Things to Know Before Installing Solar Panels on Your Roof

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Want Solar Panels on Your Roof? Here's What You
Need to Know

• Alex Yackery 15th September 2016

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Do You Have A Roof That Can Support Solar Panels?

• This is pretty key. If your roof is covered in
  shade most of the day throughout the year, it
  might not have a favorable enough solar window
  to justify the costs of panels. Thats something
  youll want to assess before you move forward. If
  your roof wont cut it, or you cant make the
  call because you rent your apartment or live in a
  multi-unit building, you dont have to give up on
  solar power altogether. Instead of installing
  your own panels, look into shared or community
  solar. This approach lets many different
  customers buy a stake in a solar installation and
  receive credits on their electricity bills.
• If you do have a suitably sunlit rooftop to work
  with, Weissman says, make sure its in good shape
  structurally. Solar installations these days can
  come with warranties for 20 or 25 years. If your
  roof will need a renovation a few years down the
  road, itll be easier to take care of that before
  the array goes up. That way, you wont have to
  pay in extra time and money to disconnect your
  panels during the roof renovation and put them up
  again afterwards. While youre at it, make sure
  you wont run afoul of any homeowners
  association covenants that ban rooftop solar for
  aesthetic reasons.
• Lastly, envision the future of your yard. If the
  roof is unobstructed now but youve just planted
  a battalion of leafy oaks around your property,
  you might run in to trouble a few years down the
  road. Be prepared to prune your foliage to keep
  the panels clear.

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Have You Done Everything You Can To Improve
Efficiency?

• The amount of solar energy you need to produce
  depends on how much you use, so it makes sense to
  trim your usage as much as possible before paying
  for all those panels. Start with an energy audit
  and look for efficiency upgrades before you draw
  up blueprints.

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Which Kind Of Solar Makes Sense?

• The two dominant solar technologies to pick from
  are photovoltaic, which uses arrays of cells to
  turn sunlight into electricity, and thermal,
  which uses sunlight to heat water or air for use
  inside. If your home uses a lot of energy for
  heating, or you live somewhere where heating fuel
  is expensive relative to electricity, a solar
  thermal investment could break even sooner, says
  the engineer Timothy Wilhelm, who coordinates the
  electrical technology program and teaches solar
  installation at Kankakee Community College in
  Illinois. But, he adds, solar thermal is rarer
  for homes, so it might be harder to find a
  qualified installer.

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How Do You Connect To The Grid?

• The details vary depending on where you live, but
  the principle is that any time youre connecting
  with a utility, there are a lot of logistics to
  sort out. Do you have to pay a fee? How long does
  it take for the utility to get you hooked up?
  Once you are connected, how and when will you be
  credited for the electricity you generate?
• That last one refers to net-metering, the
  practice by which utilities reimburse rooftop
  solar at the same rate as they charge users for
  electricity. This is politically fraught
  territory some states, like Nevada, have adopted
  policies where utilities pay less for surplus
  solar, which makes it harder to recoup the cost
  of the installation. For a handy guide to where
  each state stands on this, check out this solar
  scorecard.

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Is Your Installer Trustworthy?

• This applies any time you hire someone to come
  into your home, but solar combines the logistics
  of a home improvement project with the risks of
  electrical work. Credentials and references are
  especially important. You wouldnt hire an
  electrician who had never done electrical work to
  come into your house and change things around,
  says Kelly Larson, an electrical contractor in
  California with 20 years of experience doing
  solar installations. In particular, look for
  accreditation from the North American Board of
  Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP). And this
  is a big expense, so dont be afraid to get a few
  different quotes before you ink a contract.
• This is harder to predict, but, ideally, you want
  a company that will stick around for the lifetime
  of your installation. Since solar cells dont
  have moving pieces, they tend to need very little
  maintenance, Larson says. Still, in the event
  that anything does stop working during the
  warranty period, you dont want to realize that
  your installer isnt around to fix it.

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Lease Or Buy?

• Every household will need to run its own
  cost-benefit analysis on this basic trade-off.
  Buying your own system costs more up front but
  pays bigger dividends leasing lets you access
  cheaper electricity with little or no money down,
  but the benefits are more limited. If you lease,
  the company you contract with owns the system,
  and you pay them a certain rate for the
  electricity when the lease is up, they might
  take the system away. When you own the system, it
  can keep working for you long after it pays off
  the cost of the purchase. Make sure you compare
  the total lifecycle cost of the lease and weigh
  the savings against the benefits you would get
  from ownership.
• In your financial analysis, keep in mind that the
  panels can function for decades, Wilhelm says,
  but other electronic equipment in the system,
  like the power inverter, has a shorter lifespan.
  Dont forget to factor in replacements for those
  other system components when budgeting the cost
  of the project.

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What Should You See In Your Contract?

• The contract you sign should spell out all the
  details of financing, ownership, and performance
  expectations. Also, because these systems can
  include web-enabled devices, you should check if
  anyone is collecting data on your home energy
  production and usage and who has access to it.
• Thats a lot of details to keep in mind. IREC
  collected some additional resources that dive
  into greater detail. When in doubt, dont go it
  alone, Weissman says If youre not getting the
  answers that you need, then its probably best to
  seek some legal advice.

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Contact US

• Venture Home Solar
• 240 Kent Ave, Brooklyn,
• NY 11249
• 1 800-203-4158
• http//venturehomesolar.com/
• Resource https//goo.gl/LJD7eF

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