How to Choose a Home Solar Panel

Choosing a solar panel

How to Choose a Home Solar Panel

Home Solar Energy has become a popular choice for many homeowners in the United States. As electricity costs continue to increase, smart consumers have learned that it is possible to take control of their energy bills and save thousands of dollars by adding a solar power system to their home.

choosing the right solar panelSaving thousands of dollars and contributing to the well-being of the environment makes the decision to go solar a “no-brainer.” However, during this process of achieving energy independence, you will be faced with making a number of decisions regarding your new solar energy system. One of these decisions will be picking the solar panel that best fits your needs.

Recent technological advances in photovoltaic solar panels for home electricity production have dramatically increased efficiency while lowering costs. The solar panels available through our solar service partners are of the highest quality and our expert solar consultants and installers will happily make recommendations and explain all of the important facts.

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Below are the top four most important factors to consider when picking the best solar panel system.

  • Price – We have only put price here because most people always consider price as an important factor when committing to a large purchase. The fact is however, when purchasing a home solar system price rarely figures in the decision. Rebates, incentives and innovative financing methods have pretty much eliminated cost as a consideration. Many people will be able to get solar installed on their home with very little, if any, upfront cost and start saving on their energy bills immediately.
  • Panel Performance – A solar panel converts solar energy into electricity and how well a solar panel performs is the most important consideration when choosing solar panels. There are three main specifications that define a panel’s effectiveness.
    1. Overall Power rating: Solar Panels are rated by the total amount of DC power created under perfect conditions. Power ratings are determined in a laboratory and referred to as a “nameplate” rating. Most panels are going to have a rating of 200 to 350 watts and are used for comparison purposes.
    2. Power Tolerance: Represents the possible differences between nameplate rating and actual production and is expressed as a percentage.
    3. Efficiency: How much of the solar energy absorbed by a panel is actually converted into electricity. The highest rated efficiency is generally around 20% with the average being around 15%. The higher the efficiency the smaller an area will be required to produce usable electricity.
  • Durability – The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) created standards to qualify solar panels that meet minimum requirements for surviving the wear and tear that solar panels will be subjected to over their expected lifetime. The two main standards are wind and snow load. The higher the ratings, the better expected survival rate in adverse weather conditions.
  • Warranty – All of today’s reputable solar panels come with a warranty of at least 20 years. Things to look for in a warranty are not only protection from overall failure of a panel but also guarantees of performance over the life of your panel.

This is a very general description of the main points to consider when choosing solar panels for your home solar system. Our highly trained solar consultants will help you with more detailed information about specific systems matched to meet all of your needs. Contact one of our consultants now to get the ball rolling

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