Mark
My sense is we will all see more and more of this, given in CA and other
pioneering states, there will be orphaned systems looking for TLC.
The micro inverter scene helps, as it gives Analytics and the other benefit is
the client doesn't loose their whole system or learn about it after a month or
more of high utility bills.
Yes, rewiring can be cumbersome, but the value of granular information will
help our industry and support the long term cause. I can only imagine how many
solar panels are out there, basking in the sun, doing nothing, like sitting in
a showroom.
Creating a slush account for clients or a maintenance program is another
solution. Things break/fail and that should be baked into the minds of the
consumer.
Just wrapped up a Satcon 75kW (made in China) on about 66kW system- encouraged
the client to use smart combiners and string level monitoring- they declined.
They said cost was a factor. When I mentioned that they are essentially going
to pay about a 1/3, after fed, state and depreciation expenses, it still wasn't
something they were interested in. Here, the system makes over $2k a month in
electricity and simple payback of less that 5 years, but they still didn't want
to invest in the "absent employee" to "watch" the system. Seemed like a good
investment to me, over the life of the system for a host of reasons. I
analogized it to driving your car without a speedometer and gas gauge. Most
would not, but some want to guess how fast they're going and how much fuel is
in the tank.
Aloha,
Keith
________________________________
From: Mark Frye <ma...@berkeleysolar.com>
To: 'RE-wrenches' <re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org>
Sent: Friday, August 19, 2011 7:03 AM
Subject: [RE-wrenches] Out of Warranty Inverter Replacements
Out of Warranty Inverter Replacements
Folks,
Yesterday I took a trip through my service area and initated 3 inverter
replacement actions:
- A 6 year old Sunnyboy 1100W, 5 year warranty expired, $360 for a refurbished
unit w/ 1 year warranty, new replacement not available
- A 2 year old Fronius IG4000 refurbished, sent as warranty replacement for
unit failed at 4 years under 5 year warranty, now out of warranty, est. $ 600
to refurbish with 1 year warranty
- A 4 year old Fronius IG3000, under 10 year warranty, warranty replacement and
service fee provided by Fronius
I have to decide, what is best for my out of warranty customers:
- Buy the refurbished units w/ 1 year warranty
- Buy new replacement units with 10 or 20 year warrranties
- Buy entirely new equipment such as Enphase or SolarEdge
What are other folks experiencing as we move well past the 5 year warranty
horizon for many of our earlier customers?
Mark Frye
Berkeley Solar Electric Systems
303 Redbud Way
Nevada City, CA 95959
(530) 401-8024
www.berkeleysolar.com
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