Answer
Sep 20, 2020 - 08:29 AM
If you have a sound, roughly south-facing roof not too shaded by trees, gables, chimneys, etc., your house could be a good candidate. The best way to assess that is to reach out to a solar company. They will do a remote analysis of your home (free of cost) and will be able to tell you if your home is a good candidate and how much of your electric load the solar installation can handle. They may also provide you with a quote free of cost. The solar contractor will also provide you with details of tax credits and other State-specific offerings for solar incentives and loans.
You can also do an initial investigation yourself. You can view your roof on Google Project Sunroof and get a quick evaluation of the available square area of your roof and the approximate number of hours of useable sunlight per year. (Just enter your address and click on Check My Roof.) South-facing roofs with little shade are best, but east- and west-facing roofs can work as long as there is little shade. Ideal roofs have large expanses of open areas, but panels can be placed on smaller spaces as well. Remember that this is just a rough assessment, and you should request a free site visit from a solar installer to get a more thorough determination of your home’s solar potential and payback periods for your specific roof.
Ideally, before you decide on solar panels for your home, you should get a home energy audit done. It is essential to get your home energy efficient first and then install solar PV. Proceeding in that order ensures a reduction in your electric consumption and reduces the number of solar panels necessary to meet your energy need.
