Excellent! Your videos/descriptions and BS-free explanations about all the elements of this project have been extremely helpful and are greatly appreciated.
this was very helpful as i'm looking into going solar. i'm on an electric co-op and my electric bill is averaging close to 500.00/m, going up so much every year.
That was a remarkable job Dave , well done. 1 other positive thing if I may add with your DIY installation you have also managed to reduce environmental footprint by having less people on-site. You have inspired me to copy your project but unfortunately we have a terrible weather here in the UK. You’re a truly a friend of Earth.
Environmental footprint? Now I've heard it all. I own an off-grid solar company. I'm in and out and charge less to do a better job (I'm an electrician) than these hyped installers. With 3 guys and two trucks on site any impact might be a few ruts....lol
@@coler154 ask me if I give a shit! Less environmental impact than a taco bell fart! I don't install solar because I give a crap about a carbon foot print...I install it so others aren't ripped off by public utilities and the criminal Federal Government!
Thank you! Don't worry, I track everything. I'll have future follow ups on the status. For instance the year two month by month production was much more different than I expected, I'm looking forward to giving people actual data to compare to.
Nicely done. The cheapest quote I got in Ohio for a roof install was $32,000 before tax incentives. Which to me I would prefer a ground unit for two reasons. 1). It would be easier to clean and 2). I don't trust anything that pounds on my roof (which could potentially cause a leak).
Such a great player!! I'm not even close to do a project like this on my life, but I can see when someone do his best. Congrats for your super professional work building and taking note of this project. Again, congrats man. You're great!
Thank you for this video. We just received a quote of $25K. My husband and I want solar but the price was too much. I will view the videos we would like to do this project ourselves but it seems very complex. Thank you again for the simplicity and clarity of your video.
Fantastic effort, breakdown and information on putting this together. I have heard that putting these systems together are not that difficult. Almost a plug and play! Then the fact that so many startup solar installations companies are jumping into the game with minimal experience, knowledge or expertise is scary. Labor at the simplest level is so overrated in this day and age.
Unfortunately there are a lot of companies out there delivering poor results for people. With some research and help from your local inspector, it's not that difficult.
Good info. I worked security at various home improvement stores and many people showed up all summer picking up things here and there, and when a lot of them were done, they told me that I would never see them again because they just should have just hired somebody to do their project. So, I think people should take a look at how much they will save, and figure out whether if is better to work on the project, or if it is better for them to just pick up extra hours at work, or spend less on something else until the extra expense is covered, Build a small scale version and see how much fun or frustration you have while doing so.
Good video!!! If you have the space wand don’t mind the shade, ground mounts are always better… It is hotter on a roof and solar panels are around 40% more efficient on a ground mount (cool shaded air behind each panel makes the electronics much happier). Ground mounted solar is far easier to clean (wash, clear snow, etc). And if and when it comes time to replace a roof, not having to pay to remove and reinstall solar panels can save you several grand. Fish love shade, livestock love shade. Shaded water doesn’t grow as much algae. Some garden veggies like shade. Shaded dog run… etc… There are tons of uses for the extra shade, and it doesn’t have to be wasted on gravel (which is fine if you don’t have anything else to shade). Ground mounts are always better… If you have space for them.
The problem with ground mounts for us City folk is that annoying neighbors complain about how it looks. Only rooftop is allowed in my area unless it’s not visible
Excellent presentation and perfect timing for me since I'm currently working on the design of an almost identical system. I'm preparing permit application documents. This is very helpful. Thanks!
Glad it was helpful! Although every permit process is going to be a little different, I made a video on my permit process that may be helpful. You can watch it here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-imiEYDHLG4A.html
much cheaper and easier if you can weld. The whole thing can be built with angle iron. The kind of welding required to build such structures can be mastered in an a afternoon actually.
Amazing details on all fronts. Thank you!! I sent your video link to my son who just asked me to do a break down cost of a home solar array which saved me hours of perusing the Internet as you have already done in great depth. Nice video and excellent outcome!! Liked and subscribed.
great video, it seems unirack is usually cheaper than ironridge.... looks like maybe ready rack is very competitive too. For those looking at roof mount, study your fire codes ...you need to keep the panels 3' lower than ridge (2015 code) and if using 2018 code it's 18" (But you need to red the code details).... Yes you have to use whatever year edition of code your county has adopted, you can no jump to the newer code....
3 years ago!! Recent purchase of panels was $97 for 500 watt bifacial solar panels. So I only need 20 panels for 20KW However the shipping was going to cost as much as buying 4 extra panels at which point shipping was free. Panels prices sre dropping like a rock!! I’m mounting them on the roof ( lack of space in my yard) And mounting them vertically that gains me as much as 30% over rated yield. I’ll mount 2 of the extra panels for increased output on cloudy days. (2 will go in the attic to replace any damaged in the future). My racking costs amounted to $23 per panel. Wiring costs will be lower, since I not need 50 feet. But wire has gone up significantly. I have yet to decide is I want a back up battery or not. The Tesla version 3 includes a built in inverter but it’s $8400. For now I’ll leave it off. If the Electric company goes further away from net metering it will quickly pay for itself. I am looking at a bi-directional EV CHARGER TO USE THE BATTERY in my Tesla to act in that capacity. Then I can use the DC power directly and only use the inverter when I’m in surplus generational capacity. Typical power loss with inverters is around 5%!
*a fun fact* : with the racking system cost of 2500$ only, here in india you can install 5Kw ongrid system. With 5KW of panels and a 5Kw ongrid inverter. for large projects, the costing for mono perc bifacial comes at around 0.4$ per watt plus inverter and structure cost.
Excellent, clear, concise video. I didn't feel you had any agenda (like selling us on solar) but provided normal folks with some real costs and break even points for installing solar. I would really like to know how your ground mount system compares with this same system roof mounted. I would imagine the vast majority of residential systems are roof mounted.
You did not include your savings for cheaper electricity and the added savings for paying off the unit 3.6 years earlier, which I believe brings your cost down on the DIY side.
I appreciate your video, it gave me some of the information I want. The hybrid structure is likely what most people want. What most people don't want is a high pressure salesman pumping up a profit margin and a commission.
Impressive! Well done video. There are guys that will spend more than that on a Harley, a boat, a muscle car, etc-etc-etc and still say solar costs too much. DIY home solar is one of the best hobbies (or way of life) you can have. I got three arrays.
Wow way cheaper than I thought. Solar salesman came by yesterday and for a system twice the size on this video it cost 4 times as much as the quote you received. Going to shop around more or learn to install myself. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Great video - I think you guys pay less for electricity than we do in the UK. I don't know when this video was made but we have just had shocking rises in electricity prices and have been told there are more to come. The return on investment period has literally halved although solar panels have somehow mysteriously risen in price too. I bought 10 used panels that came out at the equivalent of 90 bucks a piece - they were selling for 60 bucks a couple of months ago. My whole 2.4kw/h system has cost me about 2200 us dollars. I'm not finished yet but nearly there. Thanks again for a great video with no bs.
Inflation seems to be hitting the whole world, I guess it is going to improve the payback for solar in general. I'm glad the content was helpful. Thanks!
Blown away great job.... We DIY and ours paid off 18yrs faster than the contractor. You got a good bid. St. louis they way over charge. THey want 14k just to remove and reinstalled on the roof (hail damage new roof)
Great job and thanks for explaining the costs. Here in Mexico solar panels are 130 usd for a Longi 635 watt and in China the same panel is 82 usd. In Mexico we do not have tax benefits.
$1.25 / W. if you get 4 hours sun on average / day. after 20 years. 20 * 365 * 4 = 29,200 hours in first 20 years. you will get 29 kWh / installed watt. 1.25 / 29 = about 4.3 cents per kwh. good deal!
How do you know? I created a new calculator that takes the drop in production into account. You can watch that video here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YjKPHuc8T38.html
5500 saved, you can buy your wife a nice golden necklace or make a big vaccation. i bet your family would like that too. i respect a man doing stuff by him self. Thhumps uop
@@fishhuntadventure sometimes you save money on things so you could buy the things that you want vacation time with your family is definitely something you would want on average
I wish some more simple step by step process for DIY existed to let people start with bi-facial solar panels used as a fence that we can grow as we add more and more panels. That way I can start small and add on little by little as I learn.
It's hard to judge because filming adds a significant amount of time to the activity. I think at one point I estimated about 40hours. Here is an estimate someone else posted: @jstaffordii • 1 month ago I calculated mine at $100/hr. I tracked my time from permitting application process to final inspection. My 9.25kw roof mount grid tied system used 50 man hours of labor. So it was roughly $5000 of DIY labor to add to my $8600 install cost of equipment and tooling needs before tax rebate 4 years ago. But that only matters if you actually earn $100/hr in your off duty from work hours. Solar is a hobby that you invest your better way of life.
Great video Dave. Can you provide annual production data since install? I installed an 18.6 Kw system in 2019 using tracking arrays and thought it would be interesting to compare.
I have a video showing the monthly and annual production of my first year. You can also download the spreadsheet from that video. Here it is: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BatTeSq05rU.html
I can't install the panels by myself, so who should I hire to install them for me and save money at the same time? And thanks in advance for making this video in details for us! I appreciate it!
There are two free resources I can recommend: The first is EnergyPal, they will help you determine if solar is right for you and set you up with the lowest cost installation that meets your needs. If you follow my link to sign up you will get a $500 gift card when your install is complete! (They only service some areas of the US and Canada): energypal.com/everyday-dave Or, Try Energy Sage - I used Energy Sage to research solar and receive multiple competing quotes for my original install. (Helps you find a local installer that is reputable) : www.energysage.com/p/everydaydave/
Keep in mind that was the best of all the quotes I received. Also, I spent some time negotiating it down. I used EnergySage to get quotes from multiple suppliers. Here is a link: www.energysage.com/p/everydaydave/ You could also try EnergyPal another free resource for finding installers. Here is there link: energypal.com/everyday-dave
I don't know how much prices changed over a year, but we are getting a 10kW solar system here in Lithuania, and installers are offering them for 7k-9k euros with installation (including 21% VAT). We also get an incentive of €323 per installed kW from the government, which leaves cheapest 10kW offer total cost at €7k - €3.2k= ~€3.8k. So it should take only about 3 years for us for the system to pay off all the cost.
I had a company quote SIXTY THOUSAND DOLLARS for a ground mounted array. As soon as he said that I kicked him out.. I was expecting $20k. Solar companies in Florida be trying to rip you off.
I have found that quotes can very significantly. Getting three to five quotes will help you negotiate the best price if you are having someone else install your system. My quotes ranged from $24k to $40k for the same size system.
I spent months researching DIY kits for my home and then I went downtown to get the permits and I was told the homeowners are not allowed in our county to install system that has to be done by a professional
Sorry to hear that, you might consider moving.. : ) I did a video on getting a permit, my recommendation was to make two phone calls before you start anything, one to the utility company and one to the building department, you can watch that video here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-imiEYDHLG4A.html
Yes, there is a good middle ground where you do some of the work and just hire an electrician to do the wiring. It should still be much cheaper than having a "turn key" system installed.
Any business case should include the time value of money so the cost of money whether to borrow or what you could earn risk-free should be included to discount future savings or costs. In other words a dollar today is worth more than the promise of a dollar 5 years from now.
Why did you get the optimizers ground mount system doesn't require rapid shutdown units. Diodes in the panels do the same thing as an optimizer unless you wanted to see the power output of each panel. I like the comparison I know solar contractors in the past were quoting extremely high rates up to $8 a watt. I have seen some with battery storage up to 100k. Like most contractors can always find someone else to do it cheaper.
I didn't have very much knowledge about solar systems when I installed my first system. Here is a video I did later on this exact topic: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nC7i_GSrGlk.html
Your compounded rate of return on this system is 5.7% over 25 years assuming 2.4% annual cost of electricity increase and $0 system scrap value. Over past 30 years the stock market returned 9.9% on average. To make solar have 9.9% annual return it would have to cost $4500 total or $0.48/watt. Doable in some parts of the world.
I was quite surprised to see EV vehicle charge port. Diging bit deeper it looked like a 240 AC charge not DC charge (as it's much more expensive to do proper DC-DC)
SolarEdge doesn't give a lot of detail on how it's solar boost works during charging. I show the cable install and a little more detail on the topic in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-U2ilH8yOi7A.html
My basic cabin electric bill would take 33 years to cover the $14,000 cost. Will just be running the generator while there maybe a small 1 or 2 hundred watt system.
In your case it may make sense to have a small, lower cost battery backup system with generator and even combined solar input that can be used to power things overnight so you only have to run the generator for big loads during the day.
I think DIY solar is far less intimidating if you have the space to ground mount. Be interesting to see what the DIY prices and quotes are today mid 2024!
What would you recommend for a Two bedroom home solar setup and the amount of panels needed? I live in the marshall Islands and I would be off grid completely? I watched your other video where did a step by step on how to install a solar system. Very informative and easy to follow. Thanks man.
Thanks! Glad it was helpful. Off grid requires a significant increase in the system size as well as the addition of batteries. You can get some help on where to get started sizing your array here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rbFnZqA0GCI.html
To be clear, the US Federal tax incentive for 2022 will allow you to reduce taxes owed by up to 30% of the cost of your solar system in the year it is made operational. If you do not owe taxes you can not claim the credit.
