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Did you diy a roof install? I’m really looking into this as I live in the southeast, but I’m getting ridiculous quotes (60k for a 10kw system with two power wal

Did you diy a roof install? I’m really looking into this as I live in the southeast, but I’m getting ridiculous quotes (60k for a 10kw system with two power walls).

_heimdall 2y ago
I've been really frustrated with price gauging in the installation quotes (also in the southeast). I'm no professional installer but I have done a few systems, one was a concerted cargo van with an off-grid 1kW system an 7.2kWh of lithium. The other system I'm in the progress of now, 9.1kW solar and around 70kWh of slightly used automotive cells. For the system I'm working on now I have around $10k into the hardware if I'm not mistaken. There's plenty of skill and time that goes into designing the system, custom wiring, etc. I also had wuotes around $50k-60k. There's no way in hell I can justify 80% of the price in labor, very happy I happen to live in an area where I can install this myself without running into regulatory issues.
- BonoboIO 2y ago
  Where did you get the automotive cells?
  - _heimdall 2y ago
    I got them from Battry Hookup[1] late last year. I wasn't ready to do the full build yet, I've since built a "shed" that is way overbuilt and more of an kff-grid tiny house to store all of our solar equipment. That site is pretty hit or miss with stock since it is all repurposed equipment, but if you happen to catch the right equipment going by you can get a really good deal for anything DIY. [1] https://batteryhookup.com/ https://batteryhookup.com/
    - fbdab103 2y ago
      You were not kidding. On the front page of this moment is "14,000 3v Lithium CR2032 Coin Batteries" held in two barrels with a weight of 200 pounds. A tremendous bargain, if you can snatch it at the current bid of $20.
      - _heimdall 2y ago
        Hah, yeah just be careful with those tiny batteries if that's the way you choose to go. Different chemestries have very different outcomes and I've never been comfortable with scaling tiny batteries up to a whole-home use. I was about to order a pallet of new lithium cells from one of the US resellers when the batch of repurposed automotive cells popped up. When I was pricing them out I could get the cells and a DIY BMS for around half the price as rack batteries often used by DIYers today. There's more work involved in putting the cells together yourself, but it is nice knowing how it works and how to fix it should a cell fail.
andrewmcwatters 2y ago
Yeah, self-installation. You can part a 10kW for under $10,000. You’re getting terrible quotes because the construction industry has been doing phenomenally the last several years. I built a contractor search product to compete with HomeAdvisor because the quotes were such a joke. I don’t use it as much as I did when I first built it though. I now know more about residential construction than some contractors I’ve worked with. I’ve saved literally tens of thousands of dollars.
- travisporter 2y ago
  Very cool! What is it called
  - andrewmcwatters 2y ago
    McWatters Home We’ve been operating privately in Arizona by invitation. It’s ready for general availability, but not terribly useful to people outside of AZ right now. We’re ready to start rolling out to other states and include their registrar of contractors’ directories.
    - toomuchtodo 2y ago
      Are you looking for contributors?
      - andrewmcwatters 2y ago
        I would normally, but unfortunately this product is proprietary.

Did you diy a roof install? I’m really looking into this as I live in the southeast, but I’m getting ridiculous quotes (60k for a 10kw system with two power walls).

_heimdall 2y ago

I've been really frustrated with price gauging in the installation quotes (also in the southeast). I'm no professional installer but I have done a few systems, one was a concerted cargo van with an off-grid 1kW system an 7.2kWh of lithium. The other system I'm in the progress of now, 9.1kW solar and around 70kWh of slightly used automotive cells. For the system I'm working on now I have around $10k into the hardware if I'm not mistaken. There's plenty of skill and time that goes into designing the system, custom wiring, etc. I also had wuotes around $50k-60k. There's no way in hell I can justify 80% of the price in labor, very happy I happen to live in an area where I can install this myself without running into regulatory issues.

BonoboIO 2y ago
Where did you get the automotive cells?
- _heimdall 2y ago
  I got them from Battry Hookup[1] late last year. I wasn't ready to do the full build yet, I've since built a "shed" that is way overbuilt and more of an kff-grid tiny house to store all of our solar equipment. That site is pretty hit or miss with stock since it is all repurposed equipment, but if you happen to catch the right equipment going by you can get a really good deal for anything DIY. [1] https://batteryhookup.com/ https://batteryhookup.com/
  - fbdab103 2y ago
    You were not kidding. On the front page of this moment is "14,000 3v Lithium CR2032 Coin Batteries" held in two barrels with a weight of 200 pounds. A tremendous bargain, if you can snatch it at the current bid of $20.
    - _heimdall 2y ago
      Hah, yeah just be careful with those tiny batteries if that's the way you choose to go. Different chemestries have very different outcomes and I've never been comfortable with scaling tiny batteries up to a whole-home use. I was about to order a pallet of new lithium cells from one of the US resellers when the batch of repurposed automotive cells popped up. When I was pricing them out I could get the cells and a DIY BMS for around half the price as rack batteries often used by DIYers today. There's more work involved in putting the cells together yourself, but it is nice knowing how it works and how to fix it should a cell fail.

andrewmcwatters 2y ago

Yeah, self-installation. You can part a 10kW for under $10,000. You’re getting terrible quotes because the construction industry has been doing phenomenally the last several years. I built a contractor search product to compete with HomeAdvisor because the quotes were such a joke. I don’t use it as much as I did when I first built it though. I now know more about residential construction than some contractors I’ve worked with. I’ve saved literally tens of thousands of dollars.

travisporter 2y ago
Very cool! What is it called
- andrewmcwatters 2y ago
  McWatters Home We’ve been operating privately in Arizona by invitation. It’s ready for general availability, but not terribly useful to people outside of AZ right now. We’re ready to start rolling out to other states and include their registrar of contractors’ directories.
  - toomuchtodo 2y ago
    Are you looking for contributors?
    - andrewmcwatters 2y ago
      I would normally, but unfortunately this product is proprietary.