3 ms·
It is correct that mounting costs and labor can be a large portion of the total BOM. Even for a large off grid whole home PV system that can operate through De
by walrus01 4y ago
It is correct that mounting costs and labor can be a large portion of the total BOM.
Even for a large off grid whole home PV system that can operate through December/January at high latitudes.
Let's say for an example you wanted to DIY a PV system that would be much too large to fit on the roof of a normal sized house.
Go calculate the cost of buying 30000 kW of good quality 72-cell PV panels rated at 380W STC each. It'll be something like 80 pieces at about $130 per piece.
Usually would ship as 20 panels per pallet, so call it four fully loaded pallets of 72-cell panels.
At 34 cents/W STC rating, PV panel cost from distributor something like $10,400 to $12000 USD.
The foundation work and poles/racking to do a basic ground mount will be a huge cost on top of that. Labor is a big part of it. If you're hiring people to build it the labor and ground mount gear and things like basic foundation work/screw piles/steel tubes set into concrete could easily cost you another 10 grand from a local contractor.
Something generally along these lines or an industry competitor of it:
https://www.ironridge.com/ground-based/ https://www.ironridge.com/ground-based/
(Not discussing inverters/charge controllers/batteries/disconnect boxes and wiring here).
- prawn 4y agoAs a probably silly idea, I wonder if the panels could each sit on an inflated/foam and buoyant pad, be chained by flexible cables and then be pinned to the ground at intervals. That might give it some flexibility in the event of flooding.
- pontifier 4y agoI bought 20kw of solar from China that arrived this year, the quote I got for installation was about what I paid for the whole system. I'm thinking about just installing it myself.
- ddorian43 4y agoWhat was the cost? And which panel did you buy?
- pontifier 4y agoI think including shipping and import fees it was about $26k. I looked at getting panels directly from a supplier, but it's very difficult to figure out which companies actually manufacture things. I ended up buying from one of the many companies that buys components and packages them together into complete systems.