ELROY said:So if you someone were to buy this 7.99kW Sharp Solar Panel set for $6999, that comes out to only .88 cents a watt.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/7-99KW-Sharp-235W-Mono-Solar-Panel-NU-U235F9-BX-60-Mono-Solar-Cell-Panel-/170908722559" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;?
So what other costs will be involved?
Looks like 34 Panels. Is this a good deal for grade "B" panels?
How much do M215 Enphase micro inverters cost?
If it is so expensive for labor here in So Cal, what are the alternatives?
Would it be worthwhile, or difficult to get your own electrician certification? Are classes expensive?
Other costs would include permits, inverters (~$140 for M215s), engage cabling (~$20 per inverter), misc. engage cabling, grounding supplies including ground wires and inverters to rails, panels to rails, and rail to rail bonding, method for transitioning the wiring into the house (for example SolaDeck 0783-3R), rails, rail hardware, roof mounting, wiring from the roof to the breaker panel, potentially an external disconnect, misc electrical supplies, surge protection.
Those panels seems like a good deal for Sharp panels as they are expensive. The only issue I have with them is that they are less efficient than other panels at the same per watt cost. Since the panels are less than 50% of the materials cost and the rest of the materials are very much per panel having more efficient panels is important, not to say that paying a premium for super efficient panels pencils out though.
I'll give you some examples from my the ~10KW addition I'm doing. As I haven't ordered yet these are still in flux but are generally in the right ball park.
Total materials cost including panels is about $1.90 per watt
Looking at Canadian Solar CS6P-245P panels for $.85 a watt
I'm not sure how California/your local jurisdiction feels about DIY electrical work but in WA a homeowner can do their own electrical work so you would not need to become a licensed electrician, which AFAIK would be very lengthy, time consuming, and expensive. It seems to me MotherNatureSolar needs to clone himself and start servicing the LA area, he's got his systems down to $3.50 a watt installed!
I think things cost so much because solar contractors have a lot of overhead, labor is expensive and there are a lot of details involved. I also think they are trying to keep their markup on the materials high while the price of things are plummeting. Running a business isn't cheap so there is a lot of costs that go into being a professional solar installer and the larger you get the more overhead you have supporting the business.
As far as if solar is a DIY task for you. I think if you put in the time to research and figure out how everything works and have help from people who have done it before you can easily design and source a system. The electrical work needed in an Enphase system is pretty standard. Having a good plan and design which has been reviewed by your electrical inspectors is half the battle. Then if you've got the skills to do normal electrical work (Running wire, stripping, wire nuts, installing breakers, etc) you shouldn't have any problem having your work pass an inspection. Then the other part is how comfortable you are locating your trusses, drilling pilot holes into them, installing flashing on your roof, and securing the roof mounts with lag bolts into the trusses. Then assembling the rails, securing the panels, getting the panels on the roof, etc.
For me I'm OK with electrical work, but am not all that handy with building stuff. Fortunately I am good at reading, figuring stuff out, attempting to understand everything, etc. Then I have family who are roofers/general contractors so I design everything, get it approved, and they help install it. I still need to understand how everything fits together since they've never done solar PV but they've got the skills.
To give you an idea of what the design looks like here is my package from my original system: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/429071/PV.zip" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;