| The following questions are the General Solar Questions that we get asked on a daily basis. To save you the time of asking these questions and waiting for an answer, we have provided the best available answers here on this page for you to read over at your own pace. We hope that this is helpful, but if you require further assistance, or your question is not covered on this page, please feel free to contact us directly at (800) 653-8540. We will be glad to answer any additional questions that you might have.
Q: What can I do with solar power?
A: Anything…well, okay…almost anything…within reason. Millions of people around the world today use solar energy for a wide variety of applications. Today, solar energy lights up our gardens, billboards and parking lots. Solar energy is used to heat our hot water, our pools, and our homes. It is used to power our home appliances, our RVs, and our cabins.; We cook on Solar Cookers. We even charge our cell phones, laptop PCs and other gadgets with our solar kits.& Really, there isn’t anything that solar energy can’t do.
Q: We get a lot of bright sun at my house. Is it good for a solar system?
A: While we always think that we get a lot of sunlight at our houses, the truth is that when it comes to useable peak solar hours, your home may not get as much sun as you really think. To see how much sun is available at your home, please see our USA Solar Resource Map
Q: I have heard that there are some incentives and/or credits for purchasing a solar system. What are these about?
A: Yes, there are a number of federal and state government incentives for purchasing and installing a new solar system. The federal incentive is a pretty standard 25% tax credit, where you can get up to 25% of the cost of your new solar thermal or solar electric system in income tax rebates. The state incentives vary from state to state (in both amount of incentive and also the type of incentive). A great resource for learning about all of the incentives that are available throughout the country is the DSIRE.
Q: I have heard that the electric company will purchase my excess energy from my solar system. Is this true?
A: Yes, in many areas. Most states now have net-metering laws which require the electric utility to purchase any excess energy produced by your solar system at retail rate, which means that if you produce more excess energy than you draw from the utility grid during cloudy days or at night, then you could very well end up with an electric bill that is negative dollars (ie, the power company owes you money). Check with your local or state department of energy to determine if net metering applies in your area, and what regulations govern its use. |
