Not sure where you are in TX. I've read about people having problems with TXU up in the DFW area. Oncor here in Austin metro has been more than friendly and helpful thus far. Their grid-tie guy explained that there are two ways to go. One in through him, where I simply build the system and they send someone out to inspect. The second is to go through a pre-screened contractor. The latter (contractor) option qualifies you for the rebate.
I was also skeptical about using their approved contractors. However, the first thing you'll notice when you research, is that there are a TON of them. I'm thinking somewhere near 100. That's lots of competition.
Now, the first people I talked to had an "easy, turn-key" solution using micro-inverters. When I tried to have them lay out the costs between parts and labor, they stonewalled me. They didn't want me buying my own panels. They didn't want me to do any of the work. The basically just want to sell to people who know nothing about solar and don't care how it works or how much it costs. Their "turn-key" 3.45kw system was $23287.50 plus tax, bringing the grand total to $7.03 / watt (installed). This also included a 75 cent-per-watt surcharge because I have a two-story house. Let me get this straight - my roof is higher off the ground, so you need another $2600?
The second contractor I talked to told me first off that they don't care how high the roof is, as long as they can get onto it. Also, they said they'd be willing to work with me regarding sourcing panels and whatnot. They designed a system and gave me a fully-installed quote based upon a couple different wattage ratings. They gave me itemized lists with all the individual costs.
With that information, I was able to source out Kyocera panels for cheaper (without 8.25% sales tax) even with shipping. Instead of a 4840 (their) system for $5.27 / watt installed, I substituted the Kyoceras and kept their labor and mounting, and came up with a 5460 watt system for $4.43 / watt installed. I would have never been able to do this if they hadn't given me an exact breakdown of costs. He sent me to PV Watts to check for outputs. He sent me to SMA's website and gave me the temperature information to plug into their string calculator. These are all things that you and I may know about, but a crafty contractor would keep from a customer. For a rip-off artist, nothing's more of a pain than a customer with information, right?
I talked to the sales engineer yesterday and told him what I had come up with. Not only did he not give me an hassle about it, but he said to give him a few days to let him try to source the panels for even cheaper. THEN the guy says to me, "Wait, let me see if you can fit 26 of the Kyoceras on your roof," and goes about putting a drawing into his AutoCAD. This would be a great time for a crooked contractor to lie and say that they won't fit, that they're not compatible, etc.
Instead, he says, "Oh Awesome! You can actually fit as many as 28 if you wanted." Because we both use the same calculator, we both know that 28 is too many for the SMA 5000. He doesn't have the hassle of explaining that to me.
Then he confided in me that my price on Kyoceras is cheaper than what they can get them for. So he said he needs to go stir the pot at his distributor. He came up with some other ideas (that I can't mention because I signed an NDA) of ways to come up with the panels for much cheaper. Basically give him a few days and he's going to try to figure out a way to come up with a lower overall price for me, even with the 8.25% sales tax. And frankly, if they do, I'd be stupid to go through the hassle of ordering panels myself if the prices are similar. After all, if they receive a pallet with broken panels, it's their problem.
Anyhow - I know I rambled about that. But I wanted to pass it on so you know that not everyone is in the strictly Solar Retail (e.g. pre-package, high markup) business. And we should be skeptical, but not all</u> utility-blessed contractors are evil.
Let me explain that. They told me they had no problem installing my own brand of panels. In fact, they don't necessarily have a problem with Kanekas. But the energy-density of Kanekas is so low that it would take two faces of my roof (over 900 sq ft) to make a 5 kw system. That's a lot of labor and wasted space, in my opinion.
Further, they are mainly concerned about quality. They don't install "b" panels even though they tell me that in real life, in most cases, they're just fine. So why don't they like them? And why does the Utility get to come inspect? Because the utility requires the contractor to guarantee the system performance for up to 20 years. My guy told me that he personally didn't care if I started taking circuits completely off-grid. But he wanted me to let them know. He said the utility monitors the outflow and a dip in my production would generate phone calls from Oncor, wondering if the system was still performing properly.
So these guys have a lot on the line, too. If I get my hands into it and fundamentally alter (negatively) the performance of the system, then those guys start getting phone calls, etc. And if they start selling systems that don't work well, they risk losing their approval and their listing on the Utility's website, which is how I found them in the first place.
I'm not a shill for this or any company. And I'm asking a lot of questions about specifics, but many of you know that I'm not new to this whole thing. I am very involved in the details of this project and am using you guys as my "second opinion" of information I get from them. So far, I have been very satisfied with my experience with this particular installer.
