10 Check Points If Switching To Solar Energy: There are a lot of things that should be kept in consideration while switching to solar energy and you need to do proper research to figure out the best of solar. This will help you to find out the correct answers to your questions like which solar company is actually providing you with the best options. Now, let’s lookout for some of the points to be kept in mind while looking for the solar system in the market.
Important Points for Switching to Solar Energy
1. Always be assured about your total energy consumption and the retailer’s rates.
In most of the areas of Australia, there are several different “Demand Rates” according to the usage and each one has a different formula to calculate the cost of the system. For example, the energy usage during peak hours has higher rates as compared to the energy usage in off-peak hours. It can be seen that some of the demand rates are super high when you use the most energy and according to a rule of thumb, it is likely going to cost more in the future. So, switching to solar energy implies that you can actually save more on your electricity bills and you will get a better return on investment in future.
2. Is It Worth Spending Money on Solar batteries?
Always keep in mind that you should consider solar batteries if you want to construct a self-contained home or a property that lies under an area where the grid connections are viable. If you still want to continue with staying “on the grid”, then you will receive electricity at night from the grid itself, just like you get it right now.
So, the most important fact to be noticed is that a grid-connected solar system will give much better ROI on your investment and help you to install a system at a lower cost rather than installing a system with batteries.
3. Do You Have Any Idea How Much Energy Your Home Requires Every Month?
A growing family having more appliances generally requires more energy usage, but if you have fewer family members or have college-age kids who are ready to leave the home, then you can expect your energy costs from the grid to go down, and stay down in the future. Also, making some of the energy-efficient changes in your home will help you to control your normal electricity usage, changes such as replacing the bulbs with LEDs and replacing the old appliances (fridge, washing machine, etc.) with other energy-efficient appliances or making other changes and upgrades will eventually lower your costs. You can request a free solar assessment from your local installer so as to help you with accurate usage calculating and the size of the solar Power system as well.
4. North Facing Roof Area Or Statue?
If you are looking for solar energy in Perth WA then solar systems should be placed on the north, north-east or northwest-facing area on your rooftop. To be on the fact, the direction on the solar panels is solely responsible for bringing out the good energy production but it’s not as important as you might think (or insisted by the salesperson). So, if you set the position of the panels facing the east or west will also work, and even if you set in the south-east and south-west will also give acceptable results, too.
5. Do I Need Approval From The Council So As To Install Solar Panels
Of course not, you are not required to obtain authorization for installing solar panels on your rooftop except if you are altering an estate property but It is always advisable to get approval from strata management if you are living in strata managed property. SA properties always require council approval for solar installation if you are putting panels on the tilt brackets.
6. Always Cover Your Solar Investment
Once the solar system is installed, you may need to consult your home insurance company so as to amend the insurance policy with newly installed solar panels. You might need to pay a bit extra for covering the solar panels along with the policy, but at the same time protecting your system from fires or other damage is very important.
7. Study Over The Solar Warranties
Many kinds of warranties are offered by solar installers nowadays but studying the warranties will protect you from future disappointments.
Solar system warranties that are normally advised is
- The panel performance warranty – 25 years
- Panel manufacturer warranty – 10 to 15 years
- String inverter manufacturer warranty period – 5 to 10 years
- Microinverter manufacturer warranty – 12 to 25 years
Solar Secure system comes along with a full 5 years system warranty period.
Solar Secure offers around a 5 years’ full system warranty tenure that covers almost everything that requires attention for the period.
Always remember that neither of these warranties covers theft, fire, or other damage, so make sure that you have your solar power system added to your home content policy.
8. How Long Do The Solar Panels Last?
Solar panels do not include any moving parts and do not provide any wear and tear protection. Generally, a solar panel lasts around 30 years or more and it loses half per cent (0.5%) conversion efficiency level annually. Little maintenance services like hosing the panels off a few times during the year and keeping obstructions off from the solar panels will help in generating steady output.
9. Will The Panels Harm Roof?
This is the question that has been asked most of the time. Nowadays Solar panels are installed by using specialized and upgraded solar mounting kits. These solar installation mounting kits are available according to the roof types that ensure solar panels are securely placed on the rooftop without damaging the existing infrastructure. Apart from these advantages, using the kits you may find that the room(s) of your homes that come directly under the solar panel installation may appear more cooler in summer and warmer as compared to winter.
10. Your Roof Type Can Affect Cost
Installation cost depends on the type of roof you have. It might cost you a bit high to install solar panels on terracotta tiles than installing the panels on plain interlocking tiles roofs. Actually, the terracotta area is far more fragile as compared to any other tile type, so additional time and care are needed to ensure that any extension points of the roof are completely and properly sealed.
Always be in touch with our solar experts before you get to engage in a solar panel installation. You might find that pricing is similar, so you will have to make a decision depending on several factors which often includes solutions offered, the reviews of services provided, solar installer reputation in the market, the amount of help you get while figuring out the government solar rebates, and so on.
If your solar expert is honest and the company is reputable, then they will likely give you this last piece of advice as well. Good advice also includes the conservative sales and better energy output on the systems they sell. At Future Solar WA, we strive to achieve the best possible results and services for our customers rather than just selling a solar panel system.
After looking at all the required information about solar installation, taking the next steps for the installation process would be very easy.