Can I get started with a few panels for a smaller system and then add more later? Yes, you totally can sometimes it's viable to have some solar rather than no solar at all, because solar always ends up being cheaper than the utility company. What we do is install a bigger inverter that will be able to handle a larger amount of wattage when you do decide to have more panels in the future. That way you already have your inverter that you need when you add more panels and it's an easy process for you to install.

Do I need a battery backup for my solar system? We can totally get it for you, we just do not recommend it for two reasons.

Do I need a permit to install a solar system on my house? An electrical permit? Sometimes the answer's yes, sometimes the answer is no. It al depends on where you live. If you're inside city limits more than likely yes. If you're outside of city limits, sometimes you might need a county permit, but the bottom line is you will never have to do any of this yourself. We take care of all of it for you. Our master electrician goes and pulls the permit. We do it all on the inside, you guys don't have to pay for it or worry about it at all. It's a super easy process here that we take care of.

The roof is definitely the most common place that we see solar panels mounted. The biggest reason for that, are the space constraints. Most people aren't equipped with huge amounts of land and the actual space that it would take to put a full solar array on. The other advantage is that, it's on the roof. It's untouched, it's un-bothered and it does its job. Although, most of them are on the roof, they don't have to be. There are ground mounts, there are pole mounts, there are several other options. In most of these cases, there's additional costs for ground mounts or pole mounts, as there's way more labor involved. You've got concrete involved, you have way more racking involved. So there's several pieces there that change the financial economics of the deal a little bit. The most common route is the roof, but it doesn't have to be that way. It can be a ground mount or a pole mount depending on the space that you have available. We recommend the roof just because it's the cheapest, it makes the most financial sense. It gives you the fastest return on your investment and most of the time, it goes untouched and un-bothered from anything that can have access to the ground.

How long does the installation take? Our average install takes about a day, right? A bigger system is going to take a day and a half to two days, but the average is about a day. That includes the installers installing the [rucking 00:00:18], the panels, the inverter, the disconnect, the electricians doing the wiring, and us getting everything ready for the utility to come out and swap out your meter with a net meter, so you can send your extra power back to them and they can pay you for it. About a day. It's really easy.

The industry standard for solar panel manufacturers is a 25 year linear production warranty. All of the panels and equipment that we use have that same standard warranty. A linear production warranty is literally guaranteeing the production of the panels over the course of 25 years. There's a degradation schedule assigned, that the panels will obviously lose some efficiency over time, but with that we outline exactly how much your system will produce on a monthly basis over the next 25 years.

This is one of the things that's unique about solar. That's not a standard system size or system layout or system design for every single home. The way that your system size is determined, has 100% to do with how much power you consume, and how much roof space you have. What doesn't matter is the square footage of your home or how many people live in your home, or any of those factors. It really just comes down to how much power you use.

Will I have to buy new appliances when I get my solar system installed? Or, how is the power going to be different from regular power that I get from the grid? The answer is simply: AC power, alternating current power, is AC power, right? The solar panels are turning a direct current that they produce into an AC current that your home uses for power. It's the same AC electrical current that you're pulling from the grid. Solar power doesn't look any different from grid power, and so, no, everything stays the same. All your power looks the same.

Net metering is a term used in the solar industry primarily by the utility companies. What’s happening is once you have solar panels on your roof, you’re going to have a different meter on your home than the one you currently use. The meter you currently use just turns one direction and that’s forward. That’s power that you’re buying from the utility that they're then billing you on later.

Will the solar panels affect the structural and integrity of my roof?

What happens if it hails? I get this question all the time. You have to keep in mind that these solar panels are engineered and built to go on top of roofs, and to go on fields and solar farms for literally decades, right? It'd be pretty silly if the engineers didn't have that in mind. They're going to get pounded with the elements over the next 25 to 40 years while you have your solar system. They're engineered to handle all the regular stuff. The rain, hail, wind, sleet, snow, whatever it might be, right?

This is one of the most popular questions we get and frankly one of the biggest reasons why people are going solar. There's a 30% federal tax credit available for anyone that puts solar panels on their roof. This is a tax credit not a tax rebate, so it literally directly offsets any tax liability that you owe to the IRS. 

If the grid goes down and I have a solar system, am I still going to have power? The answer's no. Your solar system's going to go down, too. The reason why is because of safety concerns. The utility company actually requires your solar system to be shut off when their grid goes down. If they have guys working on the utility lines while your solar system is producing a live feed, they could get shocked and electrocuted. It's a safety concern. If you're thinking what if the power goes out for multiple days at a time? We recommend simply a generator for those situations just because it's a lot more cost effective than getting a battery backup. Battery is going to wipe out all of your savings associated with going solar.