Who are the Solar system folks on RDs

[PaPaG]

We are starting our research on a solar system for our house and 2 garages. Who are the GO TO guys on RDs, I rather give the business to a member, if not, who have you used and how do you like the outcome?, thanks.

 

[rivermobster]

Location would probably help.

 

[RiverDave]

We are starting our research on a solar system for our house and 2 garages. Who are the GO TO guys on RDs, I rather give the business to a member, if not, who have you used and how do you like the outcome?, thanks.

You want to talk to @Ace in the Hole for AZ and @BasilHayden for California.

Ace in the Hole - Joel 808-223-3229.
BasilHayden - Andy (I'm going to put his Biz # here.. but if you have a hard time reach out to me and I'll send you his cell). 760-504-0388

 

[PaPaG]

Thanks RD. Appreciate it. (Mohave Valley so it looks like I will contact Ace).

 

[RiverDave]

Thanks RD. Appreciate it. (Mohave Valley so it looks like I will contact Ace).

Sounds good.. Joel is a great guy I'm sure he will take care of you.

RD

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Sounds good.. Joel is a great guy I'm sure he will take care of you.

RD

Thank you for the kind words Dave, it’s appreciated!

@PaPaG give me a call at your convenience. We can have a quick chat to see what your goals are and then go from there. If you intend to grid tie there are a couple of important pending dates that you need to be aware of for net metering changes.

 

[FlyByWire]

Just the thread I was looking for.

 

[Englewood]

Stay away from Havasu solar. They screwed up on my install date and cost me a higher rate tier.

 

[mjc]

If you have time and are crazy like me I did mine myself, cost me about half plus my labor time.

 

[DWRAT]

F#ck solar, it's a scam X 100.
If your on APS go with the time of day with demand charge and cut your bill in half without having to pay anything to a solar contract or $30K to buy your solar outright.

 

[Ren]

If you have time and are crazy like me I did mine myself, cost me about half plus my labor time.

Did you use someone to swap the meter out (think its called a net meter?) and do the permits? Or all yourself. I have a 40x80 shop with a flat roof ("sloped" by s.s. standards) i would like to cover with solar, but im a buyer not a leaser so going to need some capital. I would really like about 12-15kw, that would nuke my bill and give me some overhead.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

If you have time and are crazy like me I did mine myself, cost me about half plus my labor time.

Anyone who reaches out to me has this option. I broker your supplies through my channels, handle your line drawings, interconnection agreement etc, as well as schedule my electrician for final tie in. I charge a flat fee for this service.. about a 1/3 of ppl I deal with DIY.

Just helped a guy in his 70s do a full off grid solark setup with homegrid batteries etc.

 

[DLC]

@Ace in the Hole

In round about %
How much can you save if you DIY ?

 

[DUNEFLYER]

F#ck solar, it's a scam X 100.
If your on APS go with the time of day with demand charge and cut your bill in half without having to pay anything to a solar contract or $30K to buy your solar outright.

HMMM,
My system was installed almost 8 years ago, system paid for itself in just under 5 years, Almost 8 years of no electric bill and still going strong.

 

[mjc]

Did you use someone to swap the meter out (think its called a net meter?) and do the permits? Or all yourself. I have a 40x80 shop with a flat roof ("sloped" by s.s. standards) i would like to cover with solar, but im a buyer not a leaser so going to need some capital. I would really like about 12-15kw, that would nuke my bill and give me some overhead.

I or my friend got the permit and was around to check inspections since I was still living in Moreno valley. I got and installed all the part, panels, subpanels and unisource came and installed the solar meter in my meter socket. You need some way to justify the size you want to put in as I didn't live there full-time yet.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

@Ace in the Hole

In round about %
How much can you save if you DIY ?

1/3 is equipment, 1/3 is cost of permitting, design, overhead, running a business, profit etc all mixed.l, 1/3 is typically labor.

Very rough breakdown… but you get the gist. I am also limited in what I can sell to DIY bc some product lines/brands require training/certifications.

You have to decide what your time is worth… I charge a fair price, so my margins aren’t crazy… I want my clients to get a good ROI.

 

[DWRAT]

HMMM,
My system was installed almost 8 years ago, system paid for itself in just under 5 years, Almost 8 years of no electric bill and still going strong.

What did you pay for your system?
What was your average electric bill before solar?
Is it still under warranty and until when?

 

[Sawtooth]

Not sure where you are at location wise but if in Havasu or anywhere near don’t use Sun Power as they just filed for bankruptcy, chapter 11 and selling stuff off it seems. It’s a real bummer that someone’s hard work/dream is going down in flames but I just hope no one got burned by this.

 

[HNL2LHC]

I thought that this was RDP Flat Earther call out thread when I read the title. I gotta work on my reading comprehension.…..

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Not sure where you are at location wise but if in Havasu or anywhere near don’t use Sun Power as they just filed for bankruptcy, chapter 11 and selling stuff off it seems. It’s a real bummer that someone’s hard work/dream is going down in flames but I just hope no one got burned by this.

Anyone in the industry saw that coming a mile away…. Sunnova is on deck, I could write a novel on this.

 

[JFMFG]

F#ck solar, it's a scam X 100.
If your on APS go with the time of day with demand charge and cut your bill in half without having to pay anything to a solar contract or $30K to buy your solar outright.

Solar was on my current home when I bought. Free and clear. Never have had an electric bill in 3 years run air all day everyday during summer. End of year still have a negative balance. Never get paid out but I’ll take no electric bill. I’m a believer.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Solar was on my current home when I bought. Free and clear. Never have had an electric bill in 3 years run air all day everyday during summer. End of year still have a negative balance. Never get paid out but I’ll take no electric bill. I’m a believer.

The last time I responded to a post like his, by the end of it the guy bought solar… I forget his SN but he was a hallett owner on a new build up in north Phoenix… I just don’t entertain posts like it. My time is worth more lol

 

[Ct5]

F#ck solar, it's a scam X 100.
If your on APS go with the time of day with demand charge and cut your bill in half without having to pay anything to a solar contract or $30K to buy your solar outright.

It’s pretty basic math to determine whether it’s worth it or a “scam”. You might have to look further down the road than tomorrow, but for a lot of people it pays off pretty quick. I wish I would’ve gotten solar sooner. Mine will pay for itself in 7 years and has a 20 year warranty on all panels and equipment. That’s not mathing in rate increases over those years either. I’m 4 years in and have been negative net every year so far. No more $800 electric bills in the summer. It has been fantastic.

 

[satellitemike]

We installed early last year, got PTO late last year. Haven't paid for electricity since.
Neighbors across the street, same house, 3450sf, as ours, older pool pump and AC unit had a $1200 bill last month OMG!
I penciled out about 6 years to pay for its self, at neighbors pace it will be closer to 4 years.

 

[DWRAT]

Solar was on my current home when I bought. Free and clear. Never have had an electric bill in 3 years run air all day everyday during summer. End of year still have a negative balance. Never get paid out but I’ll take no electric bill. I’m a believer.

Be thankful you didn't have to put out the $50K for that system.
I can do much better with $50K invested smart then some solar scam company that will be out of business next year.

 

[DUNEFLYER]

What did you pay for your system? 29k after rebate
What was your average electric bill before solar? 600.00 month (7k year)
Is it still under warranty and until when? 8 years in on 20 year warranty (not worried about warranty, systems are pretty simple and parts are readily available)

 

[DWC]

Be thankful you didn't have to put out the $50K for that system.
I can do much better with $50K invested smart then some solar scam company that will be out of business next year.

Did you get burned on a system? What are you comparing the ROI to? If you had $30k to invest, what would you put it in?

 

[DUNEFLYER]

My 30k investment was paying me over 7k a year, with rate increases it is probably paying me over 8k a year. That’s +25% return on my money year after year. Wish my money in the market was performing like that with no worries.

 

[DWRAT]

I guess the big difference is what we all pay in electric bills per month.
In PHX I was on APS and on the time of use (with demand) plan. My summer bill has never been over $200.00 per month, winter is around $80.00 per month.
House is 2,725 foot single story with 2 central AC's, 1 mini split and a swimming pool.
At my rate it's a total lose-lose proposition.

 

[mesquito_creek]

My 30k investment was paying me over 7k a year, with rate increases it is probably paying me over 8k a year. That’s +25% return on my money year after year. Wish my money in the market was performing like that with no worries.

Do you care to divulge what investment is returning 25% year after year?

 

[DUNEFLYER]

Do you care to divulge what investment is returning 25% year after year?

My solar system investment continues to pay me that

 

[mesquito_creek]

My solar system investment continues to pay me that

Gotcha! I am a fan of solar, but I do it all off grid or behind the meter, so it’s hard to compare ROI with grid tie.

 

[Dirtbag]

We used @BasilHayden and Palomar solar and couldnt be happier. We are exactly 1 year in solar power and our monthly bill is 0. We went from an average bill of $550 a month to 0. This thing will pay itself off in 4.5 years....So stupid we didnt do it sooner.

 

[DarkHorseRacing]

I sure hope all you solar peeps are banking the money you’re saving because it can’t be cheap to replace all your panels roughly every 10 years due to degradation.

Solar isn’t a buy it once and forget it type of system. Savings or not. There is a price to pay later.

ROI is over the entire life of the system, not just the first year or two. Ongoing expenses need to be factored in.

 

[mesquito_creek]

I sure hope all you solar peeps are banking the money you’re saving because it can’t be cheap to replace all your panels roughly every 10 years due to degradation.

Solar isn’t a buy it once and forget it type of system. Savings or not. There is a price to pay later.

ROI is over the entire life of the system, not just the first year or two. Ongoing expenses need to be factored in.

Most of the modern panels have 25 year warranties where at 25 years you should be producing 80% of the rated output. I wouldn’t replace even at 80%…

But I agree ROI should included some calculation for depreciation

 

[Maw]

F#ck solar, it's a scam X 100.
If your on APS go with the time of day with demand charge and cut your bill in half without having to pay anything to a solar contract or $30K to buy your solar outright.

I'm not sure about solar being a scam, but we're looking into changing from "Basic" to a "TOD/Demand" usage plan with UniSource and an energy/load management controller from Inergy in Phoenix. For a roughly $3000 investment (P & L) in the system I'm looking at a 65% decrease in my monthly electrical bill.

 

[FlyByWire]

I'm not sure about solar being a scam, but we're looking into changing from "Basic" to a "TOD/Demand" usage plan with UniSource and an energy/load management controller from Inergy in Phoenix. For a roughly $3000 investment (P & L) in the system I'm looking at a 65% decrease in my monthly electrical bill.

I’m on time of use billing and just got an 815 dollar bill. I’m at a loss, completely.

 

[Maw]

I’m on time of use billing and just got an 815 dollar bill. I’m at a loss, completely.

Our last bill in Havasu was $1070, wanna trade?

What triggered my looking into this device (Pensar) made by Inergy was a conversation with a friend with a similar sized house (5k sq ft) and a pool, all electric as well. His bill at the same month was $204. The big difference is the plan and this device that keeps multiple large consumers from coming on simultaneously. It's programmed with the full load currents of all major electrical devices in the house, monitors total consumption, and manages the load profile during the critical 3:00-7:00pm period. You exceed the limits in this window and it's bend-over time.

 

[SoCalDave]

Yeah TOU rates will screw you because that's when you need the power the most.
I elected to stay on the tier rate for now and my last bill was $329 with ac set at 74f.
Thoigh I am on the care program which gives me a 30% discount on our total billing usage.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

You want to talk to @Ace in the Hole for AZ and @BasilHayden for California.

Ace in the Hole - Joel 808-223-3229.
BasilHayden - Andy (I'm going to put his Biz # here.. but if you have a hard time reach out to me and I'll send you his cell). 760-504-0388

I wanted to circle back to this. I likely missed some call backs etc on people and messages. My cell never changes, feel free to reach out.

I resigned as COO at my last firm in August. I have been burnt out on it for a while..The industry has stuff going on that taxes you at a high level, and I needed to distance myself from that organization... I'm taking a hiatus until at least January. I will be happy to look at your proposals, bids, etc..and give recommendations. I offer a consulting service that is $250 with a deep breakdown, 1 hour video call, review of all your bids, and a recommendation analysis of which options are best for you, or whether you should not go solar (which is the case many times)... Otherwise I'll always skim bids and tell you whether its fair, honest etc or not. I'll also tell you who to avoid like the plague.

I'm taking the rest of the year to work on my other business in Hawaii, spend some more time with MaK, and focus on my health/fitness etc. I'm around..and if you are considering solar in Havasu especially drop a line before you sign the dotted one at the number above.