Westinghouse Introduces Low Cost, Do-It-Yourself, Home Rooftop Solar Kits

[kpete]

Westinghouse Solar Introduces Low Cost All In One Home Solar Powered Kits.

Photo Credit Westinghouse Solar

Westinghouse Solar announced today the introduction of “all-in-one,” do-it-yourself (DIY) solar power system kits for the home.

The kits’ low cost and ease of installation make them “very appealing to contractors and do-it-yourself (DIY) homeowners who, until now, have been put off by the high price of a rooftop system,” according to a Westinghouse Solar press release.

Each kit includes Westinghouse Solar AC panels with integrated racking and inverters, roof flashings and panel splices. Customers need only add wiring to the rooftop and a circuit breaker in the home’s electrical service panel to start producing clean, renewable power. Though its targeting the DIY homeowner, as well as contractors, Westinghouse recommends that a licensed professional electrician take care of the wiring to ensure that it’s safe and up to code.

http://cleantechnica.com/2011/09/26/westinghouse-solar-introduces-low-cost-all-in-one-home-solar-power-kits/
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/09/26/1020414/-Westinghouse-Introduces-Low-Cost,-Do-It-Yourself,-Home-Rooftop-Solar-Kits?via=siderec

[Poll_Blind]

1. Stories like these give me a smidgen of hope, but a pinch is all you need.

:toast:

PB

[Zywiec]

2. Where do I sign up? n/t

[begin_within]

3. Does it store the power or do you have to remain connected to the grid?

[Tesha]

6. You have to remain connected to the grid; this sort of system depends on "net metering". (NT)

[nichomachus]

21. You have to stay on the grid

To get off the grid, you would need a larger number of panels and then a battery array to store power at night and at times when the panels aren't generating enough power to meet your needs. Economically, it's not worth the investment -- unless you live in a very rural area.

I've had solar for two-plus years now. It's cut my electricity consumption by 82 percent. However, if the grid goes down, you don't have any power, because the solar inverter needs power to convert the energy from dc to ac.

[msongs]

4. where are they made? Jobs killing stuff from China? and btw did you note that

they pick the most expensive electric rates in the USA to show how much you will "save". Most people pay much less than Hawaii so the payback is a lot longer. while solar is still great, read the fine print.

[Xithras]

22. Yes, It's Chinese. They're made by Suntech Power.

Suntech Power is the largest solar manufacturer on the planet. They do have a small production facility in Phoenix, but they are a Chinese company located in Wuxi, China, and that's where the overwhelming majority of their employees and production capabilities are.

Though, technically, you COULD say that Suntech is "American owned"...they were originally funded, and their largest shareholder is: Goldman Sachs.

Westinghouse doesn't make anything themselves...they're basically a reseller marketing white label Chinese merchandise.

[DCKit]

5. I toured several of the Solar Decathlon houses yesterday...

and was very surprised to see how many of them had panel-integrated inverters.

Additionally, for those of you who may not have heard, all 20 of the Solar Decathlon houses are grid-tie (no batteries) for the first time this year. It's a far more realistic scenario.

[buddysmellgood]

7. I bet in two years, they'll cost half as much again and produce more power.

[Cool Logic]

8. "in Hawaii, where a “simple, four panel installation” costs less than $1,500 after federal and state

incentives...A similar system in New York will cost the homeowner $900 after federal and state incentives..."

Westinghouse must have included the cost of the Hawaiian sun in the panels that they sell there.

[LeftyMom]

10. Or maybe New Yorkers get better incentives. nt

[librechik]

19. everything needs to get shipped to the islands, that adds to cost

[madrchsod]

9. i have three surfaces where i could put these panels and...

i have enough clearance for a small wind turbine. alas...not a penny to spend on these systems.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

11. Not legal in CA for grid tie

Other than that, no big deal...

[Earth_First]

12. I'm waiting for affordable groceries, cheaper education for my daughter and tires for my vehicle...

Solar panels are the LAST item on my list of items I hope to afford...

I am sure i am not the only one...

[kelly1mm]

14. However, others may have the resources to purchase this system.

I say let them do so in peace.

[Pigheaded]

13. Electricity here is 7.4 cents/ KW/hr

Would take 26 yrs to pay off here.
No way it is feasible.

PH

[FarCenter]

15. They appear to be a small CA startup that sells panels made from Suntech & Enphase components

We were formed as a Nevada corporation on July 29, 2005, under the name Fairview Energy Corporation, Inc., and on August 4, 2006, were reincorporated in the State of Delaware. On August 11, 2006, we consummated a reverse merger (the “Merger”) with a privately-held company called Akeena Solar, Inc. (“Akeena-Private”), pursuant to which the privately-held company, renamed Akeena Corp., became a wholly-owned subsidiary of ours and we renamed our company Akeena Solar, Inc. We had been in the development stage since our inception and had not commenced business operations prior to the Merger. Akeena-Private was incorporated in the State of California on February 23, 2001 under the name Akeena, Inc., and on June 2, 2006, was reincorporated in the State of Delaware under the name Akeena Solar, Inc. As a result of the Merger, we succeeded to Akeena-
Private’s line of business as our sole line of business.

On May 17, 2010, we entered into an exclusive worldwide agreement that permits us to manufacture, distribute and market our solar panels under the Westinghouse name. On July 22, 2010, we announced that we will operate under the name “Westinghouse Solar” and, effective July 23, 2010 at the opening of the market, our stock began trading under the stock symbol “WEST” on the NASDAQ Capital Market, and we are listed as Akeena Solar, Inc. (d/b/a Westinghouse Solar). Subject to shareholder approval, we plan in the future to formally change our corporate name to Westinghouse Solar, Inc.

Our Corporate headquarters is located at 1475 S. Bascom Ave., Campbell, CA 95008. Our telephone number is [phone]. Additional information about Westinghouse Solar is available on our website at http://www.westinghousesolar.com . The information on our web site is not incorporated herein by reference.
...

Employees
As of February 24, 2011, we had 34 employees, of which 13 were sales and marketing employees, 12 general and administrative employees, 7 were operations employees and 2 research and development employees. All of our employees are full-time employees.

...

We currently obtain virtually all of our solar panels from Suntech, which manufactures panels for us that are built to our unique specifications, and we currently purchase all of the microinverters used in our AC solar panels from Enphase. Although we believe that our commercial relationship with each of these suppliers is good, and although we had a significant amount of inventory on hand as of December 31, 2010, the sudden loss of either of our current primary component supply relationships could cause a delay in manufacturing and be disruptive to our operations.

http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/AKNS/1415635236x0x466718/12AD5542-FBFF-4800-B4DE-62D5C5B92E6F/2010_Form_10-K.pdf

Suntech is mostly Chinese, although they have a plant in AZ. Enphase's manufacturing is done by Flextronics, which is headquartered in Singapore and has factories globally, with a concentration in Asia.

[Heywood J]

16. Thanks for the info.

As far as I understood, the Westinghouse name was carved up and sold off a piece at a time for the intellectual property rights. The most prominent place I've seen it since the company went under was on made-in-China Christmas junk plastered with Prop 65 warnings, so I'm a bit hesitant when I see it.

[Juche]

17. What is the cost per watt of this system

I didn't see that. Hawaii rebates 35% of the cost, the fed rebates 30%. So that means the cost of a $1500 system is about $4300 before rebates. At fourty cents a kwh that means the Hawaii panels produce 1650 kwh per year, about 4.5kwh per day. I think Hawaii has a solar rating of about six so that only works out to about 750 watts worth of panels for $4300. Even with the built in inverters that isn't cheap.

The website sun electronics sells solar panels for $1.60 a watt or less ($1.58 is for the US made panels, Canadian panels are $1.44 per watt. They get German, Japanese, Dutch, etc panels too I think). So you can get 750 watts of panels for $1100 or so via them. You still need the inverter and all the other costs but that is still cheaper. I think the other installation costs triple the cost of the system, so panels that cost $1.50 per watt cost $4.50 per watt after buying all the other equipment you need. So that is a little cheaper than westinghouse, but not much.

http://www.sunelec.com/

It may be a good deal in Hawaii with 35% state rebates, $0.40kwh electricity and a high solar rating, but in a state with no state rebates, electricity at $0.08 per kwy and a lower solar rating of 2-3, it isn't worth it. You'd pay for the system for 60 years to break even.

Unless my math is wrong.

I'm not knocking solar power, but right now it only works if everything is going right. Good state and federal rebates, high kwh energy costs and a high solar rating. Most areas don't have that. But within 10 years solar will be cheap enough that it won't matter, solar panels in Chicago with no federal or state rebates will probably be a good deal by the 2020s.

Thin film will hopefully be less than $0.25 a watt by the end of this decade, and hopefully that'll be the end user cost and not the manufacturing cost (those are already down to sixty cents or so). If they can find a way to make the installation, inverters, etc. cheaper too then you'll have a revolution.

[HappyMe]

18. K&R !

[DirkGently]

20. Cool.

[LynneSin]

23. I would love to get one of these on my roof

Mind you, my heat is gas, so it wouldn't do anything in reducing my heat bill. But one day I am going to switch to central air which would be electric - having the solar panel on board would be a big plus in saving money!