Is your house ready for solar?

This past May I graduated from college and started looking for a job. At the end of July I got lucky -- doubly lucky not only because I got a job in a hard economy, but also because I got a job in an industry that is still in its infancy. I know that I will be able to watch and be a part of the growth of the solar industry.

Solar energy has been around for years, but until recently it has been too expensive for most homeowners. Over the past few years, though, solar technology has advanced by leaps and bounds, bringing the price down year after year. The federal government is spurring on the industry with a tax credit that gets you a refund of 30% off the cost of the system. Now even the White House once again has solar panels.

When I first started I thought as a sales person I would be spending all my time driving from house to house writing up proposals and presenting them. Writing up proposals ended up being a whole lot easer than that, thanks to modern technology.

A potential costumer sends me their address, and I enter that into Google Maps or Bing Maps and use the satellite images to figure out which part of the roof gets the best sun and about how many panels I believe can fit there. I write up a free proposal and either email it to the customer or present it in person. I work with the customer from there to make sure the system meets their needs, scaling it up or down to meet their budget and their power demand. So far, none of this costs the customer anything.

If the customer then decides to go forward with getting solar, we send out our engineer to get exact measurements of the roof to plan the placement of the panels. He will then make drawings that will be presented to the county code inspector, who approves a permit for the solar system.

Installation of the panels takes us only one to two days, and then we get your electric company to come by and switch your meter with one that can run backwards. After that, your system goes live!

In all, it takes about four to six weeks from the time the customer signs the contract to the time their system goes live. At that point the solar panels are making electricity, which feeds into the breaker box. When this happens, the first power the house uses comes from the solar panels.

There may be some times when the panels are making more power than the house is using, like on bright, sunny days. When this happens, the excess power feeds into the utility’s power grid, causing your meter to run backwards. That power then gives the house a credit that can be used later, like at night when the panels are not producing power. This is known as net metering.

It is also possible to have battery backup system with your solar. This is convenient for when the power goes out; then you still will not be completely without power.

Solar energy not only helps out financially in the long run by reducing your electric bill, but it also has significant environmental benefits. A 2kw system in Virginia that faces south with no shade on a roof tilt of 39 degrees is the equivalent of offsetting 3,877 pounds of CO2 each year. That is 4,324 miles not driven in a car or a tree planted every other year. Plus, you’re helping your community by decreasing the use of electricity derived from coal, which causes asthma and other health issues.

If you are interested in to getting solar for your house I am more than willing to work up a free proposal for you. Just contact me at joan.engel@greenbrilliance.com and send me your address and contact information and I’ll get back to you within a day or two.