Solar Panels for the house

i've been looking at Q CELLS
480 watt Q Cells Mono XL Bifacial Solar Panel

PRODUCT WARRANTY: 12-year product workmanship
PERFORMANCE WARRANTY: 30-year linear power warranty
https://sunwatts.com/480-watt-q-cells-mono-xl-bifacial-solar-panel/
bDGfmg.png


https://www.solarreviews.com/blog/what-are-the-best-solar-panels-to-buy-for-your-home

but as they are only 415 USD each
and it's only 4 bolts and two plug in wires to change one cell warranty is not a big deal to me as you most likely only lose 2 or 3 in 20 years
and i can do it



and they are made here or some are
https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2019/09...gest-solar-factory-in-the-western-hemisphere/

and a new factery on the way

Q Cells confirms location of next US solar panel factory
Click to expand...

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/05...s has revealed that,United States beyond 3 GW.
 
Are you planning on using those panels as the roof of the carport for the Lightning? Bifacial panels is sorta overkill if you plan on flat mounting it to a dark roof unless you got a white or reflecting roof thing going on with a huge gap between it and the panels.
 
dodger said:
Are you planning on using those panels as the roof of the carport for the Lightning? Bifacial panels is sorta overkill if you plan on flat mounting it to a dark roof unless you got a white or reflecting roof thing going on with a huge gap between it and the panels.
Click to expand...

well the cells maybe bifacial

The new Q Cells Q.PEAK DUO XL 480 watt solar panel features 156 monocrystalline bifacial Q.ANTUM solar half-cells. Delivering higher output and performance, the Q.PEAK DUO XL G10.3 480 watt module operates at 20.7% efficiency to maximize the light absorption area through its innovative Q.ANTUM DUO cell technology, cell separation and wiring. The Q Cells Q.PEAK DUO XL 480 watt module was designed for large scale applications including rooftop arrays on commercial and industrial buildings, as well as ground-mounted solar power plants. Featuring all-weather technology, this 1500V IEC/UL solar panel delivers higher yields with superior low-light and temperature behavior. Built to withstand heavy snow and wind loads with a silver anodized aluminum frame.
Click to expand...


but the back of the panal does not look like it is

87RhHa.jpg
 
I am going to get a CPA this year to do my taxes. I will let you know what happens.

It is a tax credit but for every place I see it will not get counted towards a tax refund I see another that says it will.
 
Gandalfthewhite said:
I am going to get a CPA this year to do my taxes. I will let you know what happens.

It is a tax credit but for every place I see it will not get counted towards a tax refund I see another that says it will.
Click to expand...

Everything I've read is it is not refundable so your tax liability better be a good chunk if not half of what you plan on getting in Solar credits. Stretching it out 2 years seems to be safe (and what Bill is alluding) but I haven't read how long you can stretch it. Unless you plan ahead, it should just mean a bigger return in April but not a CPA, YMMV.
 
right it isnt refundable but it lowers your overall tax liability. so if you owed 30k got a credit for 10k you now owe 20k and if your employer withheld 30k to the governemnt for you. technically that extra 10k you paid to the government in theory should be refundable. At least that is the part that needs some clarifcation. Ive pumped it into turbotax and that is how it tells me it works but want to get verifcation from a CPA otherwise I just withold a lot less money next year.
 
All non-refundable means is that you don't get the money back if you don't owe tax. Refundable credit means that even if you owe zero tax (made no money or had large deductions) the government writes you a check for that amount anyway.

A non-refundable credit can still zero out any tax you owe (possibly with some other limitations like Alternative Minimum Tax), and with the solar tax credit you can keep carrying it forward to future years, so as long as you do pay some tax you will eventually get to use all of it. (Some other non-refundable credits can't be carried forward, which then can potentially be pretty bad since in that case you just don't benefit from the whole amount.)
 
Last edited:
Gandalfthewhite said:
right it isnt refundable but it lowers your overall tax liability. so if you owed 30k got a credit for 10k you now owe 20k and if your employer withheld 30k to the governemnt for you. technically that extra 10k you paid to the government in theory should be refundable. At least that is the part that needs some clarifcation. Ive pumped it into turbotax and that is how it tells me it works but want to get verifcation from a CPA otherwise I just withold a lot less money next year.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's exactly what I understand it to be too. This doesn't even get into states with their own income taxes and own solar credits and how one affects the other.
 
How do we feel about panel brands? QCell seems pretty ypopular.. how about Panasonic?

This current quote seems to really want to push the LG panels. 90.6% efficiency after 25yrs is pretty amazing, but seems to be in line with the other brands.
 
Nunz said:
How do we feel about panel brands? QCell seems pretty ypopular.. how about Panasonic?

This current quote seems to really want to push the LG panels. 90.6% efficiency after 25yrs is pretty amazing, but seems to be in line with the other brands.
Click to expand...

I think they're all relatively similar right now in terms of warranty, performance, etc. It seems like, based on my limited research, the bigger concern is sourcing. Are LG panels readily available? The Q Cell panels I'm getting are rated for 86% output at 25 years, which seems fine. I think just get the panels you want that are priced reasonably and actually available. Don't want to order something that will take months to arrive.
 
What do you think?



Edit: have a proposal coming from another installer that I am much happier with.

Something the first company didn't tell me is that LG actually left solar panel production in March2022. They're trying to sell me surplus stock. LG said any warranty replacements after a couple of years will just be met with refunds, not new panels, as they shut down all production beginning of Q3.

I don't like that

New proposal has REC 365watt panels with that same 92% efficiency @ yr25, and it's 7k cheaper. I'm down to $31k now before incentives.
 
Last edited:
Nunz said:
What do you think?

https://app.solarnexus.com/docs/587ffa99481c/536366/d824e382031346372e8e75872?version=html

Edit: have a proposal coming from another installer that I am much happier with.

Something the first company didn't tell me is that LG actually left solar panel production in March2022. They're trying to sell me surplus stock. LG said any warranty replacements after a couple of years will just be met with refunds, not new panels, as they shut down all production beginning of Q3.

I don't like that

New proposal has REC 365watt panels with that same 92% efficiency @ yr25, and it's 7k cheaper. I'm down to $31k now before incentives.
Click to expand...

That sounds like a much better deal. Good job on shopping around for something better. I am still curious though if that $31k they're quoting now before incentives, is that the financed or cash price or will they state that it's the same price?
 
All prices I talk about are financed prices - the price I'd take the loan out on. I wish I had the money to just pay cash.. it'd be awesome.. but unfortunately :(

They've shown me cash and financed pricing on both proposals.. cash is of course 6-10k cheaper. Second company offering the REC 365 setup said that most solar companies just do the cash price x 1.19 to get the financed price.
 
Nunz said:
All prices I talk about are financed prices - the price I'd take the loan out on. I wish I had the money to just pay cash.. it'd be awesome.. but unfortunately :(

They've shown me cash and financed pricing on both proposals.. cash is of course 6-10k cheaper. Second company offering the REC 365 setup said that most solar companies just do the cash price x 1.19 to get the financed price.
Click to expand...

Okay yeah that's what I was curious about.

I mean, same boat here. We just bought this house in November, have a number of renovation projects going on, so no real opportunity to find another $32k for the solar panels or other projects. So now, I'm doing the same. But wasn't sure if anyone else had a "cash vs financed" price difference as big as I did. It sounds like your experience is the same.
 
Tesla finally emailed me back. I've heard nothing but bad things, though..

Tesla using one single inverter rather than micro-inverters? and really bad things about their customer support. If that single inverter goes down, your entire system is dead..
 
Nunz said:
What do you think?

https://app.solarnexus.com/docs/587ffa99481c/536366/d824e382031346372e8e75872?version=html

Edit: have a proposal coming from another installer that I am much happier with.

Something the first company didn't tell me is that LG actually left solar panel production in March2022. They're trying to sell me surplus stock. LG said any warranty replacements after a couple of years will just be met with refunds, not new panels, as they shut down all production beginning of Q3.

I don't like that

New proposal has REC 365watt panels with that same 92% efficiency @ yr25, and it's 7k cheaper. I'm down to $31k now before incentives.
Click to expand...

that looks better :up:


but never hurts to get more bids
stay away from Sunrun still have not given my my 500 bucks back :mad:

but the tax deal isn't goning anywhere

......

i got to wait on the Ford Lighting and get a few power bills with charging it
power co. is being dicks about a system bigger than what i need now
 
Nunz said:
Tesla finally emailed me back. I've heard nothing but bad things, though..

Tesla using one single inverter rather than micro-inverters? and really bad things about their customer support. If that single inverter goes down, your entire system is dead..
Click to expand...

yea they told me that also on the phone

then came out and bid micro-inverters :lol:

micro-inverters do cost more
 
I'll ask them about micro-inverters. They cost more but it's definitely worth the higher price.

How do you feel about the Tesla panels though? I was reading some reviews about really slow/poor customer support for warranty work when inverters died.

Appreciate all the input. I'm definitely happier with the newer proposal.
 
Nunz said:
I'll ask them about micro-inverters. They cost more but it's definitely worth the higher price.

How do you feel about the Tesla panels though? I was reading some reviews about really slow/poor customer support for warranty work when inverters died.

Appreciate all the input. I'm definitely happier with the newer proposal.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure that string inverters really are that much worse than micro-inverters. Assuming you're still connected to the grid and using a net-metering setup, is it worth the extra cash even though micro-inverters really are better?

Something to keep in mind is that micro-inverters, on a bigger array like yours, will raise the cost significantly since you have to price it out per panel. In a bigger array you're raising the overall cost significantly.

Making up numbers here but let's say adding micro-inverters raises the overall price by maybe $6-10k for the project versus using string inverters. It seemed to me that string inverters have a similar warranty and have a life expectancy of say 15-25 years. If a string inverter setup goes down entirely, you're out for a few weeks? Maybe, at worst if parts are on back order, down for a few months? How much is that overall? 3 months at maybe a monthly electric bill of $150 ish? (guessing here) So your string inverter system dies and costs you $450-600 at worst? So we avoid that outage and cost by paying an extra $6-10k overall for a micro-inverter system?

I mean, I definitely agree that micro-inverters are just better, and it's what I settled on for my house. But make sure you're comfortable with the math. If you're not living entirely off-grid (and I'm guessing you're not), and can sustain and survive an outage of say half a year over a 25 year life-span (assuming super worse case scenario this comes out to $900 and say energy rates go up so let's call this an even $2k?) then you're still coming out ahead by going with string inverters over a micro inverter setup. Aren't you?
 
Nunz said:
I'll ask them about micro-inverters. They cost more but it's definitely worth the higher price.

How do you feel about the Tesla panels though? I was reading some reviews about really slow/poor customer support for warranty work when inverters died.

Appreciate all the input. I'm definitely happier with the newer proposal.
Click to expand...

they are slow with the bid i know

and they didn't bid Tesla panels for me i think it was 400 watt Q Cells smaller than i'm looking at now

and i don't know about Tesla warranty work
i didn't get that far

my problem with both Sunrun and Tesla is they wanted to put all the cells on the front of my roof that faces north
its only a 4/12 pitch roof and won't matter in the summer but will in the winter when the sun is lower on the horizon

told them both i was going to move a few roof vents on the back and cut the big pecan tree down to clear the back roof

but they don't listen or forword to the design dept. :nuts:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top