One of the most important decisions you need to make is to switch to renewable energy, and once you do, it’s time to call in the company to have your new solar panels installed. However, there are several things to consider before installing solar panels for your home, and in this article we will discuss the top 7 of them
Is Your House At An Optimal Location For Installing Solar Panels?
Although a good company will check that for you, it is also important to know whether solar panels are actually going to be optimal for your house. If your house is located somewhere beneath the shade or in an area that rarely has any sunlight, then solar panels may not be the best option for you. Good installation companies such as Sun Power in the United States, usually have an experts panel that would help check your house on site and design the perfect solution for you.
Are You Planning This For Long Term Or Short Term?
If you’re planning to install a renewable energy source to power up your new home, it’s surely going to bring you numerous benefits. However, installation costs aren’t one of them. Although you may be able to see a dramatic change in your utility bills, covering up the entire cost of your installation may take more than 5 years, and if you’re planning to shift to that new beach house you bought a few months later, it’s probably better to just have the solar panels installed there.
Cheaper Isn’t Always Better
Chances are if you’ve found a vendor that is selling solar panels that are ridiculously cheaper than others in the market, it’s probably because the solar panels being used there are either defective or of inferior quality. From the outside, it is very difficult to tell if the solar panel is of high or low quality, and some shady companies take advantage of that. Low quality means low power generation, which means your investment isn’t going to reap you a lot of rewards (if any!)
Warranties Are Key
One major benefit of using renewable energy as your power source is the long time warranty you get for your installation. However, in order to optimize your investment, you should check for companies that give you the longest warranty possible. If it’s less than 15 years, you should probably be more careful, because maintenance of solar panels is only economical if you’re covered by warranty. Be sure to check what types of warranties are covered as well, some companies try to skip the details on warranty and give vague information, so don’t hesitate to ask.
Whatever You Do, Don’t Do It Yourself!
Solar panel installation is no joke, and one wrong move could possibly electrocute you, or even set the entire house on fire (no, really!). Solar panel installation deals with a high amount of wiring and complex design patterns for optimal performance, so if you aren’t trained for this task, it’s better to leave it to the professionals; Don’t try to save a bit of cash and risk your life for it.
What Is Your Roof Type?
One of the most important things to consider before installing solar panels is to check what type of roof you have for your house. Solar panels are generally installed on the roof, but some roof types may not be suitable for installing new solar panels, sometimes because they are unable to hold the weight of the panels, or maybe it is too fragile for the installation. Either way, the solar company would probably tell you this during inspection, but it is always better to check it out yourself as well.
Never settle for just one quote
It’s a big decision, and there are numerous companies that can help you with that. Don’t just get a quote from some random company and have your installation done by them. Explore the market, get multiple quotes, get expert opinion, find resources on the internet, analyze all the variables and then once you’re ready choose the most reasonable package that you can find from the options you have (remember, cheaper isn’t always better). There’s no need to rush things, trust the process and everything will go smoothly.