Faq

Solar panels can save you money by using space on your roof to produce sustainable energy right from your home. Our solar panelshave a low-profile design and no visible mounting hardware. You can expect the following benefits from going solar:

Savings

Homes with solar panels rely less on the grid by capturing energy directly from the sun. Homeowners can offset their energy usage with solar panels and reduce their energy bills. By installing a solar panel system, you can take control of your energy usage and lower your costs.

Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Electricity from the grid is generated by a mix of coal, natural gas, nuclear and some renewable energy depending on where you live. Solar gives you a choice in where your energy comes from. By switching to solar, you will be reducing your carbon emissions and environmental impact of energy use.

Protect Yourself from Rising Electricity Rates.

Electricity rates continue to increase over time – since 1970 the price of electricity has increased over 3% per year on average. In contrast, energy from your solar system has a fixed price. With solar, you won’t have to worry about how the price of your electricity will change in the future.

Increase Your Home Value

Purchasing and installing solar is an investment that increases the value of your home. Studies have shown that homes with solar are more appealing to homebuyers and sell both faster and at a premium price compared to homes without solar.

Secure Your Home from Outages

While solar alone does not function during a power outage, pairing your solar panels with a Powerwall allows you to recharge with sunlight and keep your appliances running even when the grid goes down. Our battery is designed to integrate with solar panels and can store energy generated during the day, for use at night or during unexpected outages and grid shut offs.

A solar panel system is made up of three basic parts: solar panels, an inverter, and a solar gateway. Solar panels capture the sunlight hitting your roof and convert it into electricity. A solar inverter connected to your solar panels converts this electricity into the clean energy that can power the lights and appliances in your home. The solar energy powering your home decreases the amount of energy you need to draw from the grid, lowering your electricity bill.

We connect your solar system to your home’s electric panel, like other circuits in your house. At night, the solar system will turn off and your home will be powered by the electric grid. During this time, your electric utility’s meter will record how much energy your home is using, as it does today.

Alternatively, you can use battery to store the excess solar your home generates and use this energy at night, which would enable you to achieve a self-powered home.

When the sun is shining, the power that is generated by the solar system on your roof will flow into your home’s electric panel. As your system generates more power than your home can immediately consume, your electric meter will reflect as such. Some utility meters will stand still, while bidirectional meters will spin backwards when solar energy is powering your home. Your electric bill will show zero usage during that time. During a sunny summer day, your solar panels may produce more power than your home needs. At that time, your solar system will be fully powering your home and all the excess power will flow backward through your electric meter, where it will be consumed by other houses and businesses connected to the grid. Learn more about credits for excess solar.

Your solar panel system is outfitted with durable solar panels and high-quality electrical equipment. You can expect your solar panel system to continue to produce clean energy for years (20 to 25 years).

We have in-house crews in our service areas across the US. Many issues can be resolved remotely by our technical support line. If your system has an issue requiring onsite support, you will be able to schedule a time for our crew, certified technician or subcontractor to come to your home to resolve your issue.

Our solar systems do not require regular maintenance. You may, however, choose to occasionally clean your solar panels to improve energy generation.

If you decide to clean your solar system, you can rinse your panels with water from a garden hose or safely use soapy water with a non-abrasive sponge. Doing this once or twice a year can improve solar production by 3% to 5%.

Choosing the right solar system size for you depends on a few things – where your house is located, how much electricity your home uses per year and the local price of electricity from your utility. Before you order, We will show you the system size that is expected to save you the most money based on your inputs. You may decide to choose a different size if you expect your electricity usage to change.

There may be days throughout the year where you consume more energy than your solar system produces, and days where you consume less. Many electric utilities add up all the excess energy that you generate during the year and subtract it from your total energy consumption during that year. You only have to pay the difference. This is called net metering.

Some utilities will not give you full credit for generating electricity beyond what you consumed that year. Therefore, to maximize your savings, you want to base your system size on your expected electricity usage, without generating a lot of net excess over the year that you can’t use.

Our recommended system size on your order is based on offsetting your current energy usage, determined by the average electric bill that you have. If you plan to add an electric vehicle or other electric appliances in the future, you may want to consider getting a larger system size.

Net Energy Metering (NEM) is a program most utilities offer which allows you to send extra energy generated by your home’s solar panels back to the grid for a credit, which will be applied to your future electricity bills. With NEM billing, you only pay your utility for this “net” energy usage. During the day, your solar panels may generate more energy than you can immediately consume at that time. With NEM, you’ll earn credits for this excess energy. When your home energy consumption is greater than your solar system’s output, your utility will apply these credits towards powering your home with energy from the grid.

It’s like cellphone rollover minutes—NEM allows you to “rollover” these energy credits to when you use more energy than your solar panels are generating and/or your battery has stored.

Our solar power systems are grid-tied and will send excess solar energy to the grid. This also applies to customers with batteries, who can take advantage of Net Energy Metering after their batteries system is full. Please keep in mind that Net Energy Metering laws vary widely from state-to-state.

After LC Renewable Energy Solution design or installs your solar system, you will still be connected to the grid and have an account with your electric utility provider. Your rate plan may change post-installation as required by your utility provider.

Solar can greatly reduce your electric bill, but you will often still have a residual bill. The size of your utility bill depends on many factors including local utility rates, the size of your system relative to your energy needs and what time of day you use energy.

The cost of energy varies widely by state and rate plan, which is important when considering solar panels and the value of solar energy. Energy rate plan structures, the time of day when energy is consumed from the grid vs. solar and the plan’s net metering rate all impact how quickly you may be able to recoup your initial investment by producing clean, renewable energy. Depending on your location, there may be federal and state or local incentives available to you.