Whether you’re looking to save money on your energy bills or have long term goals to make your lifestyle more eco-friendly, a home solar array could be one way to get you there.
For this month’s installment of our How To New Hampshire series we’re exploring how to run your home on solar power.
Tip 1: Find a company, get a quote and assess your situation
You’ll have to start by meeting with a solar installer who can assess your needs and give you a quote. One local company is ReVision Energy in Brentwood, where Justin Paynter is the residential sales manager. He recommends getting quotes from several companies before settling on one to work with. Make sure you mesh well with the company, because you’ll be working with them long term.
Paynter sits down with every one of his clients to first assess their situation and their goals.
“Sometimes it's really climate focused, sometimes it's purely a financial focus and usually it's a mix of the two,” Paynter said. “So kind of going in and helping them decide if it's the right thing for their home and for how much time they plan on being there.”
That’s key: How much time you plan on being there. Solar panels are a big, long term investment and most parts have warranties of 25 years. So one of the first things to consider before installing is: How long will I be in this home? If your answer is through retirement, you might be a good candidate.
Tip 2: Make sure your plans are in line with rules and regulations
Then, Paynter said, a company like ReVision will come out to do a site visit to figure out how the panels would work on your roof, what condition the roof is in, and what other elements you might want, like batteries or charging stations for an electric vehicle.
ReVision would then coordinate with your municipality and utility company to make sure everything is good to go. There are different rules in different towns and cities about where the panels can go, and how large of an array you can have. Living in a historic district will likely affect this.
If you don't meet the requirements to install a solar array, some municipalities have community solar programs, which allow utility customers to power their homes using a portion of the electricity generated from an off-site solar project.
Tip 3: Get ready to make an investment
One of Paynter’s clients, Aaron Wallin, would be like a gold star student in ReVision’s standards. His home in Hampton, while still connected to the grid as backup, runs entirely on solar. He’s got a big array on his roof, 33 panels, as well as two batteries and the capacity to charge two electric vehicles.
Wallin said the installation and set-up process was minimally invasive, taking only three days. He can now easily track his energy generation and usage on a sleek app with a 3D rendering of his home.
“It was really painless,” Wallin said. “And that's the best day when you realize you're making your own power.”
The only painful part there, Wallin said, was writing the check. His large system ended up being $60,000. Paynter said the cost for an average four person household would be about $35,000. So, it is a big investment. But there are financing options. Some people in Wallin’s life said he would be better off putting that money into the market.
“That’s not the reason I did it,” Wallin said. “It's not that I'm losing money on this investment. It's just this investment I've made in my home. I wake up in the morning and I feel good about what I've done with the money.”
Tip 4: Reap the rewards
Solar arrays can make a big dent in electric bills. Wallin doesn’t have them anymore. Through a system called net-metering, homeowners with solar can push the electricity they generate, and don’t use, back to the grid and receive credits in exchange.
“Every year, if we've sized a system well and it matches what your usage is, we've got many customers who really don't have an electric bill at all, or some people that have just a really minimal bill, the connection fee that you always have to pay for,” Paynter said.
Wallin said the real win is the peace of mind he gets from his system, knowing that he’s doing his part.
“There's nothing [like the] feeling of driving up to like the White Mountains in the electric vehicle, and you go into this beautiful location and your car is running on energy created from the sun, and you're going in there looking at these wonderful views, and you leave there and you're leaving nothing behind,” Wallin said.
ReVision Energy is an NHPR underwriter. They have no influence over our coverage.
