How much say do I have in a 7.5kw solar install...???

I'm experiencing some "interesting" sales approaches. With a solar
company's salesman that came to the house, the final words about the
system's panel makers and inverter brands were to be discussed with the
"Engineering Dept." the following week. The salesman did say it would
be a 7.5kw array, based on reviewing my year's electrical bills and it
would be a Fronius (?sp) 8ks inverter. When asked if the inverter will
handle a battery bank or generator he said "that's in the Engineering
Dept."
Since that time, the company rep. sent
me data for the panels and in discussion of battery/generator backup, he
sent an inverter data sheet for "DELTA", instead of the Fronius. A few
days ago, the vice president in charge operations called to set next as
an install date. I told him I had not gotten all the information about
the equipment nor the drawings for the project. So the next day, he
and the first company rep called on a conference line. In the
discussions, the VP said the inverter was now going to be a "SMA 7kw". I
asked if that was of size rated for the 7.5kw panel array and he said
yes the inverter is rated 25% over the output rating....
When
asked about the Waaree panel brand, the VP said they are "Tier I"
panels. When I asked about having other panel brands like "Panasonic
and Kyocera", he said "They are not Tier I manufactures." "We will be using the Waaree panels on
your system." as though I had no say in this install. I'm a bit put
off with this voice tone and firmness. There are some other issues that
were attempted to be changed. No trenching to the house, but attached
to the workshop's 200 amp breaker box and 200amp disconnect unless the
utility required the solar disconnect to be near their house meter
base. Because "Engineering" had no site drawings, the fact the shop is
on it's own meter, which I've said would be removed by the utility, he
didn't understand the rest of the issue. Which means the 2nd meter I
have is on the workshop due to it was cheaper to add a meter in 1994
than run heavy wire from the house to the shop. Their size wire
between the workshop and the house being #6 for a 70ft.-90ft run between
inverter and home meter base and solar disconnect is what they
planned. It will not handle the power for the workshop, but entrance
cable wiring would get power to the shop and also carry the inverter's
power to the house at the same time. And I understood I would pay for
the difference for the upgrade cost of the larger run between the shop
and the house.
So, I'm asking for your
input as to how much final input do I have on this $22,000 project? Is
the SMA inverter sized correctly? Does it provide for a battery
bank/home generator addition if I wanted to add one of those in the
future. Is Delta a worthy brand? Are Waaree panels better because
Panosonic and Kyocera "aren't Tier I panels"???
Thanks so much for your help,
BillBill
Comments
2nd try for attachment of pdf files
Briefly, just who is the customer? Who is PAYING for the system. Those are the folks that control.
If the vendor cannot accommodate the customer/payer's wishes and concerns, then they need to find a different vendor.
Have never heard of "Waaree" PVs.
It is not obvious just where you are located, but there are standards that systems must meed for a Utility, Feds, and perhaps any State that are important, as are for any Permit/Inspections, as you know.
Would suggest that you NOT sign anything at all, until you understand all of the details, and you feel that the system will meet your needs.
IMO, good luck, Vic
https://www.solarreviews.com/blog/are-panasonic-solar-panels-the-best-modules-to-install-on-your-homen
I know nothing about Kyocera and Tier 1.
The ones I mentioned were LG, Sunpower, and Panasonic because I have used them. They have 25 year product warranty. This tells me they are built better or the company is willing to take a risk that they will last. I am sure there are more from China now, but not for me!
This one below confused me about Tier ratings. As I said before though, I want to see a 25 year product warranty from a BIG company not based in China. That to me is where the pedal meets the metal.
https://review.solar/latest-tier-1-solar-panels-list-2020/
Good Luck!
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https://www.sma.de/en/newsroom/current-news/news-details/news/4298-annual-general-meeting-of-sma-solar-technology-ag-grants-full-discharge-to-the-managing-board-a.html
Of course, who knows where in the world anything is manufactured these days.
-Bill
SMA is very respected and some is done here in the US.
Schneider Solar for instance does engineering in Canada and the US and light manufacturing as well. The Heavy lift manufacturing for them is mainly Philippines and India lately. Some of their China Ops have been reduced in the last few years. My guess, due the Trade issues with China.
The key to making things in the world, I think, is having control of your product. When we did this as HP in the 80's, we had all kinds of tricks to protect the equipment from being stold&sold in the "grey" market. Some of the things we did were pretty wild "electrically" to keep our product, our product !
Funny stories out of context here and mainly for the moderator
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-Bill "The Moderator" B.