Here we go again![RE-wrenches]

[Ray Walters]

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I'll throw 2 cents in:
I've been advocating for years now that we remove all incentives for  
solar (Yes that was remove) but at the same time remove the  
incentives other energy producers are getting. Lower taxes for the  
citizens, and a level playing field, and I think we could compete  
just fine. Every time they have some special limited time offer  
incentive it seems to bring out the Quick buck zombies from what ever  
hell unleashes them....

Ray Walters


On Apr 11, 2008, at 7:09 PM, William Miller wrote:

>
> Jeff:
>
> Yes, good questions here.  We are constantly faced with the reality  
> of selling good quality work against bargain basement competition.   
> We have a two-pronged approach:  1. good marketing to promote the  
> quality of our work and 2. educating building officials to try and  
> make the competition comply with high standards.  See our web site  
> for examples of both.
>
> The 10 year warranty required in California should make a customer  
> hesitate before hiring a new start-up company.  Statistics show  
> that a very high percentage of small businesses do not make it  
> through the first two years.  Being in business for 24 years now  
> has been a strong selling point.  We have lost a lot of business to  
> new companies that are now out of business.  We are receiving calls  
> to service systems installed by these dead entities.  We do what we  
> can, but we need to prioritize new business and established customers.
>
> We will continue to  lose some business to the quick and dirty  
> installers, but if cost is so much more important to those  
> customers than quality, the business we lose may be the business we  
> don't want.
>
> William Miller
>
> At 04:27 PM 4/11/2008, you wrote:
>
>> For those of you not around during the 1970's when anyone with a  
>> pipe cutter was installing solar DHW systems just to get a Federal  
>> tax credit regardless if the systems worked or not, it looks like  
>> the same thing is starting to happen in the solar pv business.
>>
>> I just received a call from an upset homeowner in another state  
>> who was in the final stages of ordering a residential grid-tie pv  
>> system when he decided he also wanted battery backup. He knew this  
>> would require some wiring changes and a different inverter, but  
>> when he asked the "solar dealer" how much this change would add to  
>> the cost of the proposed grid-tie system the dealer told him - "we  
>> cannot do that because it would void the warranty".
>>
>> I have been concerned for some time that with the ease of  
>> installation for most grid-tie systems, more and more installers  
>> will be moving into the market having little or no training. Yes,  
>> many systems are grid-tie and require little or no inverter  
>> programming or setup, but there will still be battery-based  
>> systems for years to come and pv installers need to know how to  
>> install them and be able to deal with the many other system  
>> variations that are sometimes required.
>>
>> What say yea?
>>
>> Jeff Yago
>> DTI Solar
>
>
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>

R. Walters
Solarray.com
NABCEP # 04170442	




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