Not All Solar Systems Are Made Equal

The Solis inverter, a string inverter, has the lowest value among the inverters shown in the table above. It has an MSRP value that is 82% lower than a system using Enphase microinverters.

You can't be sure you're getting your money's worth by simply electing a microinverter system instead of a string inverter because the next most commonly installed microinverter (Hoymiles) is valued 81% lower than enphase

Our pricing for a 20-panel system (7kW AC and 9kW DC) equipped with an Enphase IQ8A microinverter is $24,000, before tax and incentives, and includes installation. This translates to $2.66/W DC or $3.43/W AC.

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Consequently, a 20-panel system with a Solis string inverter, where the AC components are 82% less expensive for the installer to purchase, should cost $17,440 before tax and incentives, and including installation. This is $6,560 less than our Enphase system, or $1.93/W DC or $2.49/W AC. A system using Hoymiles microinverters should be $6,453.40 cheaper to buy.

If the Solis string inverter didn't have the shortest warranty in the solar inverter industry, it would actually be a bargain at $1.93/W DC installed. However, that's probably not the price you've been quoted. We have been monitoring the Nova Scotia solar industry for the last 5 years and, unfortunately, we are only seeing systems sold at approximately $2.50/W DC or higher, even when the cheapest available inverter hardware is used.

• There is a place in the market for cheaper (and often less reliable) equipment, but in order to maintain an honest market, we need to be transparent about the actual costs of the equipment. Less expensive equipment should be reflected in the price of the system.
• At the end of the day, solar installers are product retailers with a service fee (installation cost). System buyers should understand the value of the components they are purchasing and the cost of the installation service. When an installation company opts to provide cheaper components but is still charging $2.50/W DC or higher, the installer values their service (installation) much higher than is reasonable.
• These cheaper components can be installed at a healthy margin for under $2.00/W DC before tax and incentives.
• Tragically, many Nova Scotian's are being sold the cheapest components available on the market at $2.50/W DC or higher, with the installer pocketing the difference between the actual cost of the equipment and the price they are charging the customer. This is a practice that we are not willing to engage in.

• Even if the cheapest inverter available (Solis) was somehow the best technology (it isn't) despite having the shortest warranty in the industry (doubled from 5 years to 10 years in 2023 🎉) the cost installed should still reflect the value of equpment being purchased. In other words, even if an installer, hand over heart, pinky swears their components are the best, that still doesn't make them worth 3X what they cost to purchase off the shelf.