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Solar Panel Installation Checklist - The Complete Guide
If you’ve been thinking about getting a solar power system installed in your home, office, or business, but are still a little confused about what to do first, this checklist may help. It covers important considerations to make before getting started. From choosing a contractor to making sure you have all the necessary permits. Even if you’ve already got a system up and running, it’s always good to keep track of your installation so that you don’t forget anything. If You Need Help Choosing The Right Contractor Or Equipment read this l sting Now No matter how much experience you have as a installer or a homeowner, there are bound to be some minor hiccups when installing a solar panel system for the first time. From bad directions to faulty pieces of equipment, there are bound to be issues with any new project. Because these problems are often avoidable, reading this list of common mistakes can help you identify potential problems before they become major headaches.
Research is Important For Successful Installations
Before purchasing a solar panel system, you’ll want to make sure you thoroughly research the options and vendors involved. There are many websites with compiled lists of the best solar contractors, but you should really pick and choose your vendors based on their reputation and how well they’ve served previous customers. You can’t just Google “best solar contractors” and expect to come up with a list of everyone who lives near you. There are many factors that go into choosing the right contractor and getting the right job done, and finding the best in each niche can be tricky.
Go With The Quality of Your Contractor
When you choose a contractor, you’re actually choosing a relative newcomer to the business. It’s likely that your contractor hasn’t yet been in the industry for very long, and may not have the experience or knowledge to handle your project with professionalism and efficiency. This is why finding a quality contractor to work with is so important. These contractors are relatively young, and may not have the professional experience that you want. When you work with a quality contractor, you get not just a good deal on the solar panels, but a good deal on reliable service as well. These contractors may be working with small projects or ones with a smaller footprint, which means they don’t have the expertise to design and build a system that is best suited to your needs. In the end, this could lead to headaches, extra costs, and less than optimal performance.
Make Sure You Have The Right Permit
One of the most overlooked aspects of installing a solar system is the permit process. There are a number of permits required by your local government, and you’ll need to acquire and maintain a number of them throughout the course of your project. Some of these permits could be difficult or impossible to acquire or maintain for someone else, so it’s essential that you get them in place the first time around. When you’re research your options and choose which contractors to work with, make sure to put the required permits in your contract. Many contractors will “forget” to include these in the contract, and then have to go back and repair or retrofit the system once it’s up and running. And if you don’t have the necessary permits in place, be ready to pay a lot of money up front. Some jurisdictions require permits for all installations larger than 30kW, and you may spending more than $10,000 on the system alone.
Pay attention To Lighting And Surrounding Factors
Beyond the physical aspects of your system, paying attention to lighting and surrounding factors can go a long way towards making your installation successful or even pleasant. Just because you live in the desert or have no trees in your back yard doesn’t mean that your panels will be able to get the job done. If the surrounding landscape is too dark for your panels to produce any power at all, or if your house sits in the middle of a neighborhood with no streetlights, the system could literally never work. The same goes for poor or unstable weather conditions or other environmental factors. Your panels should be able to function in both light and heavy rain, flooding, windy conditions, and heat waves. If these factors cause your system to constantly struggle, it may be time to look for other options.
Don’t Forget To Measure!
One of the most important things to do before installing a solar panel system is to make sure you have the right size system for your home. The easiest way to do this is to measure your existing window openings and doors, and then use the measurement to create a system size that includes the openings you have. If you have a larger room that you haven’t used for years, and you’re trying to decide whether to upgrade or simply expand the existing structure, make sure to measure first. Knowing exactly what size system you have, and how much space it takes up, can make the difference between a good system and a great system.