YES! If you can afford to pay your electricity bill you can afford to go solar. All the solar programs available offer $0-down financing, both for ownership and leasing programs. There are also financing programs available that are not dependent on having a good credit score.
About Going Solar
Are the solar energy tax credits and incentives still available?
The most significant incentive currently available is the 30 percent federal investment tax credit (ITC), which allows you to deduct 30 percent of the overall cost of your system from your taxes. This incentive will be available in some form through 2021. Certain municipalities and utility companies also offer additional rebates and incentives.
Going Solar Timeline
How long does it take to go Solar? What to Expect?
- Site Survey: An engineer will go to your home and take detailed measurements and shade readings of your roof planes, and outline a preliminary design of your system and an accurate projection of its overall annual production prior to installation. (1-2 weeks)
- Design Approval: Following the site survey, our engineering team will make any necessary adjustments if needed, and complete a final system design for your approval. We can often streamline this process with Homeowner design approval on the day of the site survey. (1-3 weeks)
- Permitting: Once the design is approved, we’ll submit your design and permitting paperwork to the city. Permit approval can vary significantly from city to city. (1-8 weeks)
- Solar Installation: Once your permits have been approved, one of our licensed and experienced team of installers can get to work on completing your solar installation. Installation times are generally only 2-3 days, but can vary depending on the overall size of the system, additional electrical work, type of roofing, or any other work necessary to give you a high quality, great looking, and safe solar installation. (0-2 weeks)
- Inspections: When construction of your installation is completed, City/County/Fire inspections must be completed before your system can be interconnected to the grid. Inspections vary by city, county, and utility company. (1-4 weeks)
- Utility Interconnection: Once your system has passed the required inspections, your documents will be submitted to the utility company requesting system interconnection of your solar system to the power grid. Once you get Permission to Operate from the utility company and you have the go-ahead to flip the switch and officially go solar! (1-4 weeks)
What Finances Are Involved
How much does a system solar cost?
Should I buy or lease my solar system?
The decision to buy or lease your solar system depends on your reasons for going solar. If you want to maximize the financial returns of your solar system, buying the system is probably a better option. If you’d like an easy, no-hassle, maintenance-free way to reduce your energy bills, you should maybe consider a lease (PPA).
More Popular Questions
How does solar work?
- Solar panels convert sunlight to direct current (DC) electricity
- The solar inverter converts the (DC) electricity into alternating current (AC) electricity
- Your electrical panel then sends the power to your lights and appliances in your home
- The Net Meter measures any energy that you need to draw from the grid but also measure any surplus energy you feed back to the grid during the day. This is key!
- The Net Meter is essential to maximizing the benefits of your system. During the day your panels often produce excess energy that get measured and fed back to the grid, and the utility company pays you credits for every surplus kWh that your system generates. You can then use your energy credits to offset your electricity usage at night, for example, when your panels are generating power.
Is there a lot maintenance involved with a solar system?
What happens if I move from my solar home?
What is the difference between microinverters, central inverters, and power optimizers?
Southern California’s Top Renewable Energy Company
Located in Southern California with operations throughout the state, SoCal Energy Solutions is making solar a reality with: cost, installation and simplicity.