Home solar panels can reduce your electricity bill for decades. But if you're left with questions like, “Really?” or, “What’s the catch?” or, “How do solar panels even work?” no one would blame you, though solar panels are now a commonplace technology.
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Whether you’re paying the cost of solar panels upfront and buying them, or getting a solar lease, it’s important to understand your decision and investment. Asking the right questions can help you find the best installer for you and weed out any bad deals along the way.
To achieve the best possible experience when you go solar, let’s play a game of 20 questions you can ask at your next solar consultation.
While you’ll still receive an electricity bill after going solar, you should save money. While it’s impossible to predict exactly how much solar panels can save you, installers can give you a reasonable estimate. Your actual savings will depend on how much your electricity rates change and whether incentives like net metering shift during your solar panels’ lifespan.
Your savings will also shift throughout the year, thanks to solar seasonality. It’s useful to get a clear understanding of your potential savings throughout the year and over the projected lifetime of your solar installation.
Asking your installer about available incentives is important to maximizing the value of your investment. Whether or not you qualify for the federal solar tax credit and other local solar incentives may significantly impact the return on investment of your energy system.
Around the country, solar incentives vary greatly by state and region, with some cities, counties, and utilities offering their own programs, tax credits, tax exemptions, rebates, and more.
Decide whether you will buy or lease a solar system based on your personal preferences, financial goals, and available options and make sure your installer can deliver what you want.
Buying means the system is your property and, in most cases, you will save more over the lifetime of your systems. A lease or power purchase agreement, such as Palmetto’s LightReach Energy Plan, will give you solar power from a home system with no upfront cost and manageable monthly payments.
Unless you’re able to pay for your panels upfront or are leasing them, you may need to finance your system through a loan. Many reputable solar installers offer loans, though you can always shop around..
By working with a company with multiple financing options, you are more likely to find a solar loan structured to fit into your budget that can unlock your long-term savings on electricity.
One of the most common questions solar companies are asked is, “What type of panels do you install?”
While there are differences in performance among solar panels, you probably don’t need to stress over the options. In some instances it may be beneficial to pay a bit more for highly efficient solar panels, you can typically achieve your savings and energy goals with multiple solar panel options, so long as your installer can provide solar panels of typical efficiency (around 20%) and wattage (350 watts and above).
You will likely have multiple solar warranties (product, performance, installation) associated with your energy system.
Before signing on the dotted line, talk to your installer about exactly what each of these warranties covers, how long the coverage periods are, and if you can extend the policies during the lifetime of your solar panels.
Along with warranty coverage, you should talk to your installer about the likelihood of system damage and what repair or maintenance procedures will be, even if solar panel maintenance is typically infrequent.
If you’re covered by a maintenance and monitoring plan, your installer will have a dedicated customer service team that can field your request and repair the part as soon as possible, ensuring your system will be back up and running without excessive time offline.
If you purchase an electric vehicle or grow your family, your electricity consumption will grow. If you anticipate you may want to expand your solar energy system in the future, talk to your installer about this possibility and what an upgrade may look like.
Depending on system setup and available space, it may be a better idea to oversize your solar system initially rather than add panels later. Or, your installer may make expanding easier by designing a microinverter-based solar system.
A company that sets an installation timeline (and has the past projects to prove it) is more likely to deliver a good end result. When talking to your solar installer, ask them about the anticipated installation schedule.
Although they may not be able to tell you a precise interconnection date during your initial conversation, reputable companies should be able to provide a breakdown of your solar installation timeline, including permitting, equipment delivery, and construction.
If your installer has a referral program, it’s a strong sign they are used to delivering good customer experiences. As the best advocates for any company are its customers, many solar companies will compensate those who refer new business in bill credits or cash.
If a solar contractor gives you a price and doesn’t explain how they arrived at that number, it’s a red flag you may not be getting the best deal possible. Although the average cost of solar panels varies across the country, the total price of any solar energy system can be broken down into hard and soft costs, including expenses associated with hardware, permitting, labor, and business overhead.
Inverters turn the electricity your solar panels generate into electricity you can use at home. String inverters and micro-inverters are the two main options. As every home solar project is different, choosing the right technology can maximize your system performance and return on investment.
If you purchase or finance your solar energy system with a reputable solar installer, they should be able to forecast an approximate break-even point at which your system will have paid for itself in savings.
In general, solar panel payback periods average somewhere between 7-10 years, depending on your location, the size of your system, and many other factors. A solar installer should be able to break down the expected performance of your system as it relates to the price of electricity in your area over time.
Today, most solar panels are installed with smart components that report system performance directly to a digital landing page. The Palmetto App, for example, allows you to track your solar panel performance alongside your electricity consumption (with a supported meter).
Even though it may be 20-30 years or more into the future, asking your installer about the end of your system's lifespan can help you avoid unwanted surprises later on.
Solar companies that plan to be around for decades are sure to have an answer for you when you ask about the decommissioning process. Critically, the end of your lease contract may give you options, like renewing your lease at a new rate, or buying out the system at the market value.
In recent years, some solar companies have gone out of business. Working with an established, experienced solar company could help you avoid picking a company that’s going to go out of business.
A company able to answer all your questions in a helpful way without putting pressure on you is a sign of a partner you’ll be able to work with and depend on for a long time.
Solar can supply you with the electricity you need to run your house, but reducing the amount of electricity you need can lead to savings, too. Getting an energy audit, upgrading your insulation, or electrifying your HVAC system or water heater may open the door to greater savings.
Your solar installer should be definitive about the state of your roof before installing solar panels. Your roof should be healthy at the time of installation, and replacing your roof and installing solar at the same time can save you time and money.
Going solar can be a great time to also electrify your home with a heat pump or other efficient, electric appliances, install an EV charger, add battery storage, or replace your roof. Combining projects could save you time and money, especially if you use the same company, and let you stretch your solar electricity farther.
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When weighing your solar options, you should feel free to open up the discussion and allow installers to explain exactly why they deserve the job. A professional solar expert should want to give you all the info you need rather than stick to a sales pitch and make you feel forced into a decision.
In a high-pressure sales scenario, you may start to feel a solar installation company is pushing you to sign a contract right there, right now. If you feel rushed, asking for some time to make your decision will quickly show whether or not the company is acting in your best interest or is simply out to get your money.
Occasionally impending policy changes mean you need to rush, but even with those caveats, a reputable company should be happy to do follow-up calls and help you feel confident in your choice.
The right solar company should answer all your questions and concerns today and seem like a partner you’ll want to work with for 25 years or longer. Before, during, and after installation, is the solar installer listening to you and your needs? Or pressuring you into a specific plan, design, product, or deadline?
Your new home solar power system should deliver savings and reliable, clean, and renewable energy. It should be easy to understand and operate without extra work or stress.
Interested in seeing what it's like going solar with Palmetto? Or still have questions about solar in general? Get started today by using our solar savings calculator or contacting a Palmetto solar expert.
How do you prepare for a solar installation?
Before you go solar, get to know your energy usage and current utility bills. You can check your property’s suitability for solar, including your roof’s health and shading, and confirm that tax credits, net metering, and other incentives apply to you.
How do you find a good solar installer?
It’s ok to interview and ask many, and even tough, questions of a solar installer before committing to a major project, a substantial amount of money, and years of working together. You are looking for a person or company that’s knowledgeable, experienced, professional, and helpful.
Can solar panels really save you money?
Millions of homes in the US are saving money with home solar panels. While solar panels aren’t a fit for every home, they can lower energy bills and generate long-term savings. A reputable solar company will be able to explain the savings potential of solar at your home, including when it’s too small to be worth it.
When you start considering something totally new and different for your business, like purchasing commercial solar systems and panels, you might not be sure where to start. What questions should you be asking? Who should you ask? How do you know if the answers you get are accurate, complete and unbiased? In other words, as with many new endeavors, it’s likely that you don’t know what you don’t know.
Once you start getting serious about going solar, it’s a good idea to hire an unbiased solar energy consultant to help you make decisions about your solar project—understanding and choosing solar technologies, deciding where your solar installation will go, exploring the different ways to pay for it, knowing how it’ll be maintained, and so on. But if you’re just in the initial discovery stages, here are 9 questions you can ask commercial solar panel installation companies (who might be commercial solar dealers, installers, distributors or manufacturers) to get an idea about whether solar is right for your business:
1. How much money can my organization expect to save with a commercial solar power system?
The key to getting a useful answer to this question is to specify that you want a long-term cost savings estimate—such as how much you’re likely to save over 20 years’ time. This is important because solar is meant to last for decades, and one of its main advantages is that it can protect your business from volatile and generally rising fossil-fuel-based energy price changes. If you purchase your solar system, it can take a few years to break even, but then you’ll really start to see the savings. If you lease a solar system or enter into a power purchase agreement (PPA), there’s usually no money required upfront, so you can start to see savings in your energy bills from day one. Also ask your NJ solar contractor to run estimates on different solar technologies. Higher-quality solar panels, which cost more and might mean a slightly more expensive lease or PPA, will yield better savings over time than lower-quality panels. When you evaluate commercial solar panels, things like efficiency, durability, useful life and performance levels can make a tremendous difference in the return you can expect to get on your investment.
2. How much upfront capital will my organization need to go solar?
You might think “How much do solar panels cost?” is the right question to ask, but it’s really not. Here’s why: The price of solar panels, as well as the amount of energy they produce, varies widely—and it depends on many variables. The more useful question for businesses is “How much upfront capital will my organization need to go solar?” The answer to that depends on how you decide to pay for your solar project. If you purchase the system outright, the amount of capital you’ll need may depend on how much you plan to finance and your lender’s requirements. But if you choose to lease a solar system or enter into a (PPA), you may be able to get solar with zero upfront. Ask about your options and explore them thoroughly with a solar financing expert to see which model is right for you.
3. What other financial options are available besides purchasing a system outright?
You can also lease a solar system or buy the energy from a solar installation owned by a third party through a PPA. Though the long-term payoff is usually greater when you purchase a solar system, leasing does make sense for many organizations. There’s usually an option to purchase the system at the end of the lease term, so the ability to enter into the lease with little or no money down—plus the option to purchase the system later—may be a win-win for your company. However, be wary of solar companies that only offer leases as an option and push them hard. That may mean that they make their money off of leases and may not be as concerned about finding the right solar solution for your business as they should be.With a PPA, you buy the energy, not the solar equipment. You get the benefit of a set electricity rate over an extended period of time (usually 20-30 years). And similar to leases, you usually have the option to purchase the system outright after some period of time has passed, or you can negotiate a new agreement when your term is over. Again, if you have little or no capital to put down on the purchase of a system, and you don’t want to operate and maintain a solar energy system yourself but want the benefits of renewable energy, entering into a PPA may make the most sense for you.
4. Is my building or site appropriate for solar?
A commercial solar project site expert or designer can probably give you a preliminary evaluation of your site’s suitability for solar over the , but will have to visit your site(s) to make a final determination. They’ll be looking at available roof and parking lot space, nearby land appropriate for a ground-mounted solar panel array, the angle of the sun and shading, building integrity, soil quality, permitting concerns, grid interconnection requirements, and more. They’ll also need to know or look into factors such as building ownership, historical structure status, local ordinances, etc.
5. What size and type of system should I choose for my business?
You can choose rooftop (the most common choice for commercial solar users), carport or ground arrays—or a combination of these. You can have the solar installation on your own site or offsite. You can build just enough solar to meet your energy needs or build more than you need and potentially get credited for any excess energy that you produce (depending on what public policy and utility company practices allow in your state’s energy market). This is a question a solar energy consultant or the manufacturer or dealer you choose to work with will answer for you. They’ll need to analyze your past and current energy needs and evaluate whether or not they can fit enough panels on your site to meet those needs. If your building or site can’t accommodate enough panels, you may need to consider higher-efficiency panels or an offsite solution. But there are many ways to take advantage of solar power, so it’s often just a matter of finding the right solar solution.
6. What types of products do you carry and how do they differ?
If you end up working directly with a solar panel manufacturer, as some companies prefer, they will of course tell you why their products are the best choice. If you start with a dealer or installer, they will make recommendations based on the brands they sell. Rooftop commercial solar power system. And while most solar companies will honestly try to find the right solution for your budget, values and energy needs—a third-party solar consultant can help you compare solar products (like panels, inverters, mounting hardware, monitoring software, and other system components) in an unbiased way. Depending on your priorities—saving money long-term, contributing to a cleaner environment, improving the value of your commercial property, etc.—you should explore qualities of solar technology like efficiency, reliability, performance, durability, scalability and warranties to determine which solar manufacturers’ products are your best choices. Then you can look for a dealer with a good reputation who provides that technology in your area.
7. Who will be responsible for ongoing operation and maintenance (O&M) of my commercial solar system?
As mentioned previously, solar is a long-term investment that is meant to last for decades. Though quality solar installations are generally very low-maintenance and trouble-free, they do require occasional cleaning, ongoing monitoring and possible repairs to continue performing optimally over time. It’s important to know who will maintain the system, monitor its performance and keep it operating at maximum efficiency. You can do that yourself or enter into a contract with another company. Your O&M needs will be highly contingent upon the size and complexity of your system, but most established solar O&M providers can offer robotic or human panel-cleaning services, performance monitoring and reporting, and as-needed repair and parts replacement so you don’t have to worry about your solar system at all.
8. What policies and incentives are available for my organization if we decide to go solar?
The biggest incentive currently available is the federal commercial renewable energy Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which might influence your decision to go solar sooner rather than later. It constitutes a significant tax credit of 30% of the value of projects completed through the end of , but that credit begins to decrease year by year after that: 26% in , 22% in , and just 10% thereafter. In addition to the federal ITC, there may be a variety of other state and local policies and incentives that reward businesses for going solar. Start with a search of the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency ® (DSIRE®) to see what’s out there for you. Note that commercial solar systems take some time—typically nine months or more—to get installed after the project is initiated. So factor that into your decision-making regarding the ITC and other time-sensitive incentives.
9. Which panels would you (or did you) choose for your own business and why?
A solar dealer’s answer to this question can be the most revealing of all. If their answer is honest and straightforward, it will give you the best idea of what someone who lives and breathes solar all day, every day, really thinks of the panels on the market—including pricing, quality and long-term payoff potential.
There’s a lot to learn and understand about commercial solar power systems when you’re in the beginning stages of exploring solar as an option for your business. If you ask the right questions and push for unbiased answers, though, you’ll be able to go into the process armed with a strong understanding of what you need and who can provide it—the foundation of good business decision-making.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of Solar Panels For Commercial Buildings. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.