Let's talk about solar power... (Florence: leases, lawyer, selling a home)

[HX_Guy]

I have also heard the same as Juram is saying about micro-inverters, that they are not the best out here with the super hot temperatures. Additionally, it really depends on where the shade is coming from. In our situation with the shade coming from the south, pretty much all panels would be shaded at least partially in the middle of the roof so micro-inverters or not, it wouldn't make a difference. I think they are more useful if you have a problem with a tree or smaller object which when the sun moves across the sky, the shade travels from one panel to the next and so on.

[Juram]

Originally Posted by HX_Guy

I have also heard the same as Juram is saying about micro-inverters, that they are not the best out here with the super hot temperatures. Additionally, it really depends on where the shade is coming from. In our situation with the shade coming from the south, pretty much all panels would be shaded at least partially in the middle of the roof so micro-inverters or not, it wouldn't make a difference. I think they are more useful if you have a problem with a tree or smaller object which when the sun moves across the sky, the shade travels from one panel to the next and so on.

Thank you, that's the other point I neglected to make. On a shaded roof, microinverters can make a huge difference, definitely so, you can get away from the rigorous requirements of string sizing and can play tic-tac-toe with your panels if you felt the need, on an unshaded roof, like most roofs out here, you're not getting any real boost, what you gain from reduced line loss(instant DC to AC conversion), you basically lose from having the microinverter, which itself gives off heat as all inverters do, pressed up against the back of a panel that struggles with the heat that this environment naturally presents in the first place.


If I moved to San Diego and I was looking for a solar system, I would absolutely prioritize microinverters in any system I was looking to buy. There's a lot of inherent advantages that come with microinverters but out here, with the heat being such a big factor, with your average rooftop warming up to 160, 170 degrees in the summer, I don't see the reasoning for them and I think a lot of companies have backed off on the micro-inverters because they don't like to hear customers calling and complaining and having to deal with maintenance and repair issues as a result of these units going out.

[Potential_Landlord]

Originally Posted by Juram

You could build a structure to hold them, sure, as long as you got it permitted through the city or county and your HOA if you have one.


Also, another issue that comes into play is property taxes. Solar on your home is exempt for the purposes of property tax valuation. However if you build a structure and put the solar on that, from my understanding that exemption basically goes out the window.

At the very least it'd be worth calling the Assessor's Office or speaking with a tax accountant to confirm that exemption.

Thanks. It would be an attached, covered patio to our house.

[Juram]

Originally Posted by Potential_Landlord

Thanks. It would be an attached, covered patio to our house.

If you suffer from insomnia, here's the actual legislation that covers that exemption and some other stuff too.


http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/47leg/2r/bills/hb2429s.pdf

[HX_Guy]

I just realized on my spreadsheet that my cost per kW Financed was way off, I wasn't calculating the federal or state tax credits, it was included in the total price which isn't right. Made me scratch my head a bit on why that pre-paid lease was $3.08/kW while the purchases were $4.00+

Here are the accurate numbers and since we want to go with the financing, the Net Cost per Financed kW is really the number that matters when comparing all of these.

[Juram]

Originally Posted by HX_Guy

I just realized on my spreadsheet that my cost per kW Financed was way off, I wasn't calculating the federal or state tax credits, it was included in the total price which isn't right. Made me scratch my head a bit on why that pre-paid lease was $3.08/kW while the purchases were $4.00+

Here are the accurate numbers and since we want to go with the financing, the Net Cost per Financed kW is really the number that matters when comparing all of these.

It's actually the cost per watt, not per kilowatt which would be like $3,000-$4,000. Sorry....I'm nit-picking. I'll shutup now.

[HX_Guy]

Yeah yeah

Jumping back to the shading issue, I downloaded the SAM Shade Calculator software which will obviously be more accurate than than my SketchUp attempt, though it's harder to get the measurements on the house/neighbor/panels to be exact like I could in SketchUp. I'm just now playing with it but it looks something like this...

[Potential_Landlord]

Originally Posted by HX_Guy

I just realized on my spreadsheet that my cost per kW Financed was way off, I wasn't calculating the federal or state tax credits, it was included in the total price which isn't right. Made me scratch my head a bit on why that pre-paid lease was $3.08/kW while the purchases were $4.00+

Here are the accurate numbers and since we want to go with the financing, the Net Cost per Financed kW is really the number that matters when comparing all of these.

If you go with the financing, don't you lose the property tax exemption? I thought they wanted to do away with the exemption for financed and leased systems?

[HX_Guy]

Juram: What do you know about SolarEdge and what's your take on it?

I'm just now learning about it but it seems very cool...you get all the benefits of micro-inverters but without the negatives of the heat effect. It seems ideal for our super hot summers.

SolarEdge Partial Shading Mitigation and Module-Level Performance Monitoring | renvu.com - YouTube

SolarEdge PV Monitoring Portal Software Demo - YouTube

[Juram]

Originally Posted by Potential_Landlord

If you go with the financing, don't you lose the property tax exemption? I thought they wanted to do away with the exemption for financed and leased systems?

Not for financing, only for leased systems and its doubtful whether it would actually happen.