Standard grid-connected (or grid-tied) solar installations are designed to turn themselves off when there is a power outage. The reason for this is we are connecting directly to your home's electrical panel, which is connected directly to the power lines. If we were feeding power back to those lines while a utility worker was working [...]
This question comes up in almost every meeting we have with a potential client. The short answer is that solar panels are very tough, and typically can withstand much more than a standard asphalt shingle roof. Many people in our area deal with hail and the affect it has on their roof. We get a [...]
How many solar PV panels does it take to make the installation of a PV system worthwhile… 12! A typical solar PV panel is 250-320 watts and the smallest system we would normally recommend is about a 3000-watt system, or 12 standard 250w panels. The infrastructure cost to install a PV system is fairly consistent [...]
The surface area required for a solar PV system is about 18-20 sq./ft. per solar panel. Depending on the size system you require assume 60-80sq/ft. for every 1000 watts (or 1kWatt) of solar PV required to meet your needs. The biggest variable in the amount of space needed is the type of panel you use [...]
We are often asked as to if it is possible to mount solar PV on a garage and the simple answer is, yes. We can mount PV solar panels on a home, a garage, barn, out buildings of any type, trellis, the open field…just about any place we have the ability to run an underground [...]
After a solar PV system is installed what sort of maintenance is required to keep the system running? The answer is very little. In fact, if you have a grid tied system that requires no batteries, you essentially have a system with no moving parts and no maintenance. If we get one of those periods [...]
Should the roof of a house or commercial building face a certain way to install a solar PV system? The short answer is “yes”, but we have a lot of flexibility in the design to meet the needs of the customer. First and foremost, Colorado is in the Northern hemisphere and not at the equator, [...]
In Colorado, we are very lucky we live in a state that is proactive related to stimulating the use of renewable energy sources. Along with the Federal energy credit of 30% on the total cost of the installation; the utility rebates available in some of our utility jurisdictions help reduce the cost to build a [...]
The quintessential question is how long will it take to break even on the investment in a PV solar system. This is one of the primary financial questions anyone interested in a PV system should be asking and evaluating. There is no set answer as many variables play into the equation, but in Colorado the [...]
