Help with my 3 kw solar panel quote please

Martyn1981

hiya Shafeeq, nothing against your quote, but might be worth taking some time to think of anything else you can do to play with it. What do I mean?

Well, you mention 250W panels and a system size of 3kWp. I'm assuming that your roof is only big enough for the 12 panels. But if you could fit slightly more powerful panels, then it might be worth it if the extra cost is proportional (or hopefully a little less than proportional).

I think there are a few panels out there that are standard size but a few watts more, eg YingLi Pandas at 265W. I've mentioned these before, somewhere, so must caveat this with 'only mentioning them because I've heard of them, no recommendation whatsoever'.

12 panels @ 265 = 3,180, call it 3.2kWp. So 6% more potential generation, but at what cost? Extra needs to be 6% or less - £325 (£5,414 @ 6%).

I know nothing, nought, zero, zilch about Sunrise, but looking up their panel names they have some codes such as
SR-P672250
SR-P672285

and

SR-M660250
SR-M660260

Plus many many more, but the last 3 digits suggest to me panels of 250W, 285W and 260W. Whether or not they are all the same size, available in UK, MCS accredited etc etc I don't know, but might be worth asking the installer.

If I'm confusing you, please let me know, I can either shut up, or explain better, whichever you prefer.

Mart.

shafeeq

Hi Mart

Thanks for your input, I have a someone coming this afternoon and they say they use Jetion or Yingli and SMA inverter, they give a rough quote on their website for 3kwp £5249 + vat. Ill wait for their quote and then go back to the above and see what their price will be with Yingli panels.

Thanks for great advice.


Shafeeq
Shafeeq

shafeeq

Hi All

When I receive the quote for solar panel should the quote be itemised?

i.e Sunrise 250 kwp X 12 = £....
Aurora invert x 1 £...
and so on.

I am still waiting for my second quote the site survey was done yesterday. First quote was not itemised. Only thing itemised was scaffolding. Some one was telling me that all REAL members must provide itemised quote is this true?

Thanks again

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

shafeeq wrote: »

Hi All

When I receive the quote for solar panel should the quote be itemised?

i.e Sunrise 250 kwp X 12 = £....
Aurora invert x 1 £...
and so on.

I am still waiting for my second quote the site survey was done yesterday. First quote was not itemised. Only thing itemised was scaffolding. Some one was telling me that all REAL members must provide itemised quote is this true?

Thanks again

Here's the relevant part of the REAL Code:
http://www.realassurance.org.uk/scheme/consumer-code#tag5.4

It seems to say that you should get an itemised list but not specifically that each item should be priced separately.

shafeeq

Hi All

I have been back and asked about Yingli Panels this is the response I got.

We have been offered Yingli panels before as they are a cheap Chinese import, however having spoken to several suppliers and looked in forums we have chosen not to buy them.

They are cheaper than the Sunrise panels, however as they have a lower efficiency and warranty, we would not risk using them on our systems.

We offer a 10 year workmanship warranty on all our work, so we need the products that we use to have at least as long a warranty, so that our systems are quality and built to last.

I have attached the spec sheet for our Sunrise panels and a link below for Yingli panels. We would not recommend Yingli panels for the reasons stated above, however if you really wanted them we would be able to offer you a system using these panels for £300 cheaper than the Sunrise panels, however you really need to ascertain if you are willing to sacrifice on quality for a product that has a lesser efficiency, performance and warranty, for system that you are requiring 25 years performance on.

http://www.solar4trade.co.uk/media/uploads/YGE_235_Series_EU_EN.pdf

Here is the information about Sunrise Panel they use

http://trade.midsummerenergy.co.uk/pdfs/Sunrise-250w-black-solar-panels.pdf

Help I am really confused.

Shafeeq

Martyn1981

Shafeeq, don't panic, for everyone that likes one panel, somebody will disagree. For instance, the company want's a longer warranty product with module efficiencies upto the same level as the the Sunrise link they gave you.

No probs then, here's a link to the YingLi Pandas, not the slightly less efficient ones they linked. Quick run through of the Pandas shows a 10 year warranty and similar 16% module efficiencies.

http://www.yinglisolar.com/frontend/downloads/datasheets/Panda_265_Series_EU_EN.pdf

Please, please, please note, I'm not pushing the Pandas (so to speak - that really doesn't sound right), just giving examples. I know no more, or less about any panels to be honest, there are simply too many out there. I only mentioned them as a guide since they are pretty popular here, and (if I've got this right) very popular in California.

The good news is that the Sunrise link shows a 260W panel (SR-M660260-B) which has the same dimensions, so worth asking how much more they would be, since that would boost your install from 3 to 3.12kWp. Every little bit helps!

My earlier suggestion a few posts back, wasn't really about changing panel make, it was more about just seeing if there was a higher efficiency panel available that was still the same size, allowing you to maximise the kWp.

Any less confused?

Mart.

shafeeq

Hi Mart

What really confused me is that I have approach 3 company. The above company been really good and helpful. I have old fused box, after they give me a quote I asked them how much they would charge for replacing the fusebox, If they do it same time as the solar panels they won't charge for labour, just parts plus 5% vat. They says the Sunrise Panel are good.

2nd Company seem to be big company, they have done schools, fire stations, community centres. They use jetion or Jingli Solar Panels with SMA invertors, But I think they will quote me for jetion panels. They say they have not come across Sunrise panel and the panel they use are really good. I am still waiting for a quote from them. They phoned me today are sending a roofer tomorrow to look at my roof because I have rosemary tiles and there is some issue.

The first company did inform me that the rosemary tiles are difficult to put solar panels, but they can do the job.

The third company (I know one of the person) he seems helpful but says those other panels are cheap. They are quoting me for Hyundai Panel with Fronius IG30 Inverter. Their original quote was for 2.5 kwp system, but the price was nearly £200 more then the above 3kwp system. They are going to do another quote for me with same stuff but 3kwp system and also with above panels and inverters.

That's where I am confused. All 3 company seem to be helpful and the advice they give seems sincere, but all seem to suggest there systems are best.

At least thanks to this site I am getting help me to make my mind up.

Thanks again
Shafeeq

Martyn1981

shafeeq wrote: »

Hi Mart

That's where I am confused. All 3 company seem to be helpful and the advice they give seems sincere, but all seem to suggest there systems are best.

Thanks again
Shafeeq

Oh mate, I was chuckling away as I read that post. Not laughing at you, honest, just remembering that I was in exactly the same boat a year ago. I'd hazard a guess that so were most others on these threads.

I think the above statement by you is very fair and true. They probably are being sincere and helpful, and in 10 or 20 years one of them may well be right too!

Don't get too tied up on the panels. Keep googling away and reading anything you can find on the panels. As long as there are no 'genuine' horror stories, there is little more you can do. Just try (price permitting) to squeeze as big a system as is practical onto your roof.

YingLi, Sharp (I've got Sharps), Hyundai get mentioned a lot as they seem popular. Whether or not that's a good thing, again, who knows for sure.

Get a good size system, a good price, and panels that nobody particularly hates. So far looks like you have ticked all three. Next step is to get the companies to put together some alternatives (variations on a theme) for consideration / comparison, again ticked. Not a lot more you can do than that, unless you want to buy a CD of whale song and practice relaxation techniques!

Mart.

shafeeq

Hi Mart.

Thanks, I have budget around £5000 to £5500 for a system. So I suppose the above quote comes in my budget. I have emailed them and I asked them for a price of 260W panel (SR-M660260-B). The 2nd company no quotes yet, what I have seen on their website which is similar as above for a 3 kwp system but not sure what panels yet except the SMA inverter.

The third company will requote again but for Hyundai 2.5kwp system is already above my price range.

Since the 1st company are saying JingLi are £300 cheaper then sunrise but they don't recommend it, but will install it for me. when I asked them for JingLi quote I was expecting it to be expensive then Sunrise Panels.

So hopefully end of week I should have all 3 quotes. Then decide.

Thanks again Mart.

Shafeeq

Martyn1981

Hiya, right jumping straight to the end, the pricing should be lower for those YingLi's, since the company provided a link to lower output panels 225W to 245W range.

If they fitted 235W, then you'd be down 12 times 15W =180W, which is 180/3000 or -6% so relative price should be £325 less (6% of £5,414).

This fits in with my earlier post, suggesting that if 265W panels could be fitted, then a price of no more than 6% extra would be nice.

If the company quotes for the Sunrise 260W panels then that's an increase in size of 4% (120W /3,000W), so fingers crossed for a price rise of 4% or less.

Just to clarify something, when companies refer to the efficiency of panels, don't read that as there quality, after all a 250W panel is a 250W panel, is a 250W panel. The increased efficiency just means more power from the same size panel, or the same power from a smaller size panel.

Using the Sunrise link you supplied, you'll see that, that particular range of panels has outputs ranging from 225W to 260W but the panel dimensions are the same, so efficiency has to rise (from 13.9% to 16%) to do this.

So a large innefficient 250W panel would still generate the same amount of power as a small efficient panel. The crucial number is the headline system output, which finances permitting, you need to aim for as large as possible within the 4kWp tariff limit.

BTW I'm just regurgitating the stuff I learnt, read, asked etc when I was in your position. In a few weeks you'll know all this, not at all daunting, just something new. Don't be intimidated.

Best of luck,

Mart.