10 common questions of customers in going Solar
Will going Solar save me more money?
The short answer is, yes.
To understand why, though, takes a little bit more analysis. The thing about solar is that it’s a long-term investment. It’s like you’re pre-paying your electricity costs all upfront and then you’re reaping the benefits for years to come.
With solar, you purchase a system that is capable of generating the electricity you use (or at least a percentage of what you use). That portion of your electric bill is then taken care of for at least the next 25 years and most likely 30 or 40 years.
To illustrate how it works, imagine that someone came to you back in 1980 and asked if they could install a gas pump in your backyard.
You could pump enough gas to cover all of your needs for $1.00 per gallon. However, you had to pay a one-time fee of $15,000.
At the time, you might’ve hesitated because coming up with $15,000 all at once might’ve been a challenge. However, when you thought about the numbers, it would definitely be in your best interests to make the deal.
By comparison, if you kept going to the gas station for the rest of your life, you would spend way more than $15,000 in gas costs.
The same principle applies with going solar. You’re prepaying your electricity costs for a fraction of the cost that you’re going to spend with the utility company for the rest of your life.
However, you do have to pay for the system on the front end.
Luckily, the solar industry has evolved to the point where most customers who go solar use innovative financing programs to help pay for their purchase. These financing programs get you a low monthly payment that is fixed to help you pay for your system.
The payment is typically cheaper than what you’re currently paying for electricity. This means that on a monthly basis, you may be able to start saving money right from the beginning.
Regardless of whether you’re looking at it on a monthly basis with financing or looking at the long-term numbers of a cash purchase, solar will save you money.
Can Solar Power be stored or saved?
Solar power can be stored in batteries. This is done in systems that are grid-tied with battery backups and in off-grid solar systems.
With this approach, the panels convert the sun’s energy into DC power, which then travels into the batteries and is stored until the home uses the energy. This makes it possible to operate independently of the utility grid.
While this technology sounds really cool, it’s not practical for the vast majority of customers.
Of all of the solar systems installed worldwide every year, less than 1% of them utilize battery technology to store the solar energy. Batteries are currently too expensive and unreliable for most homes. The large electrical loads most homes have (like air conditioning, clothes dryers, water heating, etc) require too much immediate power to pull it all from batteries. Instead, they use a method in which the system is connected to the grid.
With this approach, energy is used by the house or business in real-time and any excess flows back onto the utility grid. The utility then keeps track of how much energy is going back onto the grid. When the solar customer isn’t producing power, they pull what they need back off of the grid. This is also referred to as net metering.
By doing this, you’re basically using the grid as your battery without the cost or maintenance of batteries. It’s much more affordable and it works like a charm. Grid-tied systems are currently the only ones that Simple Solar offers.
Can Solar power my whole house?
Yes! One of the common misconceptions about solar power is that you run only certain items with the power that is produced.
While this may be the case with off-grid systems, grid-tied systems, like the ones Simple Solar installs, do not provide power to specific devices. Instead, it is simply a percentage of the electricity that your entire house uses.
For example, you could offset 10%, 50% or even 100% of your monthly electrical usage.
The solar system ties into your home’s electrical system and simply provides power as it is produced. The amount of your usage that can be offset by solar depends on the size and angle of your roof, as well as your budget. Many customers offset their entire electric bills with solar.
What are the main advantages of going Solar?
Solar power has grown massively in popularity in recent years, but it still has a long way to go before the majority of people are familiar with it.
Many are unclear on the many benefits of going solar and because of that are not sure what to make of it.
What are some of the advantages of solar power?
Avoid rising utility rates. One of the biggest benefits of going solar is that you can avoid rising utility rates. With solar, you buy a system that produces a certain amount of your power for the next 25 or 30 years.
That portion of your electric bill is eliminated, and you don’t have to worry about the utility company raising their rates every year anymore.
Tax benefits. Solar makes it possible for you to send less money to Uncle Sam in taxes. The biggest tax benefit of going solar is the 26% federal tax credit.
This allows you to take 26% of the cost of your solar system and claim it as a tax credit. In addition to the tax credit, businesses can also claim depreciation on the cost of their solar system.
Helping the environment. Solar is a clean and renewable energy source. Harvesting the sun’s rays to produce power doesn’t create any pollution or hurt the environment like some other sources of energy.
Independence. Getting a solar system installed is like creating your very own power plant. You make energy right on your own property instead of relying completely on the utility company to do it for you. While you can’t disconnect completely from the grid, you have the ability to generate your own power every time the sun comes up.
Why do I need an Inverter in going Solar?
If you’re new to solar power, you may be wondering what all it takes to put together a working solar system for your home or business. While most people are somewhat familiar with solar panels and what they do, the solar power inverter is kind of a mystery.
What exactly is a solar power inverter and why do you need one?
Quite simply, the inverter is like the brains of the operation. It performs the vital task of converting the energy produced by the solar panels into a form of electricity that your house can use.
Solar panels produce Direct Current or DC energy. Your house runs on Alternating Current or AC. The energy produced by the panels runs down into the inverter, is converted to AC and then on into your house, so that it can be used.
The inverter also communicates with the electric grid and keeps the energy in sync. If the grid goes down, the inverter immediately shuts down as a safety feature. This ensures that no electricity makes its way back onto the grid and shocks anyone working on the lines. Overall, the inverter is essentially the hub that makes the whole system work.
When will Solar power start to work?
Solar systems only generate power when the sun is out. The solar panels in the system use the sun’s light to produce electricity.
While the panels are less efficient on cloudy days, they still do produce electricity.
One of the common misconceptions about solar power is that you can’t offset your entire electric bill because it doesn’t produce anything at night. However, this is not the case.
When you have a system professionally installed by Simple Solar, we can size the system so that it produces enough power during the day while the sun is out that it offsets all of your usage. By doing this, you effectively use the utility company as a way to store your extra power produced during the day.
At night, when your system isn’t producing power, you get what you need from the grid. If the system is sized correctly, the power you put on the grid offsets the amount you take off. This means that even though your system isn’t producing at night, it can produce more than what you need during the day.
If Solar is good, why was it not widely used back then?
Many people wonder, “if solar power is so great, why don’t more people use it?”
The answer to that is complex, but it boils down to one primary factor. Up until recently, it wasn’t really cost effective for the average person to go solar.
The cost of solar 20 years ago was many times more expensive than it is now. For example, a system that now costs $15,000-$25,000 might’ve cost someone $100,000-$150,000. Obviously, an average homeowner couldn’t afford to drop that much money on a solar system.
Another big change that occurred in recent years is the increased availability of financing mechanisms to help regular people go solar.
Instead of having to write a check for a system for thousands of dollars, you can use a solar financing plan, get the system installed, and just make a small monthly payment that’s often lower than your existing electric bill.
It’s become more about trading an electric bill for a smaller solar payment instead of coming up with a huge chunk of money upfront.
These changes have made solar available to the average person, and thousands of homeowners are making the switch every day.
Is going Solar really useful?
Solar power is useful because it provides a renewable source of energy that is created by clean, abundant sunshine.
When you stop and think about it, being able to create as much power as you need with something that is literally all around you, every day, is unbelievable.
Another big benefit of solar power is that it helps you break free from the monopoly of the utility company.
Although monopolies are technically illegal in the United States, somehow the “powers that be” missed the utility company. In Missouri, you’ve got a total of one choice when it comes time to get electricity.
Why is that a bad thing for you? Because when there is no competition required, there is no incentive for the utility to earn your business. This means that they can charge whatever they want to, within reason.
That’s why the rates keep going up year after year.
When you make the decision to go solar, it’s like you’re finally taking charge of your own energy situation.
Instead of relying on someone else to make the power that you and your family use, you’re making it right there at your house. While you’re not going to break free from the utility completely, you at least won’t have to buy all your power from them, or be subject to their constantly increasing rates.
Solar power is useful because it gives you a slice of economic freedom, while at the same time helping the planet.
Is going Solar really worth it to invest with?
That depends on your perspective and several factors that are specific to your situation.
Here are a few things that will determine whether investing in solar is right for you:
What do you pay for the utility? The rate that you pay the utility per kilowatt-hour is one of the biggest factors in considering whether an investment in solar is wise. If your utility rate is higher, the payback period for an investment in solar is shortened. Each utility in Missouri charges a different rate, so solar is more attractive to some customers than others.
Your roof. Not every roof is perfect for solar. If you have South, East, or West facing roof space that isn’t shaded, then it could be ideal for solar. If you have trees that shade the whole roof and you’re unwilling to trim or remove the trees, then solar isn’t going to work. If your roof has many obstructions on it, this can also negatively impact the amount of panels that can fit. Most homes can at least fit some panels on the roof, but the size of the system we can do may be affected.
Time frame. Another thing to think about when determining if solar is worth it is the time frame you’re looking at. With solar, it’s almost like you’re pre-paying your electricity costs for the next several years. You buy a system that produces power for the next 25 or 30 years. The advantage of doing it that way is that the cost of the system is much less than what you’re going to pay the power company over 25 or 30 years just to buy electricity. Some people look at what seems like a bigger investment to get a solar system, but don’t compare that to 25 or 30 years of electricity costs. You have to look at the big picture and think of solar as an investment that will pay off big in the long run.
Will Solar power work also at night even without the sun?
For the uninitiated, one of the most common questions about solar power is “what happens at night?”.
If the sun isn’t out, your solar panels won’t work, so do you just not have power at night if you go solar? Of course not!
When you have solar power, you’re still connected to the grid. The solar system works in conjunction with the grid.
During the day, your solar system makes more than what your house needs to function at that time. The excess goes back onto the grid and your meter keeps track of the extra going onto the grid.
At night, when your solar isn’t producing any power, any energy you need comes from the utility grid. The meter then measures how much power is coming into your home.
If your solar system is sized correctly, the power going out to the grid will cancel out the power coming into your house from the grid. In essence, you’re using the utility as your solar system’s battery.
If you are thinking about going solar, don’t worry… you don’t have to live by candle light and wood heat at night!