Do-It-Yourself Solar at Lowe’s

Since Westinghouse has aquired Akeena, you could see them in 2011 at a retailer near you.

Someone interested in trying solar just to see if it will work on their property could use the self contained system as a try before you buy test.  They get the Federal 30% tax credit on each panel and if they deside to install a larger system, they could still use the panel separate from the professionally installed roof system.  The Federal Rebate can be used with every instalation so it is not just a one time rebate.

It is expencive if it was just a solar panel.  It has the electronics to convert the DC to AC built in.  A $2,000 add on on most other systems.  If you only wanted a few panels, once you get the electrical permit and inveter, disconect and conduit/wirineg done it would make a small system even more expensive.  You can install one ezch year and the jumper cable and next panel would be about $1,100.00 for each additional unit without all the extras contractors add.  If someone has a 220 volt 30 amper dryer plug in their garage, putting a cord cap that fits the dryer plug would be all they they need to connect to the house and the grid providing they have a gas dryer or no dryer at all.  Great Idea for rentals who want to take their solar to the next home.  Just unplug and go.

The problem in Arizona is you won’t get any utility incentives if you install it yourself.

I installed my panels on a tilt frame above a shed in my backyard.  Who says solar must be on ones roof?  It can be on a patio cover, shed or even ground mounted on a hillside.  If you can unrole and extention cord and plug in a dryer cord cap, the electrical is done.

On such a small system, the electricity will never go beyond the neighborhood Transformer but their meter might run backwards on sunny days they are away and the refrigerator is in standby mode waiting to re-cycle again.

A contractor that is serious about getting into the PV installation buisiness will be sourcing direct from the manufactorer. With the glut of panels, it is now possible at prices below what it costs to buy Akeena’s product. (thanks BV)  As a talented home owner, home owner with freinds, freind with talents, small contractor, large contractor, Anyone and Everyone can use their individual and collective common sense to invest in; [ their own house hold system, the close community grid, and the larger grid ]. or in some way incorporate solar devices into daily use. Unless you own or plan to own stock in a big box, don’t worry about their profits Just use the BB’s as the hardware store they are and utilize direct marketing wherever you can and don’t be afraid to call around to the new and local contractors who will all tell you something new when you request a bid. If enough people network around the products they are interested in using, prices will fall as the tech. improves. Don’t wait for comcast to tell you its cool.

Most inverters are only guarenteed for 5 years but since this is built into the 25 year guarentee panel, it will have the 25 year guarentee also.  If they plug into each other and are mounted with 4 bolts on a frame, changing out a panel would be no harder than changing out a hinged door or window air conditioner.

Since Westinghouse now owns Akeena, they have upgraded the warrentes so check out the new Westinghouse Solar site under warentee.

Cathy:  It is not true that “Tom Watson of IBM predicted in the early 1970’s that probably only about 2 people would buy a personal computer if there ever was one.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_J._Watson#Famous_misquote

Go to Lowe’s and you will see that for a 1 kW installation the price is $6.30/Watt (this includes roof mounts and all the other components you need), $6.80/Watt if you want monitoring to know that it is working.  Price goes up for a smaller system and down for a larger system, but in many places you can pay for a complete installed system the “old way” for less than this.  And you don’t usually get a utility rebate if you self install.

Good writing Cathy.  To Flash…If you were comparing a 4,000 watt fully installed system, with permits and one inverter, you are correct about the price per watt but the the guy that only wants to get out of tiers 4 and 5 of the PG&E gouging tariffs, 3 Akeena panels or $3,500.00 may do it and that is just the price of the Inverter and disconect on a full size system.  The fact their is an alternative for solar will get peole with smaal budgets started and when they see the savings on the small sytsem, they build a larger system with a contractor.  Everybody wins.

The units currently have theconnector plugs on the backs of the panels so they must have space under them to plug in the wireing.  For a flush, serface mount, the connectors must be on the sides.  With high voltage, water proof conections must be tested and side mount is exposed to all the elements.  The current plugs, under the panels, are protected by the panels thenselves from the elements.

Federal tax credits are available on DYI systems and you can install them as stand alone as well as grid tie.  If you go for the Utility rebate, you might get locked into a contract what makes you go on a Time of Day Metering and that could cost you more in the winter or rainy weather.  You also must have 365 days of non-shaded roof space to qualify for utility rebates.

Snow loading could be a problem as far as output on the following sunny days.  If you put your panels on a TILT FRAME that can be turned verticle durring the storm or after it to dump the snow, then turn it back to 45 degrees (Winter orientation) you should have no problems.  I use a tilt frame to maximize my summer and winter exposure even though I do not get snow here in California.  My sister in the mountains has her panels mounted at 45 degrees and the snow just falls off.

That’s not my experience.  In the winter my panels are tilted more than 45 degrees in order to face the sun.  The snow absolutely does not ‘just slide off’, I have to clean it off.

Mary, I’ve had solar for about 20 years.  My panels are mounted on racks on the ground.  A layer of ice underneath snow is quite common and I’ve had my panels buried under feet of snow at times.

Dig ‘em out, clean ‘em off, and they pump out the power.  They love it when it’s cold and lots of extra sunlight is being reflected off the snow.

If you live in snow country give some thought to how you’ll get the snow off.  If you can get most of the snow off and expose some of the dark surface the sunlight will quickly warm them and the ice/snow against the panel will melt allowing the rest to slide off.

I have upgraded my Solar panel system each year for the past 4 years and have recieved my 30% tax credit and watched my utility usage dimish each year as well.  Even though I have reduced my utilty usage over the past 4 years by 30%, PG&E has raised the cost of energy by 30% so my bill is exactly the same as it was 4 years ago.  If I had not started putting in Solar, My bill would have gone up $200.00 per month because they charge 40 cents per Kilo-watt hour.  I dropped my usage from 1300 kilo-watt hours a month to 800 kilowatt hours from the utility over 4 years.  500 Kilo-watt hours at 40 cents per KWHr is $200.00 per month.

does lowes or home depot sell panels for off grid kits?