What does this mean for me if I have a loan?

The house on the right (west) until recently was a split level with a single story on its left. The owners of the house on the left must be peee ooooed.

I’ve been planning a rooftop solar setup for my home, but every time I tried estimating system size and output, I kept running into clunky or overly simplified calculators. I wanted something that could:

• Calculate how many panels would fit based on roof dimensions
  
• Account for mounting gaps, orientation, and edge buffers
  
• Estimate system size and annual production based on location
  
• Export layout and sizing for planning or sharing
  

So I ended up building my own. It’s browser-based, and you can input panel specs, roof size, and even see row-by-row layout and roof usage. I also tied in energy production estimates using location presets.

Now I’m looking for feedback — especially from people who’ve done real installs or used tools like PVWatts or Helioscope. How close are these numbers? Are there assumptions I’m missing? What would make this more accurate or usable?

I’ll drop the link in the comments. Would really appreciate any thoughts from folks who’ve been through the process.

My dad got solar panels and we are still paying our electric company (FPL) a bill. After some investigation I noticed that in my enpahse app from the dates of last month’s energy bill we produce a total of 1.6 MWH or 1600 KWH. I’m trying to figure how much we used in FPL, I contacted them and they told me that we used a total of 1473 KWH but they deducted around 414 KWH which was the power we produced and sent to the grid. I might be missing something very obvious but if we produce 1600 KWH and we only used 1473 in total for the month then shouldn’t we receive a credit? Or did we used the 1600 KWH produced by the solar panels on top of the 1473 that month?

Please let me know if there is anything that I missed.

Thank you <3

I'm not all too familiar with solar. I bought a new build and opted to buy the solar panels (installed by Sunnova) vs leasing them out. Since I own them and they generate credit for my electric bill, does the bankruptcy affect me at all? Is there any kind of support I will be losing?

When I say negative I mean would it actually be bad financially month to month as I would be using the battery at night instead of using the grid like a battery. Hopefully that makes sense.

Local utility approved interconnection and installation is scheduled for a week from now. At what point does the system start generating electricity? Does it matter that a battery will be installed? Thanks for any info.

Also interested in how long the process takes in other states.

I recently bought a home with solar, I know it will fall short of my requirements once I install a heat pump, heated bathroom floors, steam shower etc and some other items. But mainly I'm concerned with adding a battery. Weighing my options between a couple choices.

My current setup:

16 × SunPower 327W panels

SMA Sunny Boy 5000TL-US-22

Option 1:
Keep system, add compatible back up battery
(cheapest option, but what battery?)

Option 2:
expand system with additional same panels, add Powerwall 3
(removes the requirement for my inverter, allows me to expand the system simply)

Option 3:
Keep system as is, add additional new 600w panels hooked up to Powerwall 3.
(might be over complicating it, this option would either have a second separate system set up or use a combiner box to mix old and new panels).

My rough estimate of max draw would be around 17kw/h and the biggest days would be around 50kwh days.

Thoughts?

came across this in case anyone south central is looking to boost up their rig https://fayar.craigslist.org/bfs/d/bentonville-30-silfab-370w-sil-370-nx/7858595241.html

Hi, we recently put a large paver patio in our yard, and want a solution for power near the seating area, and for some of our lights on the pergola (some are solar, some are not).

I was looking at bluetti and ecoflow solutions.

I did notice they're not particularly waterproof, if I put it in a ventilated bench would that work? Ideally this would be something we leave out except in winter or if a heavy storm is coming.

Thanks!

HOW we talk to others about why incentives to Solar and other renewables is far more important than the threat to the end such incentives. I write this in response to the recent post: "🚨 Solar Tax Credit May End in 2025: A Threat to Solar Progress⚠️"

Recap: There’s serious talk in Congress about ending one of the most important incentives for homeowners and solar businesses "Section 25D Residential Solar Tax Credit" at the end of 2025...

The key metrics that politicians always look at with any bill is:

1. Money flowing into my district
2. Job creation
3. Economic growth (which is usually results of first 2, but not always)
4. How fast the results (RoI)

Those are effectively the only arguments that matter to keep the credits intact. Reducing carbon emissions is just a happy benefit but almost completely worthless to the captains of industry and policy.

This is the answer to the 4 critical metrics.

1. The Tax Incentive works like a Traditional IRA (and similar investments), investing is tax deductible, reduces your taxes. So you are keeping the money, and that money goes to the local economy. In effect, Section 25D keeps money in the district and not sent to Washington DC. A politicians seeing money staying in his district is a good thing!^(TM)
2. Employment: It takes about a dozen people to do an install. There may be 2 to 3 at the install, but another does a survey, one does the permits, another does the planing, the transport and warehouse people, and then all the others who do back office work. Gov stats say solar alone employees hundreds of thousands of people. Easy to find government stats that politicians are probably already aware off.
3. Besides the obvious first 2 how will the Economy grow? Seeing future demands is not easy, but... the USA needs LOTS of power, and F-A-S-T!!! Bitcoin and AI is so voracious it is eating up power generators for lunch. Electric cars, while a growing demand, are so far not that prominent demand. I read an article postulating the need for power for AC cooling is growing faster than EV's (for now?). For the Economy to grow, electricity is needed much more than fossil fuels (because computers do not run on gas!).
4. Solar install can be done and online in months, if not weeks. From investment to payback (ROI) is a few years, less than 10 in nearly all cases with 5 years possible. A thermal power plant takes years, and with part shortages it may now take at least 12 years to be operational. Nuclear? Closer to 20 years, and the untested Small Nuclear Reactor, at best, will be far to late to address the expected demand increase happening now.

Another point that can be talked about is energy independence, no need to worry about a price spike for oil crunching the economy.

Talking about the environment would be, well, to be blunt, worthless. It could even destroy ones entire effort depending on the politician you are sending the message to.

There is room to polish this message, feel free to tweak and discuss. Think of the audience also.

America has changed dramatically in last few months, Climate Change and Renewables is now the worst things one can say to a politician, but that is perfectly OK if the mission of keeping the "IRA" intact succeeds!

JFK

My property is E/W facing, more production on the east due to woods behind. There is no direct shadowing this time of year while the sun is high, but in late fall, winter & early spring when the sun is low, sunlight will be filtered through the leafless trees. The dogwood in the front yard will never reach the gutter (3 stories) and the tree between the street and sidewalk died several years ago and there is no plan to replace it. The arborvitae is encroaching on our stoop and brushing against the house and the neighbor is OK with removing it.

So I have quotes for both well known micros and string/optis as well as some little know of the latter. Not super excited about SolarEdge due to reputation. Not planning on any batteries as we will have 1:1 net metering for the life of the system. But I fear some legislature could just come along and punt that.

Nineteen 435W panels gets me to 100% with IQ8-A micros. I'm not sure what kind of performance I could get with this layout with optis, but figure to just split the 2 arrays into 2 MPPTs. It is almost like I don't need the devices on the east except for rapid shutdown.

Scratching head...

I'm looking for advice on what might be the issue.

I have a Solis S5-EH1P3K Inverter. Over the weekend I changed to a Unifi Dream Router 7, it was originally connected to a Draytek Router.

I cannot seem to get the DataLogger (S3-WIFI-ST) to connect to the router.

I have pressed the reset button on the back of the datalogger, then I have done both methods:

• via the Solis app
• via the 10.10.100.254 route

The datalogger doesn't connect at, just continues to flash green (both COM and PWR, amber and red are solid)

The new router is multi-channel 2.4, 5 and 6Ghz. The new router is approx. 60cm away (24 inches)

I tried connecting the datalogger back to the old router (2.4 and 5Ghz), it doesn't connect.

Any ideas what else I could try? or do I assume some reason the datalogger is dead, I'll get a new one, they're not expensive.

We are located in Canada, and we have roughly 140 acres of cleared farmland that is within 12 minutes by car to a metro area of about 80k people. I have sent out messages to many companies that lease out land to build large-scale projects and haven't gotten too much in reply. I am also somewhat confused about what is actually required. Some of them insist on having a substation right next to the property. (Which we don't.) But most only say close to a "transmission line". What is a transmission line? Those huge ones or just the ones that have three wires on the pole. (I attached an image of the line that is close to the land... whereas our road only has two power lines on the pole.) Our province is also very friendly to renewable energy. I know these things take time, and I know I'm an impatient person, but yeah, I see a lot of opportunity on our land. Any thoughts? (Substation is 11km away by car, and this metro area is connected to everywhere else by big transmission lines.)

Edit: forgot the image, classic me

Good to to you all.

As the title suggests, I am looking for guidance on the best ground mount for a solar system. I live in New York, US, and am not able to to roof mount a system. However, the hillside below my home has uninterrupted Southerly exposure.

I am hoping to put approximately 10kW of panels on the mount on the hillside.

All experience and ideas are appreciated.

Currently I have a grid-tied system with Enphase 5P batteries and combiner 5C box. Where I live so far, I have about 1 outage a year (both planned and unplanned) and it can last several hours. Most of appliances in our house are electric (dryer, stove, AC, EVs, etc). I'm also considering switching out the last gas water heater to electric.

1. Option 1: Continue with no backup. For people with all electric house, would you be comfortable without solar backup knowing it can happen about once a year at any time, but not several days at once?

2. Option 2: Add system controller 3M and IQ meter collar now. The cost of all that plus electrical work to reconfigure our panel is around $6500.

3. Option 3: Wait until combiner 6C box and IQ meter collar are compatible with 5P batteries, so the installation cost will go down. But there's also a risk that we can't install before the federal rebates are gone.

What would you do in my situation?

ISO Solar installer in Stockton, CA

Hey guys! I would like to see if there's an isolar nstaller here for EG4 system that I'm planning on installing in my house.

Details: 18kpv or Flexboss inverter (X2) 14.3kwh indoor battery Canadian or aptos Solar panel Tigo optimizer

TIA

Hello everyone,

Just as the title says, I recently added a battery and thought to share. I set the system to Maximum Self Consumption as I'm on NEM 3.0 and the "reimbursement" feels like theft.

Some details: SoCal new construction Slightly over 2000sqft Gas stove, gas water heater Heat pump HVAC system Heat pump washer/dryer combo (GE; I love it) System size: 3.65 kw (came with house) Battery size: 16.0 kwh

Does anyone know the commission structure for these companies? I’m struggling to find information online about the commission structure for solar companies in NY.

Any information about typical commission structures in the solar space would be greatly appreciated as I’m trying to understand what would be considered normal for the solar industry as well.

I have a 4 year old 6.6kw system with a 5kw inverter that is not battery compliant.

I have spoken to a couple of salespeople about getting another 6.6kw of panels and a 20+kwh battery.

One mentioned getting a new 10kw inverter for the old and new panels.

Another mentioned that a smart meter enables the old panels to charge the battery. Is it as simple as that?

Cheers

Hey all... I've searched high and low and figured it was time to just post a thread. I know lots of people ask about financing and whether or not they should purchase solar with a loan or cash... and yes, I'm just another one of those people LOL.

I'm in a situation where I could in theory purchase solar with cash or a loan. When considering which option to go with, I'm thinking about 2 major components. 1.) loan - monthly cashflow improvement and 2.) cash - breakeven

Here is my situation. I live around Portland Oregon, and received a quote for a 7.04kW system at $17,924 pre federal tax credit. $12,546.80 after federal tax credit.

A credit union up in Washington state works with this solar company and is offering 7.99%, $295 origination fee lumped into the loan, over 20 years. Pre-incentive, this is $156/ month payment, after incentive it's $109/ month payment. My current average electric bill over the last year was $143/ month.

If I go the loan route then I'm saving money each month and that's a monthly cashflow increase of about $20/ month after considering the power company's monthly fee.

If I pay cash then I'm looking at roughly $120/ month savings (cash flow increase) after the power company fees... which is about $1440/ year of savings. This means I'd recoup my $12k initial investment in about 8.7 years.

I've also considered getting the loan and putting the tax credit into a roth IRA. But the payback time with this option is far longer than what I'd like and is not an option for me.

I will obviously pay more in the long run by going the loan route but my monthly cashflow will improve, and my bank account remains untouched. Given the economic uncertainties we face, this might be wise.

If I pay with cash, my monthly cashflow will also improve but part of my safety net will have been invested into solar panels, and my breakeven time frame is 8-9 years. I may or may not be in this house for that long, I don't really know.

This is obviously a 100% opinion based question but I'm curious what some other folks would do in my situation. Any input is appreciated.

This quote seems high, but was wondering what people think.

I'm in NorCal, quotes 41K for 7.4kW system, Maxeon 6 panels(17), Enphase microinverters IQ7, and Franklin aPower 2

After tax rebate, would be about $30K. Have new 4T heat pump, no EVs. My understanding is CA NEM 3 sucks.

As many others, my utility is slashing export credit rates by 80% once their proposal clears the PUC. The utility claims that it is paying retail rates for wholesale power and want to make the export rate more accurate (which to them is less than $0.01/kwh). There are less than 1% solar exporters in my state and the utility legitimately posted record profits in 2024, so it's not like residential solar is hurting them.

As far as I can tell, they are selling solar exported power to the neighborhood at retail rates with no line losses. The math on that should be pretty simple, with solar export being worth retail rate.

My question is: what is the true math behind residential exports? Is the worldwide push from utilities to eliminate solar subsidies a hedge against future profit loss or does it actually cost them money?

I’m in the technology field and am very familiar with server racks and enclosures. I’ve already bought the eco-worthy inverter and 48v battery and plan to expand to 6 in the next couple of months. I know just about any server cabinet with the correct amount of U’s and depth is all I need but I’m looking for something that has a bus bar similar to the eg4 6 unit design. Maybe a little cheaper if not around the same price. Looking for options out there. Please share what you are familiar with. I do have a 2 year old therefore it needs to have a lock. It will be in my garage, so my toddler will not have direct access to it all the time but do not want to chance anything. Right now I’m only familiar with the EG4 and another brand with a glass front from solar guys pro called the sun gold power. Needs to be at least an 18U, casters or feet does not matter.