Solar Panels
One of the best things about having a home in Los Angeles County or elsewhere throughout southern California is definitely the sun. The California sun is famous and you can enjoy warm sun all year ‘round here. One of the best ways that you can take advantage of the sun is by letting Greenerz install solar panels on your Los Angeles or other southern California area home. We are the experts in solar panel installation and can quickly provide you with a solar power set up that lets you be as independent as you want to be from the power grid.
Why Solar Panels?
As a green construction company, solar panel installation is one of our favorite home remodeling jobs to do. We are all about sustainable energy sources, and the sun is the most sustainable energy source there is. Solar panels are a great idea for a number of reasons, including:
- Appearance
Years ago, people were reluctant to add solar panels to their roof or elsewhere around their home because they were ugly. The only way to truly capture the sun’s power was to plant large, unsightly metallic panels across your roof. However, today’s solar technology has advanced significantly since then, and now, solar panels can be barely detectable, or even attractive.
- Cost-Effective
You may be amazed at the amount of money you save when you add solar panels. Not only do you draw less or even no electricity from the power grid, you can even arrange to feed power from your solar array back into the power grid, giving you a rebate on the power you use. The right solar set up could pay for itself very quickly.
- Better for the Environment
By using solar panels, you use less electricity, which reduces the strain on the power grid. This means more and more efficient power for everyone. So much of the sun’s energy is wasted. The more solar energy we use, the less we have to rely on other fuel sources that may not be renewable or that may create pollution effects that are harmful to the environment.
- Better for the Community
By putting solar panels on your home, you set a great example for other homes in the community. Before long, you could have a whole neighborhood with energy-saving, environmentally-friendly solar panels on their homes.
How Does Solar Energy Work?
So how exactly does a solar energy system work to provide energy to your home and save you money. The basic process is relatively simple. It starts on your roof, with the solar panels themselves. What we normally call solar panels are actually photovoltaic(PV) cells which are designed to convert sunlight into electricity, specifically direct current (DC) electricity. This electricity then feeds into an inverter which turns the direct current into alternating current (AC) electricity for use in your home. An electrical panel then supplies this AC electricity for the various needs in your home, such as your lights or appliances. A utility meter measures how much energy you take from or feed into the power grid.
The Utility Meter and Net Metering
Why is the utility meter important? Because most municipalities employ net metering. What this means is that your electricity bill varies depending upon how much solar energy you use, and this can actually work in your favor when it comes to your electric bill charges. Here’s how it works:
If you need to use more energy than your solar panels are able to provide, you will draw the excess energy from the power grid and be charged accordingly. However, if your solar panels are providing more energy than you need, it works the other way. You can actually feed energy into the power grid and get energy credits which count against the energy you may use at later times when you need the grid. Not only do you do your part to help relieve stress on the power grid and let the entire utility take advantage of solar power, but you can enjoy tremendous savings by being conservative with your energy use.
Time of Use
You should be aware that under current California power regulations, if you switch to a solar energy system, you will pay Time of Use rates. Time of Use rates are essentially surge pricing. You pay more for a unit of electricity during peak hours and less during off-peak hours. By the same token, units of electricity that you pay into the grid earn you fewer credits during off-peak hours than peak hours. You may want to consider building a system where your panels face west, as this will provide you with more energy during peak hours. However, it will provide you with less overall energy during the day, so if you do this, you may want to build a larger solar array to make up the difference.
Solar Batteries
You may have heard about solar batteries and some solar panel systems do include solar batteries. Solar batteries are basically energy storage cells that you fill up with solar energy for use later. Since you can feed excess energy into the grid for credits, you generally do not need solar batteries and if you are looking to save money with your solar energy system, you probably will not want to include them. However, there are certain situations where it may be to your benefit to have solar batteries as part of your system.
- No Net Metering
If you happen to be located in a municipality that does not offer net metering, in other words, you cannot feed excess energy into the grid for credit, it could be to your advantage to store your excess energy so you can use it later rather than pay extra for electricity from the power grid.
- Peak Energy Charges
It is rare that an area will not offer net metering, but they may have surge pricing for higher-energy use times, such as the height of summer when air conditioning use is common. If these extra charges are high, it may be better for you to keep some solar energy in storage for use in these periods instead.
- Backup Power
If you have fully charged solar batteries, then if there is a blackout and the power grid goes down, you will still have power in your home. Hopefully, before long, everyone in your community will have solar panels on their homes, which will mean very little strain on the power grid and a low likelihood of a blackout, but if you’re not there yet, or you just want the peace of mind of knowing that the lights will still go on in a power outage, you may want to invest in solar batteries for your solar energy system.
How Does Greenerz Work with You to Help You Save Money with Solar?
So, now that you know how solar paneling and solar energy systems work, where does Greenerz fit in? We have a well-practiced process for solar panel setup, design and installation that makes the process easy and can get you enjoying great energy savings and helping the environment as soon as possible.
It all starts when you call or contact us for a free quote on your new solar panel installation. We will be happy to answer all the questions you have about solar energy. We can discuss how much you currently pay in utility bills and how much you could potentially save with solar installation in California.
Once you have a basic understanding of how solar energy in your home works and what we can do for you, we will schedule an appointment to come to your home. We will see if your home setup is a good fit for solar and discuss the best way to add solar paneling to your home. This in-home consultation comes at no cost to you.
We start with a site survey, which is a thorough examination of your home arrangement to see if solar panels are suitable. We will examine and take pictures of electrical panels, the attic, the roof and look for any signs that a particular solar panel plan would not be appropriate for your home. Once we’ve completed our survey, we can generate a custom solar panel design plan just for your home.
Once we agree on a solar panel design plan, we will provide a free estimate and a time frame for installing solar panels on your home. There are a number of options when it comes to solar panel installation, including the type of solar panel batteries you have and the number of solar panels we install, so if there are budgetary concerns, we can work with you to find an affordable solar panels solution that meets your needs. Once we give you an estimate, however, as long as we stay with the agreed upon plan, you can be sure this is basically what you can expect to pay. We don’t hit you with a bunch of extra fees or hidden charges in the middle or at the end of the job. The time frame we give you is also one you can be sure you can rely on. Before you can install solar panels on your home, you need the proper building permits, and you need to let your utility company know that you are going to be getting some of your power from a solar system. We will help you with all of these permits and information and make sure everything is in order before we begin.
When it’s time to install your solar panels, we’ll send you trained professionals from our team, not subcontractors, to do the work. We will show up with trucks filled with solar panels and all the tools we need to get the job done effectively and quickly. Our team will put in the solar panels and wire the solar system to your electrical system so that you can utilize both solar and electrical power as needed.
Once everything is all set up and in place, it’s time to turn the system on. We will need to get permission from the local utility and municipality to officially connect your solar system to the grid and start drawing power. Once the utility has determined that everything is in order and granted you a PTO, or Permission to Operate, we turn the system on, and you start saving money. Customers typically save 10 to 30 percent on their energy bill once they have installed solar panels.
Why Choose Greenerz for Solar Panel Installation?
While we hope you’ll contact Greenerz for all of your needs for home renovation in Los Angeles County and throughout southern California, we especially hope that you’ll get in touch with us for new solar panel installation for your home. As a green construction company, installing solar panels is one of our main reasons for forming Greenerz. We love to provide energy-saving and eco-friendly home renovation solutions, from paints and cleaners that are better for the environment to recycled building materials and more, and one of the best energy-saving and environmentally-friendly home renovation solutions is solar paneling.
At Greenerz, we bring the same care to installing solar panels and setting up your solar energy system as we do to all of our roofing, remodeling and other home renovation projects. You’ll always get a highly-trained member of the Greenerz team, never a subcontractor. Our contractors are not only experienced builders, but also homeowners who formed Greenerz out of seeing a need for environmentally-friendly home improvement solutions that don’t give you all the hassle and runaround of average contractors.
If you’re sick of contractors who are vague about how long your job will take or how much it will cost, or of speaking to one person on the phone and then after agreeing to the job, never hearing from them again, or even dealing with workers who don’t even seem to know them, Greenerz is for you. We take your business seriously and your satisfaction is our number one concern. If you’re having any issues or questions about the job, call us and you’ll speak to a real member of the team. Once we take a job, we know that we’re not done unless you are completely satisfied with our work. We’re here for the environment, the community and you.
If you’re ready to start saving big money on your energy bills and doing your part for the environment, there’s no time like the present to begin. Give us a call at 1-800-207-1852 to talk about the various possibilities when it comes to solar installation and your home, or fill out and submit our online contact form to schedule your free quote and in-home consultation. We can’t wait to make your home a Greenerz home.
