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
E
Elias_dee11 Aug 2022 19:49driver55 schrieb:
Yeah, right. Wasting 8000-10000 kWh (useless) and then being scared (no surprise). Keyword: “power outage.” 🙄 I find it a bit questionable that you feel the need to post snappy comments and snap at me and other users in almost every one of my threads... but okay, if it makes you happy :-D
Update: I visited Solar Installer 1 today and discussed the offer with him. He is recalculating it with one inverter and without SolarEdge. I’ll keep you posted.
driver55 schrieb:
Yeah, right. Burning through 8,000-10,000 kWh (pointless) and then being scared (figures). Keyword “power outage.” 🙄 I can’t quite understand what you mean by “pointless burning.”
The 2,000 kWh that went into the electric car instead of filling up with gasoline or diesel?
The kWh used by the heat pump to provide hot water and heating? (instead of gas, oil, pellets, etc.)
Refrigerator, freezer, lighting—well, those aren’t exactly pointless either, right?
It might be similar for the original poster, just without a BEV yet and with more people instead.
A family easily uses 2,500–4,000 kWh per year for household electricity, with the rest adding up as described above, and above all, the suggested 10,000 kWh is not set in stone.
Maybe take your apparently bad mood out somewhere else…
E
Elias_dee12 Aug 2022 11:28Hello! Things moved quickly now. Solar installer 1 has sent a new offer.
Inverter: 1 x Fronius Symo Gen24 10.0 Plus
Modules: 42 x Q-Cells Q-Peak 410Wp
17.22 kWp (according to the solar installer, maximum capacity with one inverter) for €24,419 (€1,418 net)
Alternatively, he offers the following storage options:
HVS 5.1 for €3,999 net or HVS 10.2 for €7,299 net.
What do you think? I would probably order the photovoltaic system like this. Should I also get the 5 kW battery storage?
Good luck Elias
Inverter: 1 x Fronius Symo Gen24 10.0 Plus
Modules: 42 x Q-Cells Q-Peak 410Wp
17.22 kWp (according to the solar installer, maximum capacity with one inverter) for €24,419 (€1,418 net)
Alternatively, he offers the following storage options:
HVS 5.1 for €3,999 net or HVS 10.2 for €7,299 net.
What do you think? I would probably order the photovoltaic system like this. Should I also get the 5 kW battery storage?
Good luck Elias
D
DaGoodness12 Aug 2022 12:40Of course, it also depends on your budget, but personally, I would go for the 10kWh battery storage. (even though I’m sure some people will have a very different opinion on that 😀)
In my opinion, the price is "reasonable." Whether it pays off over time, you’ll only find out later. It really depends on how electricity prices develop. If they rise significantly in the coming years, it could be worth it; if they drop a bit again, it might not be.
I would take the risk. :p
In my opinion, the price is "reasonable." Whether it pays off over time, you’ll only find out later. It really depends on how electricity prices develop. If they rise significantly in the coming years, it could be worth it; if they drop a bit again, it might not be.
I would take the risk. :p
I think the offer looks good. The Fronius inverter goes up to 15 kWp, which you probably won’t reach with your roof coverage.
The BYD HVS was my preferred storage system, but unfortunately it’s not available from our "solar installer." I would also choose it (the 10.2 kWh model, and yes, from a financial perspective, the payback period might be tight), but the comfort of higher self-sufficiency and being able to avoid grid electricity for days or even weeks is definitely valuable 😉
If the delivery time is good, I’d recommend closing the deal quickly. This seems to be the fairest offer I’ve seen here in the forum for weeks 😀
The BYD HVS was my preferred storage system, but unfortunately it’s not available from our "solar installer." I would also choose it (the 10.2 kWh model, and yes, from a financial perspective, the payback period might be tight), but the comfort of higher self-sufficiency and being able to avoid grid electricity for days or even weeks is definitely valuable 😉
If the delivery time is good, I’d recommend closing the deal quickly. This seems to be the fairest offer I’ve seen here in the forum for weeks 😀
R
RotorMotor12 Aug 2022 13:10You cannot operate the inverter on the system. Sorry, but I would recommend finding a knowledgeable solar technician or seeking advice elsewhere.
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