Chapter 12-Solar buyer checklist

Chapter 12-Solar buyer checklist
This is a quick checklist to fill out before contacting with solar power installers and
suppliers.
a) Check that part of your roof that faces south is unshaded from 9am-4pm.(Actually,facing south is best practice in the Northern Hemisphere.However,you can get away with 90 degree each side of South without too much loss in efficiency.)
b)Make sure that if you are connected to the grid and can have net metering.See DSIREusa.org
c)Roof area.The rules of thumb is 100ft2 per KW of solar power.So if you want a 1kw system,you would need at least 100ft2 of unshaded roof.
d)Check your annual sunlight.Less sunny states like NYC and NJ have many solar installations.Solar power can work in less sunny areas as well.
e)An important thing is to own your house,or be planning to buy one.Solar panels can be fitted onto existing houses.They are easily integrated into new hourses.However,they are a long term investment and cannot be easily transported.If you don\'t own your own house,and want to explore solar energy,then you might want to look at portable solar panels.
f)Check that your length of warranty will guarantee your solar power investment-10-25 years for solar electric panels.
g)Look for competent solar installers in an approved directory.
h)Check what rebates are available to you and how to cliam them.