No. I’ve been able to help homeowners include other energy efficiency home improvements such as HVAC upgrades, whole-home solar fans, insulation, artificial grass, landscape projects, and more. Ask me about how you could qualify for more incentives/rebates by adding other upgrades with your solar installation.

Solar panels absorb the sun’s energy throughout the day and convert it into direct current (DC) electricity. Most homes and businesses run on alternating current (AC) electricity, so the DC electricity is then passed through an inverter to convert it to usable AC electricity. At that point, you either use the electricity in your house or send it back to the electric grid.

Unless your solar energy system includes battery storage and you are fully off the grid, you will still receive a bill from your utility. However, you can reduce the amount you owe the utility company to $0 with a solar panel system that matches your energy use.

Before signing a contract with a solar installer, comparing your options and research is important — as with any major purchase. Comparing loan and lease options are slightly different. For leases simply compare your Price Per KwH and annual escalator with other quotes. For loan options you want to consider your overall goal with solar, whether it’s to stay in your home and enjoy the benefits of solar for 20+ years, or if you plan to sell your home within that time. In general, for loans, you want to compare the Net Price Per Watt. This can be found by dividing the size of your system in watts with the net price of your system after all incentives. For example; if you have a 10kW system (10,000 watts) and the price is $30,000, your total Price Per Watt is $3.00. However, you could qualify for the Federal Renewable Energy Tax Credit & AZ State Tax Credit, which in this example would be $9,000 for federal and $1,000 for state, which would bring the net price down to $20,000 and the Net Price Per Watt down to $2.00.

Different solar companies offer different roof warranties. If you work with me, I only work with installers who offer complete leak-free roof warranties.

Solar is mainly non-mechanical electric components therefore there’s not a bunch of moving parts like a car. The only real maintenance homeowners have is if they wish to hose them off after a dust storm or too many bird droppings. All current solar programs also include a system warranty leaving that responsibility out of your hands if it effects the efficiency of the system.

Your options differ depending on which program you go with. For the majority of programs you have 3 options: 1. you can take the system with you when you move. 2. you can payoff the system in the sale of your home. 3. you can have the new homeowner take over your solar agreement.

Solar power systems that include solar batteries, known as solar-plus-storage, are increasingly popular but can be pricey. Luckily, batteries are not necessary for most solar homeowners. As long as you are connected to the grid, your system does not need a battery: excess power goes back into the grid giving you credits with the utility company, and you can draw from the grid if you need more electricity than your panels can generate.

Installing solar panels will involve a site assessment, design, permitting, installation of mounting hardware and panels, electrical wiring, and connecting to the grid (if applicable). This process can take a few weeks up to a couple month’s differing from each city. We’ll handle everything for you during this process and keep you up to date as the project moves forward.