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Who's gone Solar

Anybody heard of Lumio as an installer? WHILE I WAS out of the house, Ms. BA got sold on an appointment. Help me out here. My alarm bells went off when I heard because I never even heard of them but now it gets into the domestic dispute of why haven’t we been entertaining offers, blabla.

And due to certain truths about long-term relationships, she won’t believe ME if I tell her that we should find someone, not have them find us. She’ll just get insulted. Sigh.
 
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Thanks to Tom (Thinkfast) who I met at the Russian River pre race this past weekend Sunpower will be here Monday at noon.

We've been noodling it but it just didn't make sense until they cut down the dozens of massive Eucs in the cemetery behind us last year.

Use 670kWh per month (high of 766, low of 609) and are looking to move from gas oven/dryer to electric even and dryer though they are both relatively new.

We'd give them to our daughter as an upgrade who's bill is tiny at her small home.

Down the road we were definitely getting heated floors under tile in the unheated kitchen as we love that in our recent master bath addition.

Our average cost/kWh past 12 months was 36 cents, average bill of $244/month with a high of $318 this past in January of 2023.

Without this thread I'm not sure we'd have gotten on it so soon so thanks all.
 
Bay Arean said:
Anybody heard of Lumio
Click to expand...

Most complaints that I read seem to be about their aggressive sales personnel. To satisfy your wife and make your life easier; use them to flesh out your knowledge of solar information, get a quote and send them on their way.
 
GAJ said:
Thanks to Tom (Thinkfast) who I met at the Russian River pre race this past weekend Sunpower will be here Monday at noon.
Click to expand...

Glad I could help, Geoff. 6 months into it now with our system and loving it. If anyone else wants my referral code lmk.
 
I am doing my best to join the club before NEM3. Thanks everyone for participating in this thread.

WTF is going to happen to this industry in California when NEM3 goes into effect?

I have a phone meeting with West Coast Solar tomorrow. I dropped your name Kevin. If we go with them it looks like you will get a little something.

Zoom meeting with Sun Power on Monday. Two of my neighbors used them and were satisfied with everything. One neighbor told me they were not the cheapest but he didn't feel like shopping around much.

I may stay away from Tesla. Watching videos it appears they have a shorter labor warranty and apparently horrible customer service.

After watching YouTube videos I signed up with energysage.com and I have so far received 3 online quotes. It is interesting because they seem to be no name companies, but then I don't know much about this business. The quotes are coming in much less than I would've thought but then they did with very little information. I suspect these are teaser rates to peak my interest.



Here is some of the information in those quotes. Sorry for the formatting but I don't feel like cleaning it up. There are three columns.

Column 1 is NRG Clean Power.

Column 2 is LA Solar Group, NEVADA Solar Group, TEXAS Solar Group.

Column 3 is Divine Power USA.

Number of Panels 17 15 19
Watts per Panel 400 W 450 W 400 W
Number of Inverters 17 15 19
System Size 6.80 kW 6.75 kW 7.60 kW
Year 1 Production Estimate 10,424 kWh 10,110 kWh 10,347 kWh
Electricity Need Met 104% 101% 103%
Solar Upfront Purchase
Net Investment $15,613 $13,230 $14,896
Price per Watt $3.28 / W $2.80 / W $2.80 / W
* 20-year Savings $61,533 $62,592 $61,114

Here is more copy and paste. Wow, that's a really messy thing to look at.

Panel Model
DUO BLK ML-G10+ 400 Q.PEAK
Panel
450BL LS
Panel
AXIpremium-X-HC-400 AXIpremium X HC
Panel Rating
Excellent
Excellent
Very Good
Panel Output Warranty 25 years 25 years 25 years
Year 25 Production Estimate 9058 kWh 9191 kWh 8942 kWh
Inverter Manufacturer
Enphase Energy
Logo
Enphase Energy
Logo
Enphase Energy
Logo
Inverter Model
IQ8M-72-2-US

Inverter
IQ8A-72-2-US

Inverter
IQ7PLUS-72-x-ACM-US-240

Inverter
Inverter Type Microinverter Microinverter Microinverter
Panel-level Optimization Yes Yes Yes
Inverter Rating
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Inverter Warranty 25 years 25 years 25 years
 
Be aware that Sun Power Direct is the corporate-owned and operated installer arm of Sun Power corp, which makes the panels with its own proprietary Enphase microinverters.

They also wholesale their panels to indie dealer/installers. I got quotes from both SPD and indies who offered Sun Power panels.

The quotes came back very similar, but the indie guys wanted to charge me more than SPD for the 7 panel system (108% of usage) we ended up with, whereas they were line ball or a tad less than SPD for the 8 and 10 panel options we were looking at.

Net cost came in at $3.00/W after tax credits.
 
kpke said:
I am doing my best to join the club before NEM3. Thanks everyone for participating in this thread.

WTF is going to happen to this industry in California when NEM3 goes into effect?

I have a phone meeting with West Coast Solar tomorrow. I dropped your name Kevin. If we go with them it looks like you will get a little something.

Zoom meeting with Sun Power on Monday. Two of my neighbors used them and were satisfied with everything. One neighbor told me they were not the cheapest but he didn't feel like shopping around much.

I may stay away from Tesla. Watching videos it appears they have a shorter labor warranty and apparently horrible customer service.

After watching YouTube videos I signed up with energysage.com and I have so far received 3 online quotes. It is interesting because they seem to be no name companies, but then I don't know much about this business. The quotes are coming in much less than I would've thought but then they did with very little information. I suspect these are teaser rates to peak my interest.



Here is some of the information in those quotes. Sorry for the formatting but I don't feel like cleaning it up. There are three columns.

Column 1 is NRG Clean Power.

Column 2 is LA Solar Group, NEVADA Solar Group, TEXAS Solar Group.

Column 3 is Divine Power USA.

Number of Panels 17 15 19
Watts per Panel 400 W 450 W 400 W
Number of Inverters 17 15 19
System Size 6.80 kW 6.75 kW 7.60 kW
Year 1 Production Estimate 10,424 kWh 10,110 kWh 10,347 kWh
Electricity Need Met 104% 101% 103%
Solar Upfront Purchase
Net Investment $15,613 $13,230 $14,896
Price per Watt $3.28 / W $2.80 / W $2.80 / W
* 20-year Savings $61,533 $62,592 $61,114

Here is more copy and paste. Wow, that's a really messy thing to look at.

Panel Model
DUO BLK ML-G10+ 400 Q.PEAK
Panel
450BL LS
Panel
AXIpremium-X-HC-400 AXIpremium X HC
Panel Rating
Excellent
Excellent
Very Good
Panel Output Warranty 25 years 25 years 25 years
Year 25 Production Estimate 9058 kWh 9191 kWh 8942 kWh
Inverter Manufacturer
Enphase Energy
Logo
Enphase Energy
Logo
Enphase Energy
Logo
Inverter Model
IQ8M-72-2-US

Inverter
IQ8A-72-2-US

Inverter
IQ7PLUS-72-x-ACM-US-240

Inverter
Inverter Type Microinverter Microinverter Microinverter
Panel-level Optimization Yes Yes Yes
Inverter Rating
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Inverter Warranty 25 years 25 years 25 years
Click to expand...

Are those quotes the total prices, or are they the net prices after taking into account the Fed tax rebate?

Because those are very similar to the system I ordered through Tesla.

19 panel 7.6 kW system with a projected annual production of 10,746 kWh.

The cost of mine is:

Pricing Details

Total Amount Due $20,513.34

Federal Tax Credit -$6,229.00



Net Cost

$14,534.34

EDIT: Oh, now I see you wrote Net Investment, so I'm assuming that's after the tax rebates. Pretty similar on the prices with Tesla it seems.
 
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Thanks ThinkFast.

Yes you are correct Bo it is after credits.

I am curious how West Coast Solar and Sun Power come in. It's going to be different for sure because we will discuss "real" requirements like running AC and pool pump simultaneously for long hours. I really cut back on running the pool pump and we tend to not run the AC nearly as much as we would like due to HIGH electric costs. The past year or 2 electric consumption is not what normal peoples would be.
 
"WTF is going to happen to this industry in California when NEM3 goes into effect?"

I think a lot of systems will include batteries. This is our plan now that it is unlikely we'll be able to get solar in time to sneak into NEM2.
 
Bubba_s said:
"WTF is going to happen to this industry in California when NEM3 goes into effect?"

I think a lot of systems will include batteries. This is our plan now that it is unlikely we'll be able to get solar in time to sneak into NEM2.
Click to expand...

That's true. Batteries will make more sense then. Also, batteries will have the 30% federal tax credit for the next decade, along with the solar systems.

I still think it's moving in the wrong direction for a state that supposedly embraces and encourages the move away from fossil fuels. The PUC will always prioritize huge profits and bonuses for utility monopolies at the expense of everything else.
 
ThinkFast said:
Glad I could help, Geoff. 6 months into it now with our system and loving it. If anyone else wants my referral code lmk.
Click to expand...

Just be aware if you use Tom's link to wait at least a day for a reply.
 
bojangle said:
...
Click to expand...

Still nothing, but I did get an automated email "NEM 2.0 + Your Tesla Solar Order" which was just to tell me that I need to sign up before x date, sign docs, don't make changes, yada yada...still nothing though from Tesla in terms of the next step. It's perpetually on "permit" under "Next Steps" in my Account log-in.

I assume yours reads the same?
 
Are paybacks under the current net metering really down to five years and are ROI's really close to 20 percent assuming you pay cash?

Sounds to good to be true but I'm going to take the gamble unless some major red flags pop up.
 
TwistedGRAY said:
Still nothing, but I did get an automated email "NEM 2.0 + Your Tesla Solar Order" which was just to tell me that I need to sign up before x date, sign docs, don't make changes, yada yada...still nothing though from Tesla in terms of the next step. It's perpetually on "permit" under "Next Steps" in my Account log-in.

I assume yours reads the same?
Click to expand...

Same as you. Got the same email too.

Then there's this on the email.

Note: If there are no design modifications after submitting, Tesla has three years to complete the installation and utility process for enrollment in NEM 2.0.
Click to expand...

I think they're just stating the timeline authorized to get in under NEM 2. But I hope that's not an indication that we'll be waiting years for this. I want this installed soon.

If I had to guess, maybe they're focusing on signing up as many people as they can right now before the deadline in March/April, and then after the deadline, they will shift more towards installation. I don't know. The guy that came out to do my site assessment guessed I might hear something further about 2 weeks later, maybe a little longer. He also said he only did site assessments and not installations. It's coming up on a month since my site assignment.
 
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GAJ said:
Are paybacks under the current net metering really down to five years and are ROI's really close to 20 percent assuming you pay cash?

Sounds to good to be true but I'm going to take the gamble unless some major red flags pop up.
Click to expand...

Yes.

Electric Cost Infl 7.75% per year
Cost/KwH today $0.32 4/16/2022
Disc Rate 5.00% Target rate of return for invested funds
KwH Use per Year 4740
Elec Cost - Yr 1 $1,673.95
Net Cost $8,913
XIRR (8y0m) 13.62%
Simple Payback 5.3
Annual Elec Use KwH 4,763
NPV 11y9m $20,491.00
NPV 8y0m $11,632.56
Avg Elec Cost/yr $2,413.20 Forecast
 
bojangle said:
I think they're just stating the timeline authorized to get in under NEM 2. But I hope that's not an indication that we'll be waiting years for this. I want this installed soon.

If I had to guess, maybe they're focusing on signing up as many people as they can right now before the deadline in March/April, and then after the deadline, they will shift more towards installation. I don't know. The guy that came out to do my site assessment guessed I might hear something further about 2 weeks later, maybe a little longer. He also said he only did site assessments and not installations. It's coming up on a month since my site assignment.
Click to expand...

They seem to be pretty busy right now - early last month we had to call for an appointment to have our panels removed to have a new roof put on the house - the earliest appointment we could get was the last week of April.
 
ThinkFast said:
Yes.

Electric Cost Infl 7.75% per year
Cost/KwH today $0.32 4/16/2022
Disc Rate 5.00% Target rate of return for invested funds
KwH Use per Year 4740
Elec Cost - Yr 1 $1,673.95
Net Cost $8,913
XIRR (8y0m) 13.62%
Simple Payback 5.3
Annual Elec Use KwH 4,763
NPV 11y9m $20,491.00
NPV 8y0m $11,632.56
Avg Elec Cost/yr $2,413.20 Forecast
Click to expand...

I'm definitely ready to go with Sunpower Direct as they are vertically integrated but Jay, the guy you dealt with, is a terrible communicator and just canceled our 45 minute noon zoom meeting today so I'm losing confidence as he's THE direct contact in the area.

Ugh.

As I use more electricity than you (8000 kWh/year my average cost per kWh is 36 cents as half is in Tier 2 so my ROI should look better than even your excellent results.

But that relies on Jay getting his shit together.
 
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