Choosing the Best Solar Energy System for Your Needs
Congratulations! You’ve decided to go solar. A solar power system is a smart financial and environmental investment for your future. So, next you’ll need to decide which solar system best suits your needs. Purchasing a solar system is a big investment and you’ll want to compare and contrast your options.
Did you know that “buying solar” means you’re really “buying electricity?” So, it’s important to know the difference between DC watts and kilowatt-hours (kWh). When comparing systems’ performances, you first want to look for kWh output.
Here are some other important steps to follow in this exciting process:
Evaluate the panels
This is an extremely critical step because all panels are made for one purpose – converting sunlight directly into electricity – but not all panels are created equal. Different technologies and different manufacturers yield different results, delivering different amounts of energy over time. These variations in quality and performance are what make certain solar panels and installers superior to others.
We recently announced our newly expanded partnership with SunPower, a global leader in solar innovation and sustainability. We are now exclusively offering SunPower’s premium solar panel technology to all of our residential solar customers.
Our clients know that one of our core missions since founding Sunrise has been to consistently create the best solar energy systems possible, embracing the most advanced technologies, once they’ve demonstrated proven value to solar customers. Therefore, we are now exclusively offering SunPower’s premium Equinox AC solar panel technology to all our residential customers– they’re just that good.
Which system will perform the best for you?
This is the next step and figuring it out is not as daunting as you may think. Our experienced Sunrise Solar Solutions team will help you become familiar with the key metrics necessary to determine your decision.
Let’s start with efficiency. Naturally, you want the most efficient solar panel possible. The higher the efficiency of the panel, the more sunlight will be converted into DC electricity, and the less area you will need to generate a high amount of energy. More efficient panels translate into less material, fewer panels and less space taken up on your roof.
The next step is to check the degradation rate of your panels. All solar panels degrade over the 25 to 40 years that you have them producing power. Accurate predictions of your return on investment requires an accurate prediction of the decreased power output over time. Degradation rates must be known to predict power delivery. Degradation rates vary from as little as .25% to .70% per year. This would result in your panels delivering after 25 years as much as 92% or as little as 80% of the power you paid for upfront.
A warranty is also always important when investing large sums of money, and investing in solar panels is no different. The components that make up your system carry warranties from different manufacturers that range from a 10-year to a 25-year warranty. Solar installers typically only offer a 5-year system warranty. Put all of this together as the system ages — and it will be up to you to contact the manufacturer and repair the warrantied component on your own. Imagine purchasing a car and when it fails not going to the dealership — and instead going to someone for an alternator and someone else for a steering column. We only use components from SunPower, which offers a full system 25-year wrap-around warranty so our customers have one person to contact and complete piece of mind.
Want to know more? Sunrise Solar Solutions is here to help. We eliminate the guess work and instead offer the best and most affordable options for your solar needs. We know that ultimately you want to get the most out of your system for your money. We’ll work with you to provide all the information you’ll need, including an estimate of your annual electrical production. You can schedule a complimentary home assessment by calling us at 914-762-7622 or by visiting our website http://sunrisesolarllc.com/.
