Here's the bad news on my solar power system project.
I did a cost breakdown and I spent quite a bit more on this than I intended to. All told, this cost a bit more than $1,800. That's about double what I expected to spend. Fortunately, the costs were spread out over an entire year. Had I chosen different methods and materials, I could have done the project for a lot less money, but I would probably not be as happy with the end product.
Most of my hardware for this project was stainless steel or aluminum, both of which are considerable more expensive than their galvanized steel equivalents. I used the aluminum to reduce the weight on the roof and the stainless steel for increased corrosion resistance. In addition, my choice to use security hardware rather than standard hardware also added significantly to the expense.
Also, I used McMaster/Carr for a lot of my hardware and electrical components. I could probably have gotten most of this elsewhere for less, but they carried most of what I needed, saving me a lot of time trying to find various parts. Plus, they almost always deliver the next day. I only started looking for other hardware suppliers when I needed a security nut that they didn't carry. This lead me to a google search which found Albany County Fasteners, which ended up having significantly better, but still not cheap, prices on the bulk of my stainless steel hardware along with the tools I needed for the security hardware.
Other choices, such as my use of the SSD Performance Roof Rails and Wind Deflector, which are made for use on my car, were meant to save time and labor on the installation. Had I gone with universal roof rails and crossbars, I could have spent half the money on this part of the project, but the installation of the roof rack and solar panels would have required about triple the effort and time.
I was also able to get a significant portion of my supplies and even my battery for free. Most of my zip-ties, all of the wood, the carpet, some of the aluminum, my battery and a lot of the miscellaneous electrical components like crimp on connectors and such were leftover from projects at work. This probably saved me somewhere between $300 and $500.
Additionally, I was able to use the shop facilities at work, giving me access to better tools and work space than I'd have had working at home or in the field.
