10 Questions To Ask Before Choosing A Solar Company

Shopping for home solar can feel overwhelming because, at first glance, many companies look the same. How do you tell them apart and choose the right system and company for you? We put together a list of 10 questions to ask every solar company to help you make the best decision.

Question #1: Is this a firm quote or an estimation? 

Why: Decisions are better made with real numbers. The more accurately a company understands your energy needs, the better it can develop a quote that addresses your future electricity usage and optimizes your bill savings. If the quote is estimated and is liable to change after you’ve signed a contract, make sure you understand how the contract addresses changes and whether you have the option to approve changes or cancel.

Question #2: Do you guarantee the system’s performance? What happens if the system doesn’t produce as much as you promise?

Why: Most solar companies will offer a production guarantee, but the specifics matter. Confirm that the company will pay you the difference if your system underperforms, and that the rate is similar to the amount you pay your utility company.

Question #3: Between a lease, PPA and loan, which financing options can you offer me? Given my situation, would you recommend financing or buying the system outright?

Why: Some financing options are a better fit for certain households, depending on income level, credit score, tax appetite, and other factors. Make sure to shop around, and don’t get discouraged if one option isn’t viable for you. Another solar company might offer a different option that makes going solar possible for you. Understanding your options is key to making the best financial decision for your family.

Question #4: Who designed this system? Does someone double-check that it will fit on my roof?

Why: Many companies have their salespeople design systems, but this practice can result in systems that are oversized or that don’t meet the local building code. Ask who designed the system: was it someone with technical expertise who understands what is or is not possible to build? Is someone checking the work to make sure the system fits on your roof and is up to code?

Question #5: How do you forecast the system’s energy production? Do you take shading into account?

Why: A solar system’s actual electrical output is not equal to what the panels are rated to produce, so verify that the company has a robust methodology for forecasting your system’s actual production. The best forecasts take into consideration factors related to your specific roof (e.g. roof pitch, shading and angle to the sun) as well as factors related to your home’s location (e.g. solar energy potential and historical weather patterns).

Question #6: Given my roof’s shading and size, do you recommend a single inverter system, microinverters, or high efficiency panels?

Why: A standard solar system gives most households the best bang for their buck. This system typically includes a single inverter and ~250 watt panels. But, under certain circumstances, it may be worth the extra money to seek microinverters or high efficiency panels:

• Microinverters allow you to put solar panels on multiple roof faces, instead of in one or two contiguous rectangles, to accommodate atypical roof shapes or shade patterns.
• High efficiency panels (~325 watts) are useful for households with small rooftops.

Ask the solar company which system equipment will work best for your roof type.

Question #7: Do you have experience getting permits for installing solar in my area?

Why: Each jurisdiction has different building codes that affect your system design. Remember that your local municipality has the final say on whether your system gets interconnected to the electrical grid. If your installation doesn’t meet the local building code, you may be required to make costly modifications to your system before it can be interconnected.

Question #8: Who is installing the system? Do you assess each finished installation for quality?

Why: Solar systems have a lifetime of least 20 years on your rooftop, so make sure the installers will do the work right. What kind of licenses do they have? Does the company incentivize their installers to meet high quality standards on every single job?

Question #9: Do you conduct a roof inspection? What happens if I sign up with you and my roof doesn’t meet your requirements?

Why: A good rule of thumb is that your roof should have at least 10 years of life left before installing solar panels. If an inspection reveals that your roof doesn’t meet that requirement, your solar company may request that you reroof before installation. Ask whether the company’s contract contains a clause that lets you out of the agreement if your roof isn’t up to snuff, and whether the company will charge you a cancellation fee for doing so.

Question #10: How do you protect my roof against leaks?

Why: Ask about the hardware that the solar company uses to mount the solar panels. Is the seal watertight? Will it withstand wear and tear over the lifetime of the solar installation? Most importantly, make sure the installer is responsible for fixing any damage that the installation might cause to your roof so you’re not left high and dry (or, in the worst case scenario, damp).

Ready to start your solar research? Request an iQuote to learn whether Sungevity would be the right choice for you.

Sungevity is a global solar energy provider focused on making it easy and affordable for homeowners to benefit from solar power. See solar differently at www.sungevity.com.

Kids See Solar Differently

Someday, when our kids are in charge, the whole world will run on sunshine.

Finding The Sunny Side Of Winter

Susan and Gregg J., Sungevity solar homeowners from Milford, Massachusetts, snapped this photo after another snowstorm hit the northeast this record-breaking winter. They explained that their solar panels have reliably shed any accumulated snow within one day after the snow stopped falling – without any effort on their end – allowing them to take this beautiful shot. “And, since it has been so cold, our solar production has been fabulous, despite the winter weather!” they added.

Do you have your own snowy solar photos you’d like to share? Send them to us at content@sungevity.com.

It’s the storm of the century out there. How does that impact my solar production?

It’s been a busy winter for weathermen. First, Stormageddon drenched northern California in rain. Then, Snowpocalypse buried the Northeast in snow up to two feet deep. Now, frequent storms in the Boston area have crowned the winter of 2014-2015 as one of the top 10 snowiest in the city’s recorded history.

For some, wintry weather means school cancellations, flight delays and maybe even urban skiing. For solar homeowners, it may also cause worry that their solar system isn’t producing as expected. How and by how much did Stormageddon and Snowpocalypse, representing one rainy and one snowy weather event, impact solar production? That’s the question we set out to answer using actual production data collected from hundreds of Sungevity customers. (But first, a word from our lawyers: the following data has been anonymized and presented in aggregate to protect the privacy of our customers.)

We hypothesized that the data would follow these proven trends:

• Solar panels continue to generate power in cloudy and foggy whether, but operate most efficiently when under direct sunlight.
• Heavy snow that completely covers the panels can prevent the panels from producing electricity until the snow melts and slides off.

Now, let’s see what happened in these two examples.

Stormageddon: I Don’t Want To Miss A Rain

Stormageddon pelted California’s Bay Area with rain and high winds, with some areas seeing over 8 inches of rain. Let’s take a look at how Sungevity system production was impacted during the storm, as compared to the previous week.

Not surprisingly, 70% of Sungevity customers saw a decrease in their system production. However, the change was fairly modest: the average system produced 80% the electricity it had produced the week prior. More surprisingly, for those remaining 30% of customers who didn’t see a decrease in production, the week of the storm was actually a positive one: 157% increases, on average.

Table 1: Sungevity’s Bay Area System Performance During Stormageddon

Did System Production Increase or Decrease?	Percentage of Sungevity Systems	Average Change in System Production
Increased	30%	157%
Decreased	70%	80%

Why would rain increase solar production? Perhaps the rain cleaned the panels of dust that had built up during the long dry spell that northern California experienced before the storm. (We’ll look at best practices for cleaning your solar panels in a future blog post, so stay tuned.) Or perhaps the sun got jealous that the storm was trending on Twitter and decided to shine harder.

Snowpocalypse Now

Next, we examined solar production before and after Snowpocalypse to evaluate the impact that heavy snowfall has on our customer’s solar production. We compared Sungevity production data from four metro areas – Albany, Boston, Hartford, and Long Island – that were hit by the snowstorm and analyzed how precipitation levels impacted the amount of electricity each system generated.

The results are clear: solar production dropped significantly on the days that snow fell. At the storm’s peak on January 26th and 27th, aggregate production dropped to nearly zero in every area.

Figure 1-4: Sungevity System Performance in the Northeast During Snowpocalypse

  

Production also took a few days to bounce back after the storm, which presumably represents the time it took for the snow to melt and uncover the panels beneath. Production on Long Island, for example, returns to normal on January 31st, four days after the storm. But note that, in every case, production did bounce back: the data shows that many systems began producing electricity as soon as precipitation returned to zero.

The Bottom Line

It’s true: inclement weather will impact your system’s production. Snow has the most significant effect of all because it can create a physical barrier between sunlight and the solar panels. But in the end, when the clouds clear and the snow begins to melt, homeowners can expect their solar production to return to normal levels for the season.

But Don’t Worry, We’ve Got You Covered

This data demonstrates exactly why it’s important that solar companies have a robust methodology to take seasonal variation into consideration for predicting annual solar production. Almost all companies account for seasonal differences in temperature and solar radiation. Sungevity also incorporates an analysis of historical snowfall to provide an accurate prediction for our customers. And, we provide a Performance Guarantee so that our customers can have complete peace of mind, no matter the weather.

If you have already switched to solar, just remember: the low production that you experience this winter will be balanced out by the high production you will see in summer, when precipitation is at its lowest and the sun is higher in the sky. So, here’s to a sunny spring and summer!

Your Solar System This Winter

A Sungevity solar installation in Highland, NY sees snow for the first time.

The snow storm dubbed #snowpocalypse that hit the East Coast on Monday may not have lived up to its hashtag, but even a little snow can make life more complicated. On the bright side, your solar system doesn’t require any additional maintenance to run smoothly in snowy weather. Just keep these simple tips in mind to keep your system operating safely all winter long.

Be aware of snow and ice accumulating on your solar panels

After heavy snowfall, snow or ice may accumulate on your rooftop and cover the panels. Please do not try and remove the snow yourself – we don’t want you to slip and fall. The snow will slide off on its own as the sun warms up the panels, and the system will go back to producing electricity. Please use caution and good judgment when walking under or around the panels while there is snow on your rooftop. Try to avoid parking your car, or keeping other valuables, under the roof’s edge.

Don’t worry that your system is producing less electricity these months

You may see your system’s production decrease these winter months, and that’s normal! We took seasonal variation into consideration when we designed your system and estimated your annual production. You have the upcoming summer production to look forward to and Sungevity’s production guarantee on your side.

Consider these energy saving tips to make the most of your clean electricity

Using energy more efficiently this winter can also help keep your utility bills under control. Before turning on your heater, check your ducts for leaks. Make sure to close your damper when the fireplace is not in use. And our favorite: take advantage of sunny days to heat your house. Open the curtains on your south-facing windows during the day and close them at night to lock the warmth in.

No matter the forecast, remember that we have your back

Don’t hesitate to email us at customerservice@sungevity.com if you have any questions or concerns.

Hello, New Mexico and Vermont

It’s official: we now can help homeowners in New Mexico and Vermont switch to solar and have some fun along the way.

Adding New Mexico and Vermont expands our footprint to 12 states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Washington, D.C. We also serve the Netherlands and Australia.

The expansion coincides with growing momentum for solar power in the United States. The number of solar panel installations in the country surged 73% to a record 1.3 GW in the first quarter of 2014, according to GTM Research and SEIA (Solar Energy Industries Association). According to US Solar Market Insights analysis, residential installations have outpaced commercial for the first time since 2002. A separate GTM Research report ranked Sungevity among the top three residential solar installers in the U.S.

New Mexico and Vermont were both identified as markets with an active interest in and opportunity for residential solar energy solutions. New Mexico ranks #10 among U.S. states in the number of solar-powered houses, reflecting residents’ receptivity to solar-based energy. Vermont is experiencing above-average electricity rates, a streamlined permitting process for rooftop solar, and a new policy increasing the net metering cap from 4% to 15% of a utility’s peak load, which enables solar customers to receive more credit for energy they send back to the grid.

“From the beginning, we have called this a rooftop revolution, and the growth we’ve seen in the industry, as well as for our company, bears witness to this. In delivering homeowners a hassle-free way to estimate, design and install a solar solution for their home, we have ultimately doubled our own sales,” said Andrew Birch, Sungevity’s Chief Executive Officer. “Bringing our services to New Mexico and Vermont furthers our mission of strategically increasing our footprint to help homeowners get relief from rising energy costs while simultaneously reducing reliance on fossil fuels.”

Homeowners in New Mexico and Vermont can now request a Sungevity iQuote by filling out an online form at http://www.sungevity.com/get-your-iquote. Sierra Club members in both states who purchase solar installations from Sungevity can earn a $750 discount for themselves, as well as a $750 donation to the Sierra Club through its participation in the Sungevity.org cause marketing initiative. The Sierra Club is one of nearly 115 nonprofits participating in the Sungevity.org program, which has donated more than $1.5 million to nonprofit partners since its inception three years ago in return for referring business to their members.

“Our partnership with Sungevity allows our members to take personal action toward a cleaner planet while doing something good for themselves too,” said Michael Brune, Sierra Club Executive Director. “Home solar is good for everyone, and we couldn’t be happier to expand our partnership into these two new states.”

New York Times, Meet Danny Kennedy

(Beth Yarnelle Edwards for The New York Times) The Sungevity founders (from left) Alec Guettel, Danny Kennedy and Andrew Birch at a home installation.

 

The Secret to Solar Power was published in the New York Times today.

 

So what’s the secret? Spoiler alert: It’s missionary-mercenaries. It’s the color orange.  It’s Sungevity’s founder, Danny Kennedy.

 

‘As Kennedy puts it in his passionate but rational way: “Think about it this way. We’re killing people in foreign lands in order to extract 200-million-year-old sunlight. Then we burn it . . . in order to boil water to create steam to drive a turbine to generate electricity. We frack our own backyards and pollute our rivers, or we blow up our mountaintops just miles from our nation’s capital for an hour of electricity, when we could just take what’s falling free from the sky.”

That’s a hard argument to refute.‘ – Jeff Himmelman, New York Times

 

What’s your favorite quote?

 

 

Sunny Valentine

Shivers, light and crisp, fleeting and hot. Air, cool and fresh, zesty and alive, dancing playfully. A delicious burning, an upwelling of yes, a candid frolic of splendor all simmer and burst forth. Ears, eyes, smile because they simply can’t not. Excitement, expectation, warmth, unbridled potential and untended appreciation.  Life, it seems, is amazing.

 

We all know the feeling. It’s been sung about, painted about, and written about for centuries. People have paid for it, lived for it, and died for it. It’s hard to describe but you know it when you feel it. It’s being in sun.

 

That’s right, being outside in the sunshine. It feels like nothing else.  (Except, err, maybe love gets a little close…but it’s really not the same.)

 

Valentine’s Day means different things to different people. To us it means appreciation – of each other, our world and the sun that powers it. We wish you a very sunny Valentine’s, and heartily suggest you step outside for just a moment, no matter where you are, and bask in the light. Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

(P.S. We just sung a love song asking our customers to be our valentines. For best viewing experience, please mute your speakers 🙂

 

Solar Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Getting a new solar system is exciting, but even more exciting perhaps is the moment of interconnection: when the meter finally gets to spin backwards.  J.A. Savage (she goes by “Ja”) is a customer of ours who is a journalist by trade.  More specifically, she writes about energy policy for California Current.  Ja decided to celebrate her big moment with an “energizing” ribbon cutting ceremony.

 

With a bold red ribbon taped from one side of her AC point of connection to the conduit going back to the meter, Ja was ready for action.   Just before flipping the back-feeding breaker, she swung her scissors out with a flourish and sliced apart the ribbon (in full OSHA compliant fashion). It was a beautiful moment.  Tears of joy were shed by all in attendance and in the faint distance one could almost hear her appliances breathe sighs of relief over their new cleaner, greener power source.

If you’re anything like me, right about now you’re thinking, “What ceremony is complete without tasty treats?”  Rest assured, there were tasty treats a-plenty.  Ja served up  homemade organic banana-walnut bread to commemorate the moment and it was DELICIOUS.  To be fair, I wasn’t present to verify the degree of deliciousness, but our Field Manager Benjamin M. says it was by far the best banana bread he’s ever had, and Benjamin is a trustworthy type of guy.

 

You can file this post under: This is why we love our customers.  If you don’t have any additional room in the T section of your file box then go ahead and file it under We have the best customers in the world.

 

It’s not just Ja that we love —  we love all of our customers.  Let us know if you’re having an energizing ceremony that you’d like us to attend.  If we can make it there then the banana-walnut bread is on us 🙂

Lost Dog. Jack London Square. Is She Yours?

Internet friends, help us spread the word!  Someone out there is missing a dog we like to call, “Honey, the Sungevity Superdog.”

Blake (one of our Project Managers) and some coworkers found her in Jack London Square last Friday. After getting to know her a bit they named her Honey, which is not an homage to a classic Mariah Carey song, but rather a hint at how sweet she is!  They gave posters to the Oakland SPCA, and put posters all over downtown Oakland, but so far no one has called.

 

Honey is approx 1 1/2 yrs old, a mixed breed, and approximately 50 pounds.  She is not microchipped and her collar didn’t have a tag on it.  According to people in the area, Honey had been seen the previous week wandering around all over Oakland, Telegraph/29th, Broadway/30th, Broadway/10th.

 

Unfortunately, the current Sungevity Foster Parent can not keep her any longer and she needs a new home ASAP (ideally by tomorrow).  Can you help us get the word out and connect Honey to her rightful owner?  She’s a total sweetheart and someone out there must be heartbroken that she’s gone.  Please spread this blog post to all of your social networks if you live in the Bay Area or have a lot of Bay Area friends.

 

Honey is very friendly with kids, babies, adults (men and women), and comfortable with noise.  She is house trained, but currently in heat.  She is great in the car and okay on a leash (she pulls a bit, but not too bad).  Most importantly, she loves to give hugs, cuddle and play fetch.

 

If we can’t find her owner then we will need someone to foster her or adopt her.  If you’re interested then please leave a comment and I will connect you to Blake.