Illustration By @kampeck_ink
I wanted to hear the noble reason but instead I got the shallow one. After sitting in on numerous seminars this month for Solar Energy Month here is the takeaway: people decide to go solar because they see their neighbors get them. The neighbors act as beta testers—-through boasting about how much they are saving or just appearing cool and super green. The final push in the decision to go solar may be just the desire to keep up with the Joneses. It’s OK, we’ll take it.
Other Things to Think About Though
It may come as a shock but there are other things to think about besides street cred. Here are some examples:
Site Orientation
Panels ideally need to be placed south facing. Panels that have to be oriented west, east or north will produce about 25% less power than a south facing array. Your site may not be ideal and no one is going to tell you to cut down a tree to make way for solar. That said, other applications besides the roof may include a backyard or sideyard. Even if you don’t have the perfect south facing eave, all is not lost.
Roof
You may have to think about redoing your roof before any install since a roof lasts about 20 years and the panels will likely outlive the roof at an average life span of 25 years before degrading. A new roof can add up to $3000-$10000 to your estimated costs.
Maintenance Costs
Maintenance on the panels is suggested every 3-5 years.
Home Insurance
Adding solar should not make your home insurance more costly. However, most estimates include a line item based on what it would cost to rebuild your home including any renovations. If you have a 15K cost associated with a solar install and say a 5K cost for a roof, you may need to adjust the cost of rebuilding your home 20K.
Incentives
Those are the "hidden costs.” But there are also “hidden values.” Some of the ways companies and governments try to make solar more appealing is by offering three types of incentives: financial incentives, favorable regulatory policy and expedited processes, and rebate programs.
Example of a Federal Incentives: Federal investment Tax Credit Extended to 2021
If you install a set of panels in 2020 the system is defined as “placed in service” and you can expect to receive a 26% credit in your federal taxes. Installs that take place in 2021 will only receive a 22% credit. The year 2021 is as of today, the last year people will be entitled to this federal credit. But guess what. Now this may all change as different players influence Washington DC but as of right now they’ll be calling it Washington AC in 2022.
Example of State Incentives
The other way solar costs may be cut is via state rebate programs. In California the state property tax code allows for 100 percent of the system value: solar water heat, solar space heat, solar thermal electric, solar PV to be written off. This write off also applies to a 75 percent rate for dual use equipment. The code also allows you to write off pipes and ducts leading to the system to be written off at 75% of their value. These tax credits will expire in 2025.
Example of a Regulatory Policy
States also try to ease install anxiety by easing the process on the regulatory side. In Oregon solar installs will enjoy an expedited permit approval process. Cities and counties in Oregon can’t charge permit fees for solar install but they can charge for building fees.
A great place to look up dedicated incentives for your state is www.DSIREUSA.org
This Tucson home lives in unabashed delight with its solar panels.
Anatomy of a Solar Panel
Now that you know why so many agencies are bending over backwards to make solar more attractive to you what exactly is going up there?
So the solar panels that you see are made up of cells. The cells are usually six inches to a side and fitted into modules. Usually 72-96 cells make up a module or panel. A series of panels is called an array.xPanels are usually three feet by five feet and coated in tempered glass for weather.
How does it work? The cells have a positive and negative junction to them composed of phosphorus and boron.. When the sun engages this junction, the cell produces DC energy. Because the panels make DC power you need another element called an Inverter to change the DC power into AC power to run the appliances in your home. You can either have one big inverter that aggregates all the DC power from the panels together and translates it into DC power or you can have one microinverter behind each panel which translates it there, shunts everything to a “combiner box” and then to the main panel for use in your home. Microinverters can be a good choice if part of your roof is shaded by other structures or tree canopies.
Panels will produce electricity for 25 years. They will still operate after 25 years but their power will diminish over time. Panels can be recycled.
Central inverters last about 15 years and will probably have to be replaced before the panels. You can also ask for a “US made” panel if you want to support the domestic economy.
A typical panel is rated 250-300 watts with the average solar array (gang of panels together) rated at 5kW. When you get quoted an estimate for the power you need, make sure that the array reflects the maximum power you will need at any one time. Efficiency is not as important as capacity. A 5kW system means that it is a system that can produce 5000 watts maximum power that it will produce in full (usually noon) sunlight.
Electrical Grid Facts
An electrical grid needs a balance of supply and demand. The meter has a utility side and a customer side(behind the meter) This is the solar side, the generator of electricity which flows into your service panel and then goes to different needs in your home. It will serve all the needs of your home first and then any surplus will go to the grid.
Solar Ready
Some cities such as Tucson mandate that all new single family homes built must be “solar ready.” This practice was adopted in 2008. The City code requires either a PV or solar heating system or necessary hardware with two insulated pipes and a suitably sized conduit installed or the sleeve of the conduit installed.
What To Ask For From Any Installer
As you start to call around for quotes make sure that any potential installer provides the following:
NABCEP Certification
Product Warratny (average 10 years)
Power Producing Warranty (average 15-20 years)
Install Warranty (Variable)
Would it be Worth It?
For a lot of people the potential savings in utility costs is more important than the big picture concept of saving the planet one roof at a time. That’s OK. But you are going to have to do some homework first.
So you’re going to have to get boring and look at your utility bill to see how much you are using and how much you are paying and also think about your future plans. Will you be buying an electrical car? Will you be switching to an electric dryer or modifying other appliances? Hot tub? All these potential energy drains will also have to be factored in.
A solar bill from an entity like PGE is going to look different than. standard gas and electric bill because your bill will now be broken down into categories: Net Usage, Minimum Charge, and Net Energy Metering(NEM) charge. The net usage is how much in kWh you are consuming. The “Minimum Charge” can be though of as the “rental fee” to use their grid, say $10 a month. The NEM charge is how much your net usage cost you. The biggest misconception people have is that any excess kWh hours are paid at the same rate as the retail price. The utility pays you something for surplus, but at a much lower rate than retail. Keep that in mind if the saliva is falling out of your mouth too fast.
Resale Value
Another thought people have is whether solar will make future home buyers up the ante on any bids should they sell their home. Realtor Kirk Dahle of San Francisco’s Vanguard Realty says that solar will add value to your home for resale if the panels are “new enough.” If the panels are too old potential buyers may only see the onus of replacement cost. Buyers will also want to see that the install was performed by a dedicated solar professional;DIY is frowned upon. The good news, at least for people in San Francisco, is that there is a rebate on seller property transfer taxes. “Yep, this one covers its costs for sure!” says Kirk.
Learning from Schools
Still don’t think solar is for you because you don’t live in Florida or Arizona? I was surprised to find out at this month’s solar conference sponsored by Generation 180, that 5.5% of all K-12 schools in the US run on solar energy ant that the top states that do this are California, New Jersey, Arizona, Massachusetts, and Indiana. You may notice that not all of these states are the states the snow bird flocks to in the winter. What these states have in common is legislation that has made third party purchase power empower the school infrastructure. For example. I am a product of the Tucson Unified School District system where they have outfitted 80 schools with solar power, saving them 43 million in costs over 20 years which translates into mo money for computers, books, sports, you know… learning. Now if only their homes would listen to their schools…