)
R
RotorMotor13 Aug 2022 17:47Still the same question. Why not use a 20kW inverter?
SaniererNRW123 schrieb:
If I had any, I wouldn’t use so much electricity. You could drive to the office every day – but that would use over 80 km (50 miles) worth of electricity/diesel. Also not practical. Or give up the waterbed – but that’s no fun either. Or give up the TV and just read. Or shop daily and cook fresh every day – then you could do without the fridge (or the freezer). None of that makes sense. So I can live with my consumption (especially with photovoltaic solar panels). My question was more directed to @driver55
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