Buying Renogy Solar Components
Today we finalized our order for our solar system. Read more about how we figured out the size we needed and how we chose components in order to save money in this journal entry.
We already decided that we wanted to go with Renogy because they seemed like the most reputable but budget-friendly brand. We wanted to get cheaper stuff without sacrificing quality, and we felt that they hit that sweet spot. Here are the components that we had to order for our solar system. The bolded items are the ones that we ordered through Renogy’s site today.
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- Renogy 400 Watt 12 Volt Solar Starter Kit – $660
- Renogy 2000 Watt Inverter – $300
- Renogy 40 Amp DC-AC Battery to Battery Charger – $200
- Renogy Solar Connector Assembly Tool – $7
- Renogy 30 Amp MC4 Waterproof In-Line Holder with Fuse – $18
- 3 x 87 Amp Hour Flooded Lead-Acid Batteries – $240
- Samlex America 12 Volt 15 Amp Battery Charger – $140
- DC Multifunction Battery Monitor with LCD display (100A Shunt) – $20
- Misc Wires & Fuses – $100
Our total solar system budget was $1,685. After our savings today, our revised cost is $1,430.
How we saved $255 on solar
In our Renogy cart, our subtotal was $1,166.96. We saved $255 by combining three methods of saving money on a van build. On the Renogy website, we ended up paying only $960.26. And then we got almost $50 cash back on our purchase as well!
1. Sale – $100 off
We took advantage of Renogy’s Labor Day Sale, which was $50 off every $500. We made sure that the components we ordered directly from Renogy’s website came out over $1000 so we saved $100.
We compared the prices on Renogy’s website to the prices on Amazon and found that the solar starter kit that we wanted ($660) was not available on Amazon, they only had the $720 version. (Update: we found the starter kit on Amazon
2. Coupon – $106 saved
I always search for coupon codes whenever I buy anything online. Because we bought directly through Renogy, and not through Amazon, we were able to apply a coupon code. I wasn’t sure if it would work on top of the sale, but I figured I’d give it a shot. Using my favorite coupon code searching site, RetailMeNot, I found a coupon code for 10% off (“solidwoodworx”). This 10% off was applied to the remaining balance after the sale, for a savings of $106.
3. Credit Card Cash Back Rewards – $49 earned
At first, we planned to use our brand new Chase Freedom Unlimited card, which had come in the mail yesterday (see our reasoning behind getting that card in this post). This card gets 1.5% back everywhere, which is 0.5% higher than most credit cards for unknown sites like Renogy. My first step to decide what credit card we would purchase through was to check AwardWallet‘s Merchant Category Lookup Tool to see which of my credit cards would get me the most cash back or rewards on this purchase. I plugged in Renogy and found out that they show up on your credit card statement as Home Improvement. If I had a 5% cash back card for the Home Improvement category, I would choose to use that card to save the most, but unfortunately, I don’t have any cards with that reward right now.
According to AwardWallet, the Chase Freedom Unlimited card was the right card to use to get that 1.5% back. However, when I checked out, one of the payment options was PayPal. This reminded me that my Discover card had a 5% cashback rewards category through PayPal through the end of the month. I checked that I had activated the savings on my Discover card, I added the card to my PayPal wallet, and I completed the transition through PayPal.
The 5% will be applied to the remaining balance after the $100 and $106 discounts were applied, which means we got $49 in cash back. This is also direct cash back, and not in the form of rewards points like it would have been in the case of using the Chase Freedom Unlimited.
P.S. If you’re looking for rewards credit card recommendations, check mine out here.
Total Saved = $255
Buying a Maxxair Fan
I had done research earlier and decided that we wanted the Maxxair deluxe fan, mostly because it could be operated in the rain. When pricing it out a few weeks ago, I noticed that the deluxe with manual controls was about $100 cheaper than then deluxe with remote. White was also $50 cheaper than the “smoke” color which is a translucent black color. To be honest, I prefer white because I think it will blend in with our roof better, since the whole van is white. And we agreed that we don’t really mind the manual controls.
The model we decided on was the Maxxair 5100, which is white with a rain cover and manual controls. It was priced at $261 when it was available on amazon.
Saving $50 on the fan
When we went to order the fan today on Amazon, there were no new ones available to purchase (of any of the deluxe models or colors). However, we could see that a few were listed as “used.” Since used items are often cheaper, we decided to check it out. It turns out that the used items were Amazon Warehouse items, which means they are open box or damaged box. The note said that the box was damaged, so it doesn’t appear that the fan has been used. The price was $231, which is $30 cheaper than the new model.
We also saved $10 by getting a promotional credit by adding a MasterCard to my Amazon wallet. Finally, we paid with my Chase Freedom card which gets 5% back (as Ultimate Rewards points) on Amazon through September 30th, which equaled about $11 in rewards.
Overall, we saved about $50 on the fan by buying open box, using a promotional credit, and paying with a rewards credit card!
Salvaging Junkyard Windows
Yesterday, we went to the junkyard (Becky’s first time ever!) to scope out their windows. Originally, we wanted some conversion van windows, but we didn’t have the right tools to pull them and when we got home we realized that they weren’t quite right. However, we did see some step truck windows that were flat enough and we think they will fit great in our kitchen and on the sliding door!
We headed back to the junkyard and found out that they had moved the vans from where they were yesterday to block off the processing side of the yard. Since the vans were the barrier to block off the yard, we couldn’t access the inside of them anymore. So, we had to get creative. Austin was able to pry off the window from one van from the outside, because it was sitting in the sun so the glue had softened. Then, he took out the window from the one van we could access. One of the panes of this window had a bullet hole in it (!!!), so we also took a pane of glass out of a third van’s window. We made sure to take the rubber edging so we could potentially re-use it for our install. The locks and slides work on both windows, so we just need to restore them a little bit, paint the frames, clean and buff the glass, replace the seals and make some screens.
Saving $950 on windows
The junkyard gave the windows to us for $25 each, instead of $30 each because the one had a bullet hole in it. Score! All in all, we got out of there for $51 because Austin had to pay $1 to enter. That was MUCH cheaper than the $500 Sprinter-specific windows we were looking at online. We did have to pay in cash so we didn’t get any credit card rewards. We also spent probably about 8 man-hours of travel and work (including yesterday and today) to scope out and remove the windows, plus eleventy million mosquito bites. Without including the value of our labor, we saved ourselves $950 on windows today!
Those two step van windows are quite large, about 45″ wide by 23″ tall. So these will be perfect for the kitchen area and the sliding door. We are still on the lookout for matching skinny horizontal windows (something like 35″ W x 12″ T) for next to the bed. I have looked around a bit online and can find some RV windows that are about $185, and the sprinter specific windows are $276 each plus $50 shipping and handling. We are keeping our eyes out on craigslist and are thnking about visiting a few more junkyards to see if we can find them in the $40 – $70 range instead.
9/5/2020
Build Day #10
Hours Worked: 10
- Becky – 5
- Austin – 5
- Total Project Hours: 105.5
Money Spent: $1,232
- Renogy Solar, see itemization above (Renogy) – $960
- Maxxair Fan (Amazon) – $221
- 2 x step truck windows (Junkyard) – $51
- Total Project Spending: $17,939
Tasks Complete: 2
- Order solar system components from Renogy (still more to order from Amazon)
- Buy van windows (still 2 more windows to buy)
Questions Googled: 1
- Discount codes Renogy
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