Four Reasons Why Building Your Own Solar Panels Is a BAD Idea
If you Google solar panels, most of the top results are for websites selling DIY solar panel kits. The same search on YouTube is filled with videos on making your own solar panels.
While building and installing your own solar panels might seem like a good way to save some money, there are several reasons why doing it yourself is a bad—sometimes even dangerous—idea. Here are five reasons why you should work with a professional solar panel installer:
1) You will pay more for materials.
Professional solar panel installers are able to obtain a higher quality product at a lower price. The panels you get at Home Depot or other online retailers are, to say the least, a much lower quality. They are less efficient and will generate less electricity, meaning that you will have to install more panels to generate the same amount of energy, which will ultimately cost you more than a high-quality solar panel you get from a professional company.
2) Doing your own electrical can be dangerous.
This might seem obvious to some, but you’d be surprised how many people think that can do their own electrical work without having any formal training. Unless you are an electrician, installing your own electrical devices, much less a set of solar panels, can be incredibly dangerous. A professional installer will have both roofing and electrical experience, and will know how to safely install your solar panels.
3) Protecting your purchase through the warranty
Companies can be picky about their warranty. If you install your own solar panels, even the smallest mistake can void your warranty. Then you’re stuck with a system that might not be working right, has no warranty protection, and still cost you some money to install while not generating any income.
4) Paperwork, Paperwork, Paperwork
It’s great to use green solar technology and do your part to improve the environment and reduce our dependence on oil. But there’s also a financial benefit, with federal, state and local solar tax credits and grants, not to mention getting Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs).
Obtaining those tax credits, grants and SRECs can be a bureaucratic nightmare. There are numerous forms to fill out, certifications to be obtained, and other hurdles that the homeowner might have to jump through. And if you make a mistake on any of your forms, you have to start all over from the beginning. Doing all this yourself can add months—sometimes years—to the time it takes for you to see a financial benefit of your solar panel system.
A professional solar installer can help you get every single cent you deserve from your solar panels, while installing a higher quality product safely.
We don’t like to brag too much (after all, this blog is about more than our company), but here at Solar Energy World, we take pride in helping our customers through every step of the solar installation process. From the first free solar analysis, through the installation and inspection, to the processing of paperwork, we provide customers with a seamless experience that makes switching to solar easier.
Far easier than doing it yourself.
Solar Energy World Makes the News! And Teaches Children About the Environment!
As you might’ve seen, Solar Energy World was recently featured on WBAL in Baltimore. A few weeks ago, we presented the children of Bryn Mawr Little School, the winners of our 40 Day Earth Day video contest with the prize of $2500 that will support future science education. We also donated supplies to grow a community garden.
Here’s a link to the news report: http://www.wbaltv.com/video/23836058/
Congrats to the children and their teachers! And remember, we need to think about saving the earth every day…not just on Earth Day.
Prince Georges County Homeowner Reduces Carbon Footprint and Saves Cash
One of the systems we’re particularly proud of is a unique ground install in Bowie, MD. The Blackwells, the family who hired Solar Energy World, were facing a rather steep $7,550 annual electricity bill.
The Blackwell’s are the owners of a large single-family home built in 2006 in Bowie, Maryland. The two-story home sits upon an approximate 40,000 square foot lot. So, with available space, the Blackwell’s explored the use of ground mounted solar panels to reduce their energy costs.
Our solar analysis showed that the Blackwells that it pays to go solar. The family opted for a 10.32kW solar electric system that includes 48 – 215 watt ground mounted panels. After the federal tax credit, state grant and local property tax credits, the Blackwell’s expect their solar panel system to cost nearly 50% off of the total installation cost.
In addition to the government incentives, the Blackwell’s will be saving $2,471 per year on their electricity bills and earning $4,435 per year by selling their Solar Renewable Energy Credits; making their ground mounted solar electric system pay back in less than 6 years.
We also installed an Enphase monitoring system along with the solar panels. The monitoring system showed that in just the first 10-days of operation, the system produced 505 kilowatt hours; which could power 1,529 light bulbs, 505 computers and 15 homes for one day.
Powering up the Blackwell’s solar panel system also reduced their carbon footprint, with a carbon offset of 865lbs. Within the same 10-day period the offset equivalent of planting 10 trees, not consuming 45 gallons of gas, and not driving 26 cars for a day.
Not only that, but they look amazing. Check out these other pictures of the solar system or read the solar case study.
Back to Basics: How Many Solar Panels Do You Need?
This is one of the first questions people looking to install a solar panel system tend to ask. As we mentioned in our last Back to Basics post, one factor that determines how many panels you need is how much energy your home uses. Of course, this depends on how big your house is, how many electrical appliances you use and if those appliances have good Energy Star ratings.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average household consumed 11,040 kWh (kilowatt hours) per year, or 920 kWh per month. Maryland, is slightly above that, with household consuming more than 1,000 kWh per month (see this spreadsheet for energy consumption information for each state).
Now, consider that a high-efficiency panel that’s 32 x 60 inches will generate 185 watts per year. That means that you would need approximately 60 panels if you wanted to cover your entire annual electricity usage (provided you consume the national average). And that would be 160 x 300 square foot roof!
Since very few of us have that size roof, we therefore need to make realistic expectations about the size of system we that we can really afford. To do that, we need to look specifically at your energy usage, the size of your roof and the amount of sunlight it receives. We then put all those numbers into a cost/benefit analysis to show you exactly how much you can save based on a realistic estimate of the size of the system your home can handle.
Sidenote: There’s far less financial benefit to purchasing lower-efficiency panels. Ultimately, they produce less energy, meaning that you need more panels to create the same amount of energy.
Green Living: Recycling
Out of all the things we can do to reduce our carbon footprint, recycling is among the most powerful and easy to do. According to Sustainablog.org, the U.S. only earned a C for recycling. Here are some interesting statistics:
- 251 million – tons of trash in the United States
- 82 million – tons of materials recycled in the United States
- 53.4 – percentage of all paper products recycled in the United States
- 32.5 – percentage of total waste that is recycled in the United States
- 100 – approximate percentage of increase in total recycling in the United States during the past decade
- 8,660 – number of curbside recycling programs in the United States in 2006
- 8,875 – number of curbside recycling programs in the United States in 2003
- 6 – weeks it takes to manufacture, fill, sell, recycle and re-manufacture an aluminum beverage can
- 95 – percentage of energy saved by recycling an aluminum can, compared with manufacturing a new one
- 4.6 – pounds of trash per person per day in the United States (most in the world)
- 1.5 – pounds of recycled materials per person per day in the United States
Here in Maryland, residents and businesses recycled more than 44 percent of solid waste in 2007, and we’re sure those numbers are much higher today with the growing number of single-stream recycling programs sprouting up over the state.
The Maryland Department of the Environment has a useful tool for finding recycling programs, as well as links to other useful recycling resources.