A solar electric system begins with one phone call or e-mail. We do a quick over the phone initial survey about your solar needs, your site and electrical usage. We ask for your electric or gas bills (we only need your monthly/annual electrical kW usage) and the address of your home. We then schedule a time to come to you for an onsite visit.
During our visit we will discuss your individual needs and goals, answer any additional questions you might have, and make energy improvement suggestions. One of our technicians will go up on your roof, measure the available space, evaluate the most likely installation site, take shading reading (solar panels don't perform terribly well in shady areas) and take a look at your main electrical panel.
After the site visit, we prepare a customized proposal for your individual site and needs and e-mail it to you. The proposal will contain the size of your system, the location of the panels on your roof (or other solar installation site), a breakdown of our charges, the rebates that are applicable to your system, and the environmental impact your system will have. When you receive our proposal, please feel free to contact us with any additional questions. We understand this is a big decision and we are more than happy to take the time to discuss anything that might be unclear or confusing.
We then give you the time to look over your proposal, and decide whether you are ready to go solar. Although we always urge you to decide quickly as rebate amounts are quickly being allocated and we cannot guarantee an exact amount for long.
As soon as we received a signed contract from you, we begin working on the rebate paperwork to be submitted to the utility company. The utility typically takes 2-4 weeks to process the rebate paperwork and send back a confirmation.
While the rebate paperwork is being processed, we usually draw plans for your system and submit them to the fire department, utility and city to acquire all the necessary permits for installation.
After a permit is obtained, we schedule an exact installation date. The installation itself varies according to the size of your system, however the average residential installation (around 10 kW) takes around 7-14 days and the average commercial installation 2-4 weeks or longer. Although our crews will require access to your structure, we normally do not need to access the interior for the installation.
After final inspection from the city, we will provide a quick follow up visit and explain the basics of your particular installation. As soon as the system is commission you will have the unique and thrilling experience of observing your electric meter run backwar