Becoming an Environmentally Conscious Citizen

Residential solar system installation is an excellent way to offset the cost of electricity in your home. In the right situation, and with a large enough solar system, you could reduce your electricity needs to power your entire home without buying any power. However, there are some things that you need to consider before going that far.

Solar Systems

There are many companies offering residential solar system installation services, but finding one to work with can take some research. Installing a few panels on a home's roof is one thing, but designing a solar system that will power the home efficiently requires an experienced solar company.

When considering adding solar energy collection to your home, you also need a controller to manage the electricity coming from the panels, a storage system, and a converter to change the stored DC current to AC power for use in your home. 

All of these pieces are vital, and missing a step along the way could cause the residential solar system installation to not work correctly, and could be unsafe to use. To ensure the system works properly and will provide what you need, look for an installer that has good reviews, is well established, and is willing to talk to you about the system and the requirements, so you feel more comfortable throughout the process.

Solar Panel Placement

A residential solar system installation starts with determining the best way to get coverage for the solar panels on your property. Many times placing the panels on the roof is the best option, but the installer should take some time and check the site to determine where the most sunlight is at, and how to optimize the coverage throughout the day. 

Mounting solar panels on the house is fine, as long as there is a way to point those panels to the southern sky where the sun spends the most time during the day. If the home does not have a south-facing roof, you can use stands on the ground that allow the panels to aim south—and some systems have tracking capability in them, so the panels follow the sun throughout the day.

The contractor will also look over the house and property to determine where the storage batteries, controller, and converter should go and lay out a system that will work best given your situation. Once all the design and layout work is complete, the contractor will go over it with you before they start installing the system. 

After that, the residential solar system installation can begin on the property. Once the system is complete, your installer will go over the system with you, showing you how to control it, what maintenance is necessary, and how to identify problems that may require the contractor to come back to the property.