FAQ

It starts with solar panels that turn sunlight into DC electricity through a process called the “Photovoltaic Effect”. Photons, which are energy packets in sunlight, knock electrons loose within+ the solar cells that make up a solar panel. Those loose electrons are what create electricity.

An inverter changes the DC power generated by the solar panel into useful AC electricity to power your home. If the solar produces more power than you need, the excess power can be fed to the utility for credit or stored in batteries.

There are many benefits to install solar but the biggest one is that you can save money on your electric bill now and protect yourself against future increases in the cost of electricity.

Whether or not your solar panels will work during a power outage will depend on what other equipment you have installed. Most systems without batteries will not operate during a power outage. When the electric company is down, your solar will just turn off and when the power outage is over, the solar will start working again. The exception to this is that SMA inverters will provide a small amount of power during an outage when the sun is out.

If you install batteries with your solar, then the solar can provide backup power during a power outage. The amount of power you will have available during a power outage will depend on the amount of solar and the size of the battery system you choose.

If your home is already connected to the grid, you should keep that connection. A grid-tied system is much simpler to install and less expensive than an off-grid system because you can use the grid to fill in when the solar doesn’t produce as much power as you need. To go off-grid, you have to have batteries to store power to use at night and you must size your system to produce enough power for your needs even during days of bad weather. If you stay on the grid, you only have to size the system based on how much money you want to save on your electric bill.

If you are going to build on a remote property where it would be very expensive to have the utility company bring in power, then an off-grid solar power system is a good solution.

Grid-tie solar does not require batteries but there are a few reasons why you might want to add them. One reason is that they could provide power during power outages which a typical grid-tie system without batteries can not do. Another reason is to add batteries is they can help you take better advantage of time of use (TOU) electric rates. With TOU electric rates, you pay more for power used during the peak times (typically 4pm – 9pm) so it makes sense to store solar power earlier in the day to use during that peak time.

Solar panels will have the best products if they are facing south but you won’t lose too much if they are facing east or west instead. Shade during the middle of the day will cause a significant drop in production so you will want to avoid that where you can. Shade early in the morning or late in the day is not as big of a deal. Keep in mind that some shade, like trees in your own yard, can be fixed with a chainsaw.

Many systems are installed on the roof because that is an out-of-the-way place that usually has less shade, but solar panels can also be installed on ground-mounted racks if you have the real estate for it.

There are a few things to look at when evaluating your roof for solar. One important factor is what direction it faces. You will get more energy from solar panels that are facing south so if you have a roof that slopes that direction, you are in good shape. Solar panels that face east or west are still worthwhile, so if that is the way your roof goes it will still be okay.

Another important factor for production is shade. If your roof gets shaded during the middle of the day, that will hurt your solar production.

One more thing to consider is the age and condition of the roof. The general rule of thumb is if the roof will need to be replaced within the next ten years, you should replace it before you install the solar because removing the solar panels to replace the roof later is not an easy task.