How do solar panels actually work?
Solar panels are made of highly excitable, conductive materials. When the sun’s rays hit the solar panels, the reaction creates direct current (DC) electricity. Since most homes and businesses use alternating current (AC) electricity, your solar-generated DC energy will pass through an inverter to become AC electricity. Then it flows through your property’s wiring and behaves just like the power you’ve been using your whole life.
Is solar energy reliable and powerful enough for my home or business?
The only time your solar panels stop generating electricity is when the sun’s not out. That means at night and during eclipses.
The sun is constant. It rises and sets pretty routinely. It’s more predictable and reliable than power plants, which often experience outages several thousand times every year.
Will my solar panels generate electricity during cloudy, rainy, or snowy days? What about at night?
Your solar panels don’t need sunshine, per se, to generate electricity as much as they need direct, unobstructed access to the sun’s UV rays.
Similar to how your skin still tans when it’s overcast outside, your solar panels will still generate electricity during cloudy, rainy, or snowy days — they just won’t produce as much energy as they do during clear days.
Solar panels do not generate electricity at night since the sun’s not out.
What is net metering?
See, your solar panels will produce a lot of energy during the day when the sun’s the strongest. You most likely won’t use all this solar-generated power. Your excess solar energy will feed back to the grid and help supply power for the utility company.
Your utility company will pay for your solar-generated electricity by giving you credits to lower your monthly electricity bill.
So at the end of the month, you’ll only pay for the net amount of electricity.
How much will I really save on my electricity bills every month?
That depends on how much electricity your home or business uses, where you live, the rate your utility company charges for electricity, and several other factors.
How will switching to solar energy help me budget better?
Right now you don’t have any control over the electricity rate your utility company charges. And trends show that electricity rates will continue to rise.
When you install solar panels on your property, you’ll be generating more electricity than you use from the utility company at the price of free.
Then you’ll also generate more than enough to sell back to the utility company as credits to further lower your monthly bills. No more surprise electricity bills to tank your budget again.
How soon will I notice a difference in my electricity bills after switching to solar energy?
Your solar panels will start generating usable energy for your property the day they’re installed. Depending on when you receive your electric bill, you could start noticing lower bills the very first month.
Are solar panels difficult to maintain?
Solar panels are easier to maintain than your property’s HVAC, appliances, and maybe even your cell phone. That’s because solar panels have zero moving parts to break.
The most you’ll have to do to maintain your solar panels is make sure they’re free of dust, pollen, leaves, and other debris. Whatever’s obstructing your panels will make for less efficient energy production.
You’ll also need to trim branches that may get in the way of your solar panels and dust off heavy snow. That’s not so hard, right?
Will I ever need to replace my solar panels?
Reputable solar providers now offer solar panels with manufacturer’s warranties that last between 20–30 years.
Since solar panels are so easy to maintain and have zero moving parts, they’ll keep generating energy for you home long enough to see a sizable return on your investment. Newer models have expected lifespans of 50+ years.
How long do solar panels take to install? Do you have to rewire my house?
Installing your solar array may take two to a few hours, depending on the size of your solar array, your mounting choice, and your property.
Your solar provider will not have to rewire your house as all the wiring stays exactly the same.
Your new solar system will consist of a few additional parts to your existing electricity system: your solar panels, the inverter, and your new two-way utility meter.
Who’s saving the most money by switching to solar energy?
Thanks to new solar loans and solar leasing programs, middle class Americans are saving the most money every month by switching to solar energy.
That’s because middle class families spend a large portion of their monthly budget on electricity. By lowering that expense, or at least getting it to a low, predictable amount each month, families can make a big difference in their savings.
How does solar energy benefit the environment?
Solar power is a renewable resource, which means there’s so much of it freely available we never have to dig for coal or refine other toxic energy sources just to keep the lights on.
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