Determine If a Solar Panel Installations is a Good Fit For You

The solar power industry is a growing industry, with more and more of your neighbors and friends getting solar panel installations you may be thinking about installing a solar power system. While getting powering your home with solar power is always encouraged, installing a solar power system on your rooftop may not always be worth it.

Before paying to get a solar panel installation, you might want to do some research on the fact if a solar power system is going to be a good fit for you.

Size Your Rooftop

There are quite a few factors that are going to determine if a solar panel installation would be a good fit for your rooftop. The direction, how old the rooftop is, and the pitch of your roof are all going to be very important details when you are trying to determine if solar panels are going to be a good fit for you.

If you have a south or west-facing rooftop, there’s good news, you have the best rooftop as a solar power system. But if you do have an east-facing rooftop you are still able to produce loads of solar power.

A rooftop that has a pitch of 30 degrees without any obstructions (such as chimney’s) you will also have a great rooftop for a solar power system.

Another key factor is going to be determining if your roof is shaded. Are there going to be any buildings or trees that are shadowing your roof? If so, not an optimal rooftop.

And one of the most important questions is going to be, is your roof big enough? This is going to be a key aspect of solar panel installation because you could have the intention of installing a rooftop solar power system, but if your rooftop isn’t big enough, you won’t be able to do anything about it.

Figure Out How Much Energy Usage You Have

How much energy does your household or business use? This is going to depend on where you live - the homes in the colder climates that will utilize electric heating you might need to use more electricity than those that are in the warmer climates that don’t. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has found that the average United States household energy consumption is going to be 10,812-kilowatt-hours per year or 910-kilowatt hours per month.

Your monthly power bill can be a great resource for learning about your home’s average energy use as well. Most of your power companies are going to outline your average power use on your bill and it will compare it to the year before. This is going to be a great way for homeowners to calculate the cost ahead of time and keep track of your electricity usage.

Consider Your Climate

In the solar power industry, one of the biggest misconceptions is going to be that you have to live in a warm and sunny area, like California. But that’s not true, Massachusetts has been known as being one of the top states when it comes to solar power. And Germany, which is no means known for its sunny weather and receives a similar amount of sunlight to Alaska, is a world leader for solar panel installations.

The colder temperature improves the solar power output of solar panels. Why? Because solar power production declines as the temperatures spike between 87 and 91 degrees. This is going to mean that the production of solar panels is going to be the most efficient in the sunny cold weather.

When it comes to snow, if the solar panels are covered in snow, the solar panels are going to have a harder time producing solar power, but that’s not going to be a long-term concern. A combination of the angle of the solar panels and the sunlight absorbing dark color is going to mean that the snow will quickly melt or slide off. It’s estimated that the production of energy from your solar panel installation takes into account your weather predictions, like snow cover ad cloudy days.

Solar Incentives

When it comes to getting a solar panel installation most of the states are going to be offering solar incentives to help homeowners lower the cost of solar panels. There are also solar incentives at the federal level. These are going to vary from loans and grants to tax credits, and the details of each solar incentive are going to change from state to state.

The solar incentives help to make the transition to a solar power system that much easier. Currently, the most lucrative solar incentive is going to be the federal investment tax credit, also known as the federal ITC. This is going to be a 26% tax credit that is going to be applied to your federal income tax.