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Jan 28 2015
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How ‘Big Data’ Will Change The Solar Industry

By Solar Panel Installation Process No Comments

The U.S. Department of Energy invests in new technology to revolutionize the landscape of solar data. Reliable solar grid data, the true performance of solar panels, and a twist to homeowner solar engagement are a few of the promises Solar.com’s big data application, PVimpact, plans to bring to the market.

The dawn of the smart home is upon us with various products connecting homes to information networks. However, Solar Big Data has yet to be captured at scale or leveraged to its potential. That is all about to change as the team behind Solar.com expands its role in the solar industry with a powerful new mobile app – PVimpact. The U.S. Department of Energy recently awarded Solar.com a grant to develop a universal tool for all solar homes to connect to the information grid. The app’s dynamic capabilities will benefit homeowners, solar installers, manufacturers, and utilities by analyzing homeowners’ energy use in real time. This summer the technology will be rolling out for free to all Solar.com customers and then expanding to the rest of the U.S. residential solar market in early fall.

The DOE’s SunShot Initiative is a national effort to make solar energy cost-competitive and PVimpact has been designed to help that cause (the name is fitting as PV is a technical term for solar). The technology behind PVimpact aggregates three principal pieces of data; the homeowner’s electricity usage, solar system production, and contractual details of the solar system, and prepares it for easy analysis by homeowners, solar installers, and utility companies. Currently, none of these data points are collected together nor is there any universal technology that can capture solar production from the various metering systems on the market. Here’s the “impact” of this new technology:

Solar Homeowners – Homeowners will now have an easy way to interpret true dollar savings, receive alerts and key tips on their system, and have the ability to share this information. This all ties into Solar.com’s dedication to transparency. They further build on this principle by incorporating a map feature which allows future solar buyers to see who in their neighborhood has gone solar, how much they paid, and how much they are saving.

Solar Installers – “50% of the time or more, a user increases power consumption after going solar,” explains an owner of a prominent Southern California solar company. He goes on to add, “They don’t know how much electricity they are actually consuming.” In the solar industry, this is known as the rebound effect. Homeowners start thinking their solar systems are malfunctioning when, in fact, their total household power consumption is increasing. This gives headaches to installers to prove the system is working and it also damages their customer satisfaction. Once this installer heard about PVimpact he said, “This is a game changer.”

Solar Manufacturers – There is a very limited pool of data capturing solar equipment performance. PVimpact will have the ability to capture data on how well panels and inverters perform compared to their ratings and how well they perform in different climates and conditions. Using the compiled data, PVimpact will be the leader in aggregating solar performance data, providing valuable information to solar manufacturers.

Utilities – Consumption and production trends are in high-demand by utilities. However, they currently do not have a reliable means of gathering this information from residential solar installations. Without knowing how much power solar contributes to the grid on any given day, utilities end up with an excess generation that goes to waste. By providing utilities with this valuable data, all ratepayers will save money.

 

Jan 19 2015
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What are solar panels made of?

Sell-Out Solar Workshops Highlight Top 5 Insights Before Going Solar

By Solar Panel Installation Cost No Comments

With over 6,100 solar companies, 5 major financing methods, thousands of panel models and dozens of inverter manufacturers, homeowners can’t find straight answers. Solar.com has stepped in to sort through the chaos and help homeowners save an average of $6,000 on the cost of their solar systems.

Sold out workshops are not something typically found in community education centers, but Solar.com is addressing a void in an industry begging for answers. Solar.com has been hosting Solar Workshops throughout Southern California, saving attendees an average of 30% on their solar systems. The key insights, plus the free solar consulting service and online marketplace offered at Solar.com, have helped hundreds of Southern California homeowners with the decision to go solar. Solar.com plans on turning that number into thousands as the company expands its geographic region and brings Solar Workshops to over 100 cities in 2015. Here are the 5 most important considerations before making the decision to go solar:

Can you afford it? – The perception that solar is only affordable to the wealthy is a myth. “If you can afford your electric bill, you can afford solar,” explains Dr. Helen Cox, Director of CalState University Northridge Institute for Sustainability and a co-host of the Workshops. “There are solar loans and leases available that allow homeowners to pay nothing out of pocket and make monthly payments at a lower rate than their current electric bill.”

Lease or Purchase? – Each solar company will pitch this differently depending on its interests. Currently, there is a 30% Federal Tax Credit available for the purchase of a solar system. If a homeowner’s annual Federal Taxes are equal to or greater than 30% of the system cost, a purchase will save almost double what a lease would over the life of the system.

Is price or quality more important? – Everyone’s situation is unique. If you’re looking to stay in the same house for years to come, paying slightly more for better quality and warrantied panels is the way to go. If you’re looking to maximize your immediate monthly savings, then compromising on the quality in return for a lower price is the best option.

String-inverters vs. Micro-inverters? – Every solar system needs one or the other. Inverters come with different warranties and offer different monitoring options. The bottom line is if your roof has significant shade, you want micro-inverters or optimizers if not, the less expensive string-inverters will perform just as well. For more details on Micro and String Inverters, check the video below.

Which installer is the best? – This all depends on the circumstances. Some installers specialize in different roof types while other installers offer better pricing on high-quality equipment. The geographic area will alter installer prices as well as their current project demand. To find the best installer for a unique project, you’ll need to get as many bids as you can. Reach out to installers individually, or have Solar.com do all the work for you – and find a price 30% below market.