$850
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Going Solar in the Sunshine State
$850
Property
- Owner:
- Matt T.
- Type:
- Residential
- Address:
- Saint Augustine, FL 32095
- Size:
- 2,200 sq ft
Technology
- Type:
- Solar PV
- Installed:
- June 2022
- Size of System:
- 11.6 kW
- Monitor performance:
- https://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/pv/public_systems/nQdX3242677/overview
- Purposes:
- To generate electricity
Financial Details
- Gross Cost of System:
- $42,000
- Value of Tax Credits:
- $10,920
- Annual Savings:
- $850
- Own or Lease:
- Purchase with Loan
- Additional Financial Notes:
- Panels had to face east due to front of house facing south and there is little to no suitable roof line facing south. Also, installer did electrical work in garage to accomodate a 50amp 240v for a future EV charger. Loan was for 25 years at 2.49%
Professionals & Suppliers
What You Need to Know
Description:
11.6kW DC/9.902 kW AC system. 29 Qcell Q.Peak Duo BLK ML-G10+ panels Enphase IQ7+ Microinverters and Enphase Consumption Traces
Other Benefits:
It has helped shade my attic which has caused it to not get as hot. Another benefit is I am meeting more of my neighbors who want to know about the solar system. Even had a door to door salesman stop his pitch and ask about the system.
Maintenance Requirements:
I just check every couple days to ensure nothing has built a nest under them and thanks to them facing east in this area, the wind and rain does a good job of keeping them clean so far.
Efficiency or Sustainability Improvements:
Keeps my attic cooler, but still unsure if that will translate to AC savings.
My Motivation:
I wanted to control what I spent on energy, I think solar is a fascinating and cool concept since you are easily and cheaply able to capture energy on your roof. Our power company had recently announced a base charge increase of 18% over the next 5 years and that doesn't include the fuel charges which were sure to explode since they heavily rely on natural gas for generation. So I figured since I am in the sunshine state it makes complete sense to get a hedge against energy inflation, plus the positive impacts of clean energy generation.
Advice:
The best advice is get multiple quotes and don't just necessarily go with the cheapest option, do your research on the companies, the panels and the inverters. I am beyond happy I went with micro inverters, the anaphase system just works so well, plus I have some neighbors who have string inverters and when the sun is really out, you can hear a high pitched wine coming from their inverter. Meanwhile the Enphase micro inverters and gateway box are always dead silent. Have the consumption traces (CTs) included in the quote, it is nearly invaluable being able to see my houses energy consumption. It has already lead me to AC savings because it helped me realize my smart thermostat was causing my system to kick on and off to frequently which made it inefficient.
Experience with Installer:
SEM did a great job, every person I dealt with was friendly, courteous and frankly actually gave a $%*& about me as a customer and doing the job right. I had a slightly lower quote but I went with them because they were highly recommended and they have had a long time working with both residential and commercial solar installations.
Additional Notes:
St. Johns County FL was incredibly quick in approving our permits, literally 2 days from submission to approval, everyone was expecting a month or so for the permits to come back because this county is absolutely booming in construction and population growth, but they seem to majorly understand and have the solar approvals down to a science (100+ new solar approvals each month for the last couple months). It seems like the county made it a priority to green light as many solar projects they can, which is wonderful to see. The longest wait was for availability to install since there is such high demand. Once they were installed, the county inspected the system the next morning and FPL was out to swap my meter within 6 business days. Incredibly fast turn around from all involved. I was worried with the system not facing south, but so far the system is meeting and exceeding expectations despite it facing east (this was accounted for in the estimates).
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