Should You Go Solar? A Super Helpful Beginner's Guide to Home Solar Power

Understanding Residential Solar Power

in this video we're taking a closer look at solar power systems for homes solar power is often associated with living off grid but surprisingly there's a lot more people installing solar panels on homes that are connected to the grid so we met up with Albert from isolera to learn about why people are installing solar at home the basic components of a solar power system installation options for panels costs and moneysaving opportunities like net metering and important considerations including some of the risks to keep in mind when going solar we're covering a lot in just 10 minutes so let's get into it

Why Consider Solar for Your Home?

The sun rises every day and it's a guaranteed energy source so as we transition to more electrically based infrastructure so heating cooling Transportation all of it is going to need a renewable energy source and so there's part of that solution so's going to be able to deliver an infinite amount of energy we just got to be able to capture it Harvest it utilize it so the reason why people invest in solar cost savings is a big one they're trying to insulate themselves from rising electrical cost or uncertainty of power or unreliable power if you're in like a rural setting people are trying to be more sustainable so that they look at solar and they go well I don't need to do an extreme thing I just have to add panels to my house and I'm going to continue to use electricity the way I normally do but I'm going to get some sort of benefit from doing it and the big one now I'm finding is that people are really looking and targeting batteries and it's because maybe the grid isn't as reliable as they thought they're more likely to have outages and the frequency is increasing and the duration is increasing so solar Plus Battery and storage allows people to kind of continue to live their lives without that inconvenience of wondering is my fridge going to last the next couple days do I still have access to water um and again it it really depends on your where you live that whether or not that's a big problem for you but a lot of people are really interested in just trying to insulate themselves from that risk

Essential Components of a Solar System

so the opportunity when you grid tied or off grid solar is going to provide you a benefit every day it's going to generate electricity you're either going to use it you're going to sell it you're going to store it you're going to do something with it that's going to give you a benefit so like basic components of a solar power system is you need a solar panel that's what's actually going to take sunlight and turn it into Power um in order to get that power into a usable form you need some sort of inverter and then you need a racking system so you would need those three pieces if you're grid tied you might need some additional electrical components and as more and more batteries come to Market there's more and more opportunity to couple a solar panel and an inverter to a battery system to further get more utility and have more benefit

Installation Types and Site Requirements

for residential most common types of installs a roof mount because they have existing infrastructure that can support panels so it's facing south or east or west or ground mounts and that usually just comes down to viable space so both have their pros and cons but pretty much every residential customer starts with I'd like to add solar and we look at what existing infrastructure can be best utilized to achieve those goals

Roof Mount Installations

so as far as requirements for like a roof mount solar can go on ashphalt shingles tile shingles clay tiles literally the racking system exists that you can build on any roof so there really aren't too many limitations as far as what kind of roofing type but you typically want a roof that's in good condition so kind of from day one you want to determine is this roof going to outlast potentially the performance of the solar system if not if there ways that I should mitigate that cost now you might want to reshingle if the shingles are showing their age a lot of these components are fixtures so they can be removed but there is costs associated with installing and uninstalling something that's functioning to replace the infrastructure below it so you want to avoid that cost cuz it it eats into the economics of doing the project

Advantages of Ground Mount Systems

ground mounts are fantastic from a standpoint of installing it's safer it's easier to maintain it's easy to do inspections on and the big one is you get a bump in production so when we put a solar system in that's on the ground you can point it in the right direction and have it at the right angle if you can adjust the angles seasonally cuz the sun changes in the Horizon you can further optimize the worst times of the years and the best times of the years when the sun is overhead so your production numbers increase so now you need less infrastructure to produce the same or more energy but it might come with some additional costs because now you're building the infrastructure for a ground Mount whereas before you were just using a garage roof or a house roof there is a market for offgrade people there is a community of people that want to be independent but we think that there's more opportunity and more benefit if we're able to offer the solar to a much bigger demographic so there are more people connected to the grid than off- grid and there's just more opportunity to have a bigger impact

Net Metering and Grid Integration

so net metering is the most popular program that we deal with so the idea with net metering is you would still have a system that's connected to the grid but you wouldn't have to store all the energy and as a net over the year you would generate as much energy as you use for the year so that the goal is zero I'm going to try and buy zero power from the grid cuz I'm always generating enough to offset what I need so in the summer you're producing more energy that energy goes out to The Grid as a credit and then in the winter maybe when your system isn't producing as much as it would be cuz it's covered in snow and when the Sun goes down and you need power at night you have an excess amount of credit that you continue to draw from so that on the annual cycle you're actually using as much power as you're generating or getting as close to as possible

How Net Metering Works

normally when we start net meter the process of net metering what we try and do is understand what is the consumption that we need to offset and then we would design a system that would try and Target 100% of that there's usually no incentive to generate more unless there's a program available that incentivizes you to do more because there's a financial reward so most people build for 100% offset plus or minus 5% because the weather can be different year toe so you want to make sure that you're designing for the averages and obviously if you can reduce your amount of consumption it could reduce the size of system that you need

The Role of Batteries in Grid-Tied Systems

so now most people are doing that metering because systems are more viable you know like in the last 10 years panels have dropped by 80% and battery pricing is starting to do the same so now we're able to generate lowcost a renewable energy and it's part of the energy mix of hydro and all the other things and wind but now you can generate it yourself and you can store it yourself and you can choose to run your home with it or you can participate in programs so when the power goes out a net metering system could also provide you functionality but in order to get power when the Grid's down you need a battery and the battery starts to run the home and uses the solar to run the loads in the home we're seeing a lot more of it because people see a lot more power interruptions and they have a perfectly good solar system on their roof that's doing nothing so with a battery your solar system continues to operate when the grid is gone The Battery Technology is expensive so it is an additional investment on top of the solar investment and so it is a nice to have but most people don't need the protection

Cost, Longevity, and Suitability

solar systems can be expensive and I get that question a lot people are like I just like to buy a system and they're like okay what what do you need it to do and they're like well I want to run my entire house um and so I go well it could be one panel could be 100 panels so the context of it is is really based on what your requirements are

Determining Solar System Costs

so when people are starting to look at costs associated with solar I usually recommend that they first do some personal investigation and but they should set a budget of money that they have allocated to pay for the technology and try and figure out if they're borrowing and what programs are available what rebates are available and talk to somebody who's knowledgeable

System Lifespan and Warranties

so all all of the technology has a design life panels come with 25-year warranties um there's no moving Parts they're made of glass aluminum so they're designed to last a really long time if they're installed properly and then uh racking systems most of them are made from uh aluminum or metal components that are also designed for to last a really really long time and can be recycled some batteries are designed to last for 10 or 15 years but the technology continues to improve

When Solar Might Not Be the Best Option

there are customers that we recommend that solar is probably not the right choice for them like if they live in an urban setting where the availability of solar is impacted by tall buildings trees neighboring facilities a new condo going up across the street they're potentially not a good candidate like when we Model A system we have to keep that in mind and say this system needs to exist for 20 30 years and we're designing and projecting that far out

Mitigating Risks and Broader Impact

so there are risks to installing solar the technologies have a lot of certifications that are required so that there's less danger present on the roof and potentially less high voltage but there's still a risk that you might have snow come off your roof if it lets go slides off your roof or if you have a wind event you could have panels that are damaged by debris but if there's an issue with the system they usually shut down and go into some sort of standby mode but your roof potentially could be affected by a roof leak ice damning so you need to be aware of uh if you choose a good installer that they are doing their best to make sure that the product is installed correctly and potentially that in involves doing building permits and structural assessments to make sure that you can mitigate any of the risks involved with installing solar

Addressing Installation Risks

I mean it's a very low risk like solar's been out for a long time and we've been building roofs for as long as man has been alive uh so the idea of being able to install a system so that you you have a very very low probability of having an issue with a roof leak that's just picking a good contractor and making sure they're using the materials correctly so the risk is very very low

The Wider Benefits of Solar Adoption

pretty much anybody could benefit from solar and if you have the capacity capabilities Financial Resources to do it the positive spin is the environment can also benefit the world will be in a better place other people will become more aware of what technolog is available so that spin-off effect is tremendous and that's what we've seen too with anybody put solar on they talk to their neighbors and they share the successes of the project to allow other people to see maybe that benefit can apply to me in most cases it does cuz most people like electricity and use electricity on a daily basis

Further Information

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Solar System Technical Specifications

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What are the basic components needed for a residential solar power system?

A: The basic components include a solar panel to capture sunlight, an inverter to convert the power into a usable form, and a racking system to mount the panels. For grid-tied systems, additional electrical components may be needed, and a battery system can be coupled for increased utility and backup power.

Q: How does net metering work, and what are its benefits?

A: Net metering allows grid-connected solar owners to generate electricity and send any excess back to the grid as a credit. In times of lower production (like winter or night), you draw from these credits. The goal is to offset 100% of your annual energy consumption from the grid, effectively achieving a zero bill over the year by generating as much energy as you use.

Q: Are there specific considerations when choosing local solar panel installers to mitigate risks?

A: Yes, it's crucial to choose a good installer. They should ensure the product is installed correctly, which includes obtaining building permits and conducting structural assessments. This helps mitigate risks like roof leaks, ice damming, or damage from wind events, ensuring the longevity and safety of your solar investment.