How to Get the Most Out of Your Solar Investment

First thing’s first: you need to remember to think of your solar energy system as an investment. Whenever you invest in something, there are things you need to do to get the most out of it. While you may think that after installing your system, you just turn it on and let it do its thing, there’s actually a lot more steps you can take in order to get the very most out of it. Start following these steps on day one and don’t stop following them until the end of your system’s life cycle 20-30 years from now.

Ensure Your Solar

You wouldn’t get a car without insurance, and those last even less time than a solar energy system. So you definitely shouldn’t leave your solar energy system uninsured. All kinds of things could happen to it, from theft, to hail, to other people. There have even been instances where people have taken shots at solar panels and one small bullet was enough to completely knock an entire panel out of commission. Keeping your panels insured is very important so you don’t end up having to pay that huge sum again before your panels that are meant to last decades have completed their life cycle.

Verify and Keep Your Documents Safe

First thing’s first when it comes to documents: make sure your installer gives you all of it. This should absolutely include: the contract itself, any invoices verifying how much you paid, warranty information, utility application so you can hook yourself up to the grid, Public Service Commission approval, diagrams of both the electrical connections and the layout of the system, sheets containing specific equipment specifications, approved electrical certificate, and the contact information of the installation company or installer so you can get them back to you if you need assistance. If you are not given any of this documentation, make sure you ask about it and that they provide it to you.

The next thing you’ll want to do is keep these documents safe. You’ll need to do that for the next thirty years, so make sure you invest in a solid place to keep your documents that won’t be prone to things like flood damage.

Understand Your Warranty

Understanding your warranty is a key component to making sure you get the most out of your solar energy. After all, if you don’t, you may end up losing your panels and be unable to replace them because you didn’t fully understand your warranty and what you could and could not get replaced. Make sure that you fully understand what will void it, as well, so that you don’t wind up not being able to use it when you really need it.

Keep Your Panels Maintained

Getting an inspection twice a year is a good standard for making sure you keep it up and running as long as possible. These inspections should be visual only.

As for the more complex inspections, these should take place after one year, five years, and ten years. These will include actually going into your system and fixing up all your electrical connections.

Keep Track of Performance

It is your responsibly to check up on your system and take note of any performance issues you encounter, that way you can let someone know the second something seems off.

Know Your Credits

Knowing your tax credits, as well as rebates, is the best way to get the absolute most out of your solar investment, as this will help you make a profit on your system. Make sure you do plenty of research into all the ways you can get money back on your investment. Also make sure to check when tax credits end - as an example, the federal solar tax credit will be completely gone by 2022, with the percentage credit being reduced every year until then.

Want more tips and tricks to get more out of solar? Check out the HahaSmart blog!

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