Solar Electric Systems:

Solar Electricity is also known as Photovoltaics or “PV” for short. PV systems can be mounted on a roof or on the ground. They provide electricity for buildings such as your home or office; they can also provide electricity for factories or utilities.

How it Works:

• Light from the sun strikes the PV module (also known as the PV panel) and makes DC electricity. DC means Direct Current. It is the same kind of electricity that batteries produce.
• Your home runs off AC electricity, or Alternating Current. To convert the DC electricity from the panels to the AC electricity for your home, we install an inverter (see the diagram). The inverter is usually installed in your garage or basement. We try to install your inverter as close as possible to your circuit breaker panel.
• The inverter will be wired to a new breaker in your panel which will feed electricity into your home, rather than pull it from the grid.
• During the day, this will cause your utility to meter to slow down or spin backwards. Now the solar panels are supplying your house with electricity, not the utility grid.
• You will only be charged for what you pulled from the grid at night if it is more than what you produced during the day. We can provide “customized systems” that provide close to 100% of your electric needs so that your utility bill will be negligible.

System Sizing:

For solar electric systems, a site survey and a detailed discussion with one of our Systems Designers will help determine what size of system will work for you. The size of your roof, budget, and what percentage of your electric bills you would like to offset. If you have a utility bill on hand or know your average monthly electric costs, contact us and we can help you determine what size system you will need.

Our Systems Designers can also help determine the numbers of solar panels that would work best for you. After collecting information about your existing ENERGY set-up and demands, we can size a system to suit your households domestic needs. Contact us today for a free quote!

Site Survey,What is it?

When you are ready, we can send a Systems Designer to your home to evaluate your site. The Systems Designer will record, measure, or analyze the following information:

• Roof design, shingle age and condition
• Orientation, height, and pitch of roof(s)
• Available roof space for solar panels, roof vent locations, skylights, etc
• Electric service panel suitability, including extra space for a new dedicated breaker
• Existing hot water set-up, including tank
• Tree shading and other factors that will affect system production
• Any other factors impacting system price and performance

After the Systems Designer has gathered this information he or she can discuss your potential options for a solar electric system. He or she will be able to provide you with the following information:

• Suggested number, type and manufacturer of solar panels or collectors
• Estimated energy production of the system
• Financial information including rebate details, tax credits, annual electric savings, and return on investment

• Any Solution To Power Outages?

  Yes!We’'ve Got The Solution!

  With a standard grid-tied solar electric system, if utility electric power becomes unstable or is lost, your solar electric system automatically turns off and your system does not produce electricity. This ensures that you do not send extra electricity onto the grid when people may be working on the power lines.We can offer three options for you to supplement your electricity loads when the power goes out.

  Sales Proposal

Battery Back-up

If you wish to have your solar electric system supply your home with electricity during a power outage, it is possible to install a bank of batteries that act as an emergency back-up. The energy stored in these batteries can feed electricity into critical electrical loads in your home (i.e. refrigerator, a few lights, well pump, etc).  Though it is a technologically feasible solution, the batteries can be expensive relative to other forms of back-up power. Please contact us if you are interested in getting a quote for a battery back-up system.

Generators

Another option is to supplement your electricity needs with a generator. Sunlight Solar is now installing sub-panels to give our customers the options to run critical loads when the power goes out. Customers can work with our team to identify important appliances that are necessary during power outages and we will help size a generator to meet those loads. This means that when power goes out, all you have to do is flip a switch to run only the most important of electricity users and start up your generator.

Inverter Auxiliary Power

The world’s largest manufacturer of solar electric inverters, recently announced a new line of inverters that will provide a small amount of daytime power during a power outage. This special line of inverters has a dedicated outlet that can provide up to 1,500 watts of power. Though this will not power the high electric-consuming items in your household, you can use it to charge your cell phone, laptop, etc.