Solar power systems for the home

[DoubleK]

Cool. I'll be interested in seeing how it works out.

[Bigtime]

Will definitely update on progress here in this thread.

[Lubicon]

For those who have put in solar how has it changed your home insurance premiums? My wife was talking to a client at work who was considering installing solar and their insurance company had told them there would be a significant increase.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Lubicon

For those who have put in solar how has it changed your home insurance premiums? My wife was talking to a client at work who was considering installing solar and their insurance company had told them there would be a significant increase.

Mine said there was no need for additional coverage or a premium increase when I told them we had solar panels installed.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Lubicon

For those who have put in solar how has it changed your home insurance premiums? My wife was talking to a client at work who was considering installing solar and their insurance company had told them there would be a significant increase.

$13 a year

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Lubicon

For those who have put in solar how has it changed your home insurance premiums? My wife was talking to a client at work who was considering installing solar and their insurance company had told them there would be a significant increase.

Zip, zilch, nada. AMA insurance.

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Will definitely update on progress here in this thread.

Heat pump install tentatively scheduled for December 11th.

The unit we are getting is a 3 ton Daikan VRV unit:

https://daikincomfort.com/products/h...iv-s-heat-pump

[accord1999]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Heat pump install tentatively scheduled for December 11th.

The unit we are getting is a 3 ton Daikan VRV unit:

https://daikincomfort.com/products/h...iv-s-heat-pump

Do you still have a furnace (or auxiliary heating) for backup since the heating specifications for that model shows a significant reduction in heat output at just 17F (-8.3C).


https://ashp.neep.org/#!/product/51514/7/25000///0

[Bigtime]

I may not be linking to the exact unit, as ours is good up to about -27 and then will have an electrical heat backup I believe.

[Calgary14]

What is the average cost on a unit like that?

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

The unit we are getting is a 3 ton Daikan VRV unit:

How does something so small weigh so much?

[burn_this_city]

Firefly showed up at our place this week and gave us a proposal, does anyone know if you can haggle these guys down?

I looked up the equipment cost and it's roughly 1/3 of the total installed cost. I realize people are looking at this as free money borrowed at 0%, but what kind of margins are these outfits making on these?

I don't believe the cabling and conduit is more than a couple thousand, so it leave approximately 15k for labour, engineering, and inspections.

[Mathgod]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

Geothermal is a heat pump - it's just ground source heat pump instead of air source heat pump, the idea is the same. The difference is you have the cost of installing a giant heat exchanger in the ground added to your bill. But it does eliminate very cold temperatures from being an issue, which can be a problem with air source heat pumps.

You mean, geoexchange.

https://www.geothermalcanada.org/s/g...thermal-v2.pdf

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Mathgod

You mean, geoexchange.

https://www.geothermalcanada.org/s/g...thermal-v2.pdf

For use in someone's residence, every single person saying "geothermal" means "ground source heat pump".

[Mathgod]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

For use in someone's residence, every single person saying "geothermal" means "ground source heat pump".

Yes, that's unfortunate. They shouldn't be using that term, as it causes confusion. Don't take my word for it; here's what the experts have to say https://geoconvention.com/wp-content...al-ener-02.pdf

[Bigtime]

Our heat pump install started yesterday, it's going to take most of the week to get set up.

[Benched]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Firefly showed up at our place this week and gave us a proposal, does anyone know if you can haggle these guys down?

I looked up the equipment cost and it's roughly 1/3 of the total installed cost. I realize people are looking at this as free money borrowed at 0%, but what kind of margins are these outfits making on these?

I don't believe the cabling and conduit is more than a couple thousand, so it leave approximately 15k for labour, engineering, and inspections.

Their quote seems high. I haven’t fully done the math to compare apples to apples but a colleagues quote was 15k higher than mine with SolarYYC. His home is bigger and probably uses more power so his system was suggested at 15-17 panels where mine will be 14….

But 15k for a couple more panels and a potentially larger/harder install? Seems excessive.

They also quoted him at approx $140/month in loan repayment cost (which is what I expect my loan repayment to be, with 15k less borrowed). They also said his savings would be more than that a month - so it’d be free money. Which I also have to disagree on. Maybe, maybe he does spend $140/month on electricity but the fees are going no where. So raw usage is probably half of that at best, so even using their math and calculations I have an issue.

IMO they do seem to have abnormally high costs for comparable systems to other reputable competitors, maybe due to high overhead, panel costs, labour costs, or profit margins I’m not sure. Their buyback period, loan payment amount, and profit calculations seem dubious at best.

Again, with not enough research/math into their product, at face value a company like SolarYYC seem way better.


Ps. They came by my house last week as well.

[ericschand]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Firefly showed up at our place this week and gave us a proposal, does anyone know if you can haggle these guys down?

I looked up the equipment cost and it's roughly 1/3 of the total installed cost. I realize people are looking at this as free money borrowed at 0%, but what kind of margins are these outfits making on these?

I don't believe the cabling and conduit is more than a couple thousand, so it leave approximately 15k for labour, engineering, and inspections.

I would strongly suggest calling 3 or 4 solar panel outfits and then deciding. It costs you nothing but time (and some minimal effort). You will get a sense of the total costs and what's reasonable.

I will say that I noticed that the actual installed cost, with no grants or incentives, should be around $2.50 to $3.50 per watt of install. However, that was when I was quoted, earlier in the summer [all is installed now].

ers

[Lubicon]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Our heat pump install started yesterday, it's going to take most of the week to get set up.

I've got zero experience with heat pumps so am curious as to why it will take so long? For comparison a furnace is typically a day to do.

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Lubicon

I've got zero experience with heat pumps so am curious as to why it will take so long? For comparison a furnace is typically a day to do.

I'm not 100% sure either, but we are also doing work with ERV's in the bathrooms in the house with this crew at the same time. Unit has been setup outside, holes drilled into the house for the conduits to run into the furnace room. Today they have turned off and removed the existing furnace, the heat pump will be operational around 2pm I'm told. Then more work on the ERV stuff. So ultimately the heat pump part may have been all of 3 days.