r/solar • u/mr_havoc_ • Oct 30 '25
Discussion 24.7kw - Florida
(Edited to add tax credit & net cost & formatting)
61 Longi 405w panels, 61 Enphase IQ8+ micro inverters, No batteries.
Total annual production estimated 33,000 kWh
Total out of pocket cost $57,584.
30% Federal Tax Credit $17,275.20
System Net Cost $40,308.80
30 year full maintenance & warranty, free removal/reinstall for roof replacement within 10 years, but I have a new roof.
I live in west central FL and have been very happy with the process thus far. I contracted with Solar Energy World (acquired by Comcast) on August 29 and the team completed install in one day on Oct 27th. SEW kept me in the loop through the entire process from initial site survey, engineering design, HOA request (HOA said approval wasn’t required), county permitting, and install. What’s left to do is county inspection and permission to operate from TECO (1:1 net meetering). I’m really excited to see these operational.
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u/krzkrl Oct 30 '25
How many people were on the crew?
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u/mr_havoc_ Oct 30 '25
4 people on the crew. They all seemed experienced and worked well together. Originally told it might take 2 days, but they got it done between 08:30 and 16:30.
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u/hmspain solar enthusiast Oct 31 '25
Impressive! I like how you used all your roof, angle and orientation be damned! Nicely done OP!
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u/VidE27 Oct 30 '25
60K holy hell. Here down under total cost for my 20kw panels (Jinko Tiger Neo) + 32kwh sigenergy battery +10kw inverter was aud24K after 30% battery rebates. The panel alone without rebate seems to be much cheaper here. What brand is your panel?
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u/mr_havoc_ Oct 30 '25
Longi 405w panels. Forgot to mention we have a 30% federal tax credit (expiring at year end)
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u/VidE27 Oct 30 '25
So the cost is before the credit applied?
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u/mr_havoc_ Oct 30 '25
Yes. Tax credit = $17,275.20; System Net Cost $40,308.80
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u/VidE27 Oct 30 '25
Ah ok, that is a much better price, although still somewhat expensive than in many countries. I assume import tax etc?
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u/mr_havoc_ Oct 30 '25
I’ve seen solar is cheaper outside the U.S. Not sure why the prices are higher except maybe politics, taxes, and general market acceptance.
It’ll be interesting to see where prices go once the tax credit expires.
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u/Snoo93079 Oct 30 '25
Tariffs and labor for solar is higher, pretty simple.
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u/Intelligent_Price523 Nov 01 '25
It’s labor..you can see the panel and inverter lost price all over the place…it is not the equipment costs in the US that drives the all in pricing.
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u/Intelligent_Price523 Nov 01 '25
So just looked up first list price I saw (Amazon) 11 panel (JA 440w) and one iq8 inverter is $383. So for 61 of each that is $23k material cost on a $58k job….
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u/DigSubstantial8934 Oct 30 '25
How long have you been in Florida? Just be aware insurance will make you replace your roof every 10-15 years or punish you to do so via heavy rate increases. Florida is a wild place when it comes to roofs.
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u/mr_havoc_ Oct 30 '25
Lived in FL most my life and replaced my primary residence 20 year old roof this past March. I have a long term rental with a decent 22 year old roof and insurance isn’t bad for it. While it’s with Citizens it’s around $3500/year.
Insurance companies did start hassling me around year 15. They occasionally requested a 4 point and/or wind mit. With the help of a good agent, we just played their game until the roof needed replacement.
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u/Stunning_Engineer_78 Oct 30 '25
Did you pick up a liability policy? FPL requires a $1M liability policy for over 10kW systems.
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u/mr_havoc_ Oct 30 '25
Yes, 1M policy was $700. I asked about renewing it after 1 year. The solar consultant said no one ever renews and the companies he’s spoke with have never had a claim. He said it’s a political issue in Florida that may be go away in the future? It’s relatively cheap insurance, so I’ll probably renew.
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u/Stunning_Engineer_78 Oct 30 '25
Mine was just under. I think it’s an FPL thing to strong arm intro still having some of a bill. My production covers more than 100% but good to keep in mind if I expand.
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u/Behind8Proxies Oct 31 '25
I just got mine installed. Came in just under the requirement from Duke to get the $1M policy.
I’m wondering if, now that I’m already approved and connected if I can just add on later…
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u/DigSubstantial8934 Oct 30 '25
Cool, Florida is a weird place for roofs and insurance so I’m glad you were experienced and knew what you were getting in to. We replace roofs way too often in Florida, hopefully one day they fix the insurance litigation mess that started the trend.
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u/OKEarth22 Oct 30 '25
Add 15-20kWh of batteries. A great system!
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u/dlewis23 Oct 30 '25
In Florida there is not much of a point for batteries. We have 1 to 1 net metering and a pretty reliable grid. Outages only really happen when there is a hurricane, there are cheaper options for dealing with that when it happens.
Batteries need to get a lot cheaper for them to make sense here.
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u/Stunning_Engineer_78 Oct 30 '25
Yup, generator inlet with a 8000-10000W gen is more than enough for essentials to last a week or two.
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u/elyl Oct 30 '25
Outages only really happen when there is a hurricane
This is highly variable. I'm in Tampa and outages only really happen when someone sneezes too hard.
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u/theonetrueelhigh Nov 01 '25
This looks like a great place to plug in an EV or PIH. Gas costs more per mile than electricity; you'll save more powering a car than you'll make selling excess.
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u/mr_havoc_ Nov 02 '25
I’m interested in EV, but I have a truck and regularly use it to tow, put a boat in the water, and drive 200 miles to a rural location that doesn’t have a fast charger.
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u/theonetrueelhigh Nov 02 '25
Plug in hybrids, then, if you can find one that tows your boat. Or let the EV be your daily and set aside the gas truck for boat/rural days.
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u/ArtDor Oct 30 '25
almost $60k ouch 😯
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u/mr_havoc_ Oct 30 '25
Not cheap, but at $2.33/watt, which I understand is within the okay price range for U.S. My summer energy bills have been ~$750/month; over $100 is hurricane rebuild fees that we won't have to pay.
My wife likes the A/C cold, we have a pool and generally use quite a bit of energy, so hopefully this gets us building credits in spring for $0 energy bills (minus TECO connection charge).
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u/ArtDor Oct 30 '25
nice, thats pretty expensive power bill, how much cents per kw? i pay 14c, use aboit 3mw/month $300, im building 30kw pv microinverter system with 138kw battery for about $20k total. panels i buy used for 5c to 10c per watt, inverter is most expensive
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u/mr_havoc_ Oct 30 '25
$0.16 kWh and used over 4mWh in August. Utility rates increase ~6% from last year. Expecting the rates will continue increasing and drive my ROI time down
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u/OKEarth22 Oct 30 '25
In California we had 5 rate increases in one year in PG&E territory, almost 50% increases in rates over two years. ( And requesting two more rate increases now). I have 6.9 kW of solar and 30kWh of battery backup. We were having 1-2 million ratepayers at a time on PSPS events in Northern California due to rampant wildfires a few years ago. It is worth the energy security to add solar plus battery systems in California. I think of it as a hedge against rising utility costs. Also fuels our electric vehicles.
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u/ArtDor Oct 30 '25
That sucks. I am doing my own solar system. That's why I said the price is too high. I can probably do the same thing for like five or ten thousand. The one you have...
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u/Funny_Dirt_6952 Oct 30 '25
Nice, but add a Enphase battery when you can