DIf you do a search for “what are cost codes,” you’ll turn up descriptions from a dozen different companies ranging from accounting software (Oracle and Sage) to construction company blogs. So I think it’s time for a multiple-part series on cost codes. Cost codes...
Last week we cruised through an average travel costs calculation for your solar estimate. This week we will go into a detailed mode! The other approach to breaking down travel costs involves getting closer: project level detail. Really it’s unit price estimating in...
I am driving to the Solar Software Summit, and you should let me know if you'd like to meet up there. It’s a road trip! Except, I’ve been on the road a while now so maybe it’s a bit of an excursion. I thought I would blog about something related: travel. This is...
Awhile back I started talking about a solar system cost. Immediately, the person with whom I was speaking translated number into a cost per watt. I totally understand why folks do that. It gives you a quick and dirty way to compare between systems. But it is SO...
If you step back and think about it, installing a solar system (PV or Solar Thermal) requires a strong knowledge or trade experience in structural design, roofing & waterproofing, electrical and/or plumbing, and probably carpentry. Sometimes even steel work. But...
The analogy that you often hear of altitude is fitting: the view from 10 feet, 100 feet, 1000 feet, 10,000 feet, etc. We’ve talked about the smaller levels, but now it is time for the biggest view. Today we are going to go into parametric estimating or comparison...
There is definitely more to estimating than Unit pricing and Take-offs! They have a time and a place. I typically draw on them when I have to bid something about which I have no context or experience. Imagine the people who bid on STS-1 (the first space shuttle...
This week we start streamlining the art. As a method with nearly equivalent accuracy as Take-offs, unit pricing adds speed. It uses the same principles of Take-offs at a slightly bigger picture. Well, from a different angle. Basically, you identify something that is...
Last week I talked about solar bidding as an art form. In art, as with most things, there is a range of concrete and abstract approaches to art. Estimating is no different. This week we are going to start with the most concrete: Take-offs. I like to say estimating can...