The Earth receives more energy from the Sun in one hour than the whole World uses in a whole year.  Time to tap into that. Solar power is used to power everything from calculators to Coast Guard buoys to highway signs to the International Space Station.

You have read Are Solar Panels for me? and Solar Panel Installation – Planning and are ready for more details. Photovoltaic Solar panels were invented at Bell Labs in 1953. They have evolved over the years and several different types of solar panels exist, and choosing between then is confusing.  No one vendor will have access to all products, so you will have to do some shopping around to find the best solar panels.

Monocrystalline or Polycrystalline Panels

These solar panels are made either from single crystal cells or stringing ribbon of multiple crystals. They are the classic version of solar panels and are rated for good efficiency, around 12-13% power conversion, and a Long lifespan, possibly 30 years+?  Sunpower has a model with a very high 19.3% efficiency.  Monocrystalline panels are less efficient in hotter climates and work best in unobstructed sun. A panel’s power will drop by 50% if a even one cell on the panel is half shaded. Temperatures typically above 75 degrees F cause most solar panel power generation to decrease. Solar panel suppliers include: Sharp, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Kyocera, Schott, SolarWorld, SunTech, Sunpower, bp solar, Mitsubishi electric, Evergreen solar.

Thin Film Panels

Less efficient than the Crystal Panels, but they much thinner and easier to make.  Less efficient than monocrystalline, at 10-12% efficiency. They work better when you have slight shading and are not affected by hot weather as much as monocrystalline. Major Drawback of performance degradation over time.  Possible lifespans of 10 years. Suppliers include: Nanosolar, Unisolar

Hybrid Panels

Hybrids of single crystalline silicon surrounded by ultra-thin amorphous silicon layers.  Produces 10% or more electricity  (kWh) than conventional crystalline silicon solar panels at the same temperature. Good efficiency levels of 16%. Hybrid Solar Panel Suppliers include: Sanyo

Get a Free Solar Power Estimate from a local vendor by clicking the advertisement above.

2012 continues the very popular residential Solar Federal Tax Credit first enacted in 2009.  The previous solar tax credit program was capped at $2,000.  With the new one one, you can claim up to 30% of solar power costs for a new solar electric system. Existing homes & new construction qualify. Both principal residences and second homes qualify. Rentals do not qualify. Expires: December 31, 2016

This Solar Federal Tax Credit especially well when coupled with a state rebate program. (CA, CT, NJ, NY) Also look for city solar incentive programs, that can also save you money on your solar panels.

On the tax credit, existing homes & new construction qualify. Both principal residences and second homes qualify. Rentals do not qualify.

This Solar Federal Tax Credit reduces the amount of tax you owe. The credit is a reduction of total income tax at the bottom of your tax return. This tax credit is a non-refundable tax credit. Consult your tax adviser for details about solar power. Use it or lose it!

Example Solar Electric System cost with Rebates

A 3kW solar electric system costing $24K would get $5K in California state rebates and $7.2k Federal rebate. Final price $11.8k.  System payback time could drop to 6-7 years.  Rebates vary depending on location of course. Rebates make solar power Very attractive!

This Solar Federal Tax Credit is not affected by the AMT or Alternative Minimum Tax.

Interested in Solar Energy? Read our articles on solar power:

• Are Solar Panels for Me?
• Solar Panel Installation - Planning
• No money down Solar Panels
• Solar panel cleaning

You have read Are Solar Panels for me? and decided that Solar Panels are in your future. Planning a new solar installation requires lots of analysis and planning.  You need to size your solar system, select solar equipment, select a payment option, and find a qualified local solar installer.

Get a Free Solar Power Estimate from a local vendor by clicking the advertisement above.

Sizing a Solar Electric System

Power Usage – Grab the power bills for the last year. How much power do you use in a given year?  What rate plan are you on and what is it? Do you want to zero out your bill (most environmentally friendly) or just reduce your bill (financial benefit) by moving to lower price classes? It may be more cost effective to fall into lower price tiers. In the San Francisco Bay Area most PG&E customers have tiered energy pricing (E1 Residential Pricing plan) that starts at 12 cents, but jumps to 14, 29 cents, 40 cents and 40 cents as you use more power. The solar installer you select must be able to help you here.

It pays to reduce your electricity consumption by conservation and efficiency BEFORE you size a system.  Read our tips on saving electricity.  Each $1 spent on efficiency saves almost $3 in solar costs. Consider a home energy audit.

Sizing your system – Examine your roof size, power bill, solar panel efficiency, and see how large a system you can actually install.  You may be limited by space on your roof. The very nice California Clean Power Estimator takes your power usage information, physical location information, incentive information to give you savings estimates based on solar panel size.  Other states may have similar tools.

San Francisco has a nice solar map. It shows various solar system installations and how much solar power and money savings you can expect from your location.

Select Solar Equipment

Solar Panels – Picking the right solar panels is determined by how shaded your location is, your budget, and your efficiency needs. Be sure to compare panels using AC watt ratings.

Power Inverters – These units convert DC power to AC power. Each unit can only handle so many solar panels. Newer models have better efficiency at converting power. How many inverters do you need? Where will they be positioned?  Do you leave room for future solar panel additions? Some communities require them to be in the shade and away from fire hazards. We recommend sticking to popular name brands like the Sunny boy.

Paying for Solar Panels

Many people do not have $30k sitting around. Do you want to buy or lease solar panels? Both have advantages and disadvantages.

Optimal Installation Date

The optimal time to get your solar panel installed is in early spring/late winter, avoid installations in fall if possible.  Very little power is produced when the days are short or when the sun does not shine.  The biggest factor affecting an  installation date is usually when tax rebates ends or when they ratchet lower.  Try balancing the two factors to optimize your solar electric system install.

Utility Company Interaction

Most utilities offer credit for excess solar electricity provided to the utility but not used by the home. When you have your solar panels installed, you should be able to select “time of use” billing where during peak times (Weekdays 1-7pm) in the summer, you generate more power than you need and collect energy credit for the lean winter months. The rates are 2.5x higher in summer, so you can earn a lot of winter offsets. They will also have an interconnection agreement for you to sign.

PG&E has a section on their Solar Energy section on their website. Net metering changes your power bill to an annual cycle. Our power bill is still charged a minimum $5 a month. At the end of the year, we pay them how much PG&E power we actually had to use.

Finding a Qualified Solar Installer

After reviewing the above criteria, the next step is to contact a local Solar Panel installer.  They will first look at your property via online tools to see how your roof looks, examine your power bills, evaluate your goals, and see how your property is oriented.

Solar Electric installers should then visit your location to inspect it. Expect a customized solar system design, financial analysis, and options for financing.

A solar electric quote is a detailed quote a system tailored to your budget and home.

As with any vendor, look for one with a solid track record, solid references, and competitive pricing.

Questions to ask a solar electric system installer:

1. How long have you been in business, how many installations?
2. What is the minimum warranted power rating of the solar panels?
3. What is the PTC per watt rating of the solar panels?
4. Who makes the solar panels, how long have they been shipping these, factory warranty?
5. How efficient are the solar panels and power inverter?
6. Who makes the solar panels and power inverter?
7. Who makes the solar panel mounting racks? Are they commercial grade?
8. Get a quote for a solar electric system that will zero out your electric bill and a quote for a smaller system that will kick you into the lowest electricity tier.

California has a database of Solar installers, contractors, and solar panel dealers. California Solar Energy Industries Association

Be sure to read our solar panel deals page for the latest updates in special promotions.

Once your Solar electric system is installed, you will need to maintain them as  Solar Panels will need occasional solar panel cleaning.

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Spring is a time to start thinking about solar power. The sun is finally shining, and the rainy season has passed. Solar Panels produce green clean energy from an abundant energy source that shines on us everyday. Solar Electric Systems also called photovoltaics or PV convert the sun’s radiant energy into electricity.  Unlimited renewable energy that is guilt free and at no cost once our panels are paid for. Enjoy energy independence.

Solar Power Helps the Earth

Play a direct part in combating greenhouse gas emissions, global warming, coastal off shore drilling, and help reduce our dependence on foreign dirty fossil fuel. Help your community by supporting local solar businesses. Your energy source is acquired at a specific cost, while rates on power can and usually do rise every year.

California has over 1 Gigawatt of energy generated from solar panels, a milestone hit in November 2011. Only Germany, Spain, Japan, Italy, and the Czech Republic has more solar installations. The number of solar panel installations grew significantly in California because of the Million Solar Roof Initiative. This initiative helped reduce the cost of solar panel installations. The California Solar Initiative was created by this program. It provides rebates to home and businesses who install solar panels. The amount of the rebate has faded over time and is now just $0.25 per watt in many PG&E areas.

Slow Solar Panel Price Decrease

Prices on raw individual solar panels have fallen approximately 42% from 2007 to 2011, according to SolarBuzz.com.  The actual price of a complete solar system has only fallen 17% during the same time frame. Why the disparity?

• Time lag from buying panels one month to installing them several months later
• Solar panel modules account for less than half the cost of a complete solar system
• Labor and the cost of securing a permit typically haven’t fallen in price
• Materials such as copper and aluminum are not getting cheaper every year
• $2500 is spent on average to secure government permits for solar installations
• The entire solar installation ecosystem is very inefficient and varies from market to market

Solar Electricity Components

Solar Panels are installed on your roof and collect the sun’s energy and convert it to direct-current or DC power.

DC power is run from the solar panels into a power inverter mounted on the side of your house, that converts DC to AC, or power that you can use. The power inverter has an LCD display that shows how much power is being generated. The inverters are connected to a power shut off switch.

The power from your solar electric system is fed through a special electric power meter that your utility provides. This meter can spin backwards when you are generating more electricity than you use. Extra electricity is sent out the utility grid for others to use.

In 2008 the average residential Solar Electric System cost an expensive $5.40 per watt of capacity, while commercial ones cost $4.20.  These figures translates to 25 to 46 cents per kilowatt hour of residential power or 17 to 29 cents for concentrating commercial solar plant.  Compare the above numbers to roughly 5 to 10 cents for coal, nuclear, and natural gas and you can see a disconnect. The average US electricity price in 2009 was 11.5 cents, compared to 8.4 in 1995.

In the San Francisco Bay Area most PG&E customers have tiered energy pricing (E1 Residential Pricing plan) that starts at 12 cents, but jumps to 14, 29.4 cents, 40.4 cents and 40.4 cents as you use more power. An average home in PG&E’s territory ends up paying 29-40.4 cents/KWHr for more than half of their electricity usage. This type of pricing encourages energy conservation. Baseline quantities are set within a range specified by state law and approved by California Public Utilities Commission. This figure can vary by geographic location.  Over the last 25 years, PG&E rates have increased by 4% a year. This makes solar much more justifiable. PG&E has a minimum $5.40 a month charge for distribution among other fees, so no zero dollar bills.

Enough of the feel good rhetoric, how much $$ can one save? Everyone wants a zero power bill. A sample system run through a large local Solar firm’s website, Solar City’s Solar Calculator:

Assumptions: $300/month electric bill in San Francisco. 8% – A little shading, 22 degree roof pitch, South facing roof.

Save $2904 a year or $242 a month. New electric bill $60 month. 8.6 years to pay off system, then power after that is free! Most solar panels are warranted for 20 years, and some systems have been online or more than 30 years. The value of a solar electric system appreciates over time as power prices escalate.

Per Solar City: This is a post-tax Internal Rate of Return (IRR), which calculates all the money you will save over the next 30 years because you will be generating free electricity from the sun instead of paying the utility company. IRR also takes into account your initial investment, government rebates and credits, and the time value of money.

By switching to solar you’ll save the equivalent of…

• CO2 emitted by driving a car 174,070 miles
• CO2 absorbed by 76 trees
• 49,789 gallons of water used in electricity generation

Owning solar panels is similar to renting vs buying a home, but instead of a home, the asset is electric power. If you could not afford $25k but still want to take advantage of solar, select their Lease plan and $0 initial payment where you lease the panels.

Save $960 per year on power. Solar Lease monthly payment $162 plus new electric bill of $58 = $221 per month compared to $301 a month on your old bill.  Save $29,601 over 15 years as utility rates increase.

We have owned a solar system for many years and have been advocates to our friends and family just as long.  Solar power is not for everyone. In this article we cover important factors you need to consider when deciding whether a new solar energy system worth the plunge.

• Rent or Own Home – If you rent or plan to sell your home within the next couple years, Solar panels are not for you.  A solar system’s payback time is typically on the order of ten years.  They will increase the value of your property when you want to sell. A recent study found on average that a solar system added about $5.50 per watt to a home’s resale value.
• Physical Location – If your home does not receive enough solar radiation because of tree shading, weather, or its geographic location, you are not a good candidate for solar panels. Different areas received differing amounts of solar radiation. Solar insolation in the San Francisco Bay Area averages 5.4 peak sun hours a day. National Renewable Energy Lab has a solar map of the US.
• Roof – Most solar panels rest on roofs.  Your roof must be large enough and angled such that a Southern – Southwest sky exposure allows ample sunlight. The solar panels should be angled similar to your location’s latitude.  The roof must also be in good shape and not leak.  Fix the roof before considering solar panels.  The structure of the roof must be able to hold the weight of solar panels and fastening system. Some communities like Palo Alto have requirement specifying spacing around solar panels for fire suppression  purposes.
• Roof Shading -  How much of the roof is shaded by trees, equipment, or other obstacles? Clearly, you want to maximize solar panel direct sunlight access.  We had to trim trees to maximize sun exposure for the afternoon. Partially shaded areas work better with certain brands of solar panels.
• Financial – Solar Panels are not cheap.  If cannot afford a solar system costing tens of thousands of dollars or do not have good enough credit to qualify for a solar lease, consider solar energy when your finances have improved.
• Permits – Many municipalities require building permits before a solar system can be installed.  Make sure you can satisfy any requirements, which may include neighbor or association approval. Paperwork and permit costs can add almost $2500 to a residential system. Permits are usually needed to qualify for rebates.
• Rebates – In order for solar power to be cost efficient, your system needs to qualify for Federal, State, and or local solar rebates.  Incentives can cover up to 40% of a solar electric system depending on the state. Verify this before proceeding. Rebates are reserved on a first come first served basis. DSIRE has a national incentive database. California Solar Initiative tracks California rebates. You solar installer will help with the rebate paperwork. The best solar incentives are in Arizona, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.  Texas and Florida are coming online.
• Energy usage – Your energy consumption needs to be high enough to justify solar panels.  If your bill is too low, you would never achieve solar panel payback. Use about $75 a month as a ballpark guide. Your local utility can give you annual usage information.
• Utility Company – Do they buy back excess power?  Where does the excess power go? Do they support Net metering? How much they charge per kW? Are there special monthly charges for solar panel owners or net metering?
• Power Outages – Most Solar Electric Systems are Grid-Tied or connected to the power grid.  The solar system inverters automatically turn off if a power outage occurs. Inverters generally restart 5 minutes after power is restored. Solar panels will not keep your power flowing unless you setup and expensive battery backup system.

Many local solar installers can walk you through these questions and help you answer them.  They will be skewed on the side of selling you a system of course. If you satisfy all the above criteria and are not scared off by the pricing, read our article on Solar Panel Installation - Planning.

Solar Panels will need occasional solar panel cleaning.  Home Power Magazine covers the solar scene.

$0 Solar Panel Promotion

Solar Power for less. Several solar power companies have $0 down solar panel installation promotions. Basically, you are given the solar panels and pay for the lease of them every month. The solar panels generate more energy than your monthly lease payment, letting you save on your energy cost.

Free home estimate. Special savings end soon.

• Guaranteed performance
• Free monitoring and maintenance
• Free panel cleaning
• Full solar system insurance

Alternative-Energy Future is way off

Wall Street Journal had a good article quickly examining various promising technology and realistically looking at when they could make an impact.

Nuclear, Carbon capture, Solar, Wind, Algae biofuels, Fusion and electric cars where examined. It is pretty clear that nothing major is going to hit in the near term. We really need to conserve energy, put solar panels on our roofs, drive more efficient cars, and push hard on clean technology.