Going solar is both socially responsible and economically beneficial. Solar home has the potential for long term energy savings and federal tax credits. It’s no wonder so many households in Washington are going solar. Even in our relatively cloudy state, solar panels still harness a considerable amount of energy.
At Wire Craft, we are not installers but can help our customers navigate, upgrade and maintain electrical work required to support home solar systems.
In this post we will cover the basics of running solar in your home so you can take advantage of one of Earth’s most powerful resources!
Paying for Solar
Installing solar panels is a big investment. This is usually the first hurdle homeowners need to figure out. There are multiple ways of going about it in Washington state such as loans, leases and power-purchase agreements.
Find out what option works best for you with Solar Power Rocks payment tool.
Another way to help with the cost is the big incentive most people can get is the Federal Solar Tax Credit that earns you 30% of your costs back after just 1 year.
Bid your Solar Home Project
You will want to bid out your solar installation project to multiple companies to ensure you’re getting a competitive rate. When researching installers, be sure to look for companies with quality and insurance. Of course with the proper certification—the solar industry standard certification is from the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners.
Make sure company familiar with local permitting and interconnection processes. You will also want to ask if they can refer you to other local customers you can contact for their feedback.
Solar Installation
There are five major steps for solar panel installations after you sign the contract:
- Engineering site visit
- Permits and documentation
- Ordering equipment
- Solar panel installation
- Approval and interconnection
During the engineering site visit, the engineer will look at your electrical panel to see if you’ll need to upgrade it. If they determine they need to upgrade the electrical panel, that means that your new solar panels will require more amps and the ampere capacity of your electrical box will need to increase. This is something we can assist with.
On the site visit, the installer will also help you decide on the right size system for your home. They consider four primary factors: solar resources and available sunlight, system orientation and tilt, system efficiency at converting sunlight to electricity as well as other potential utility sources such as wind energy.
Enhance your Solar Home System with the Tesla Powerwall
The Tesla Powerwall is a self-power home. It combines solar energy and Powerwall to power your home day and night independent.
Powerwall makes up for some of the shortcomings of solar panel technology. During the day, solar panels may produce more energy than your home uses. Powerwall stores that excess solar energy and makes it available on demand, even after the sun has set.
You can determine the number of Powerwall units required for your home along with estimated costs using the Powerwall calculator.
If you need more idea about any solar home, feel free to reach out to Wire Craft and we are willing to help you out.
