Electric vehicles are rapidly hitting the market due to their low cost to operate and zero emissions. This makes homeowners with solar a perfect candidate for an electric car. When going electric, you can expect to spend 50% less on energy (fuel) when compared to gas. Add solar charging into the mix and you can expect the savings to be even higher at 70%.

50 dollars in a standard vehicle will get you approximately 14 gallons. At 35 miles per gallon that will result in 490 miles of range.
50 dollars in solar energy will generate approximately 625-kilowatt hours. At 3 miles per kilowatt-hour that will result in 1,875 miles of range. I think we can see who the clear winner is.

Charging your vehicle during the day when your solar is producing the most energy, is ideal. Not only will this maximize savings, but it will also guarantee that your electric vehicle uses renewable energy to charge its battery. If you are used to charging at nighttime, your E.V is, unfortunately, charging on grid power.

By structuring your charging schedule and plugging in between the hours of 10-4 pm, you can increase the amount of renewable energy used. As electric vehicles increase in popularity, public charging stations will struggle to support the demand for charging.

Setting up your home with a home charger is a fairly easy task and only takes our team a couple of hours. By charging from home you can decrease the congestion at public charging stations, reduce your carbon footprint, and save on the cost of charging. There is nothing better than being able to drive off with a full tank every time you leave home.

Solar Solution AZ offers Stage 2 E.V charging kits for any existing home. Stage 2 chargers can provide your car with 30-40 miles of range per hour of charging. There is currently a tax credit on electric vehicle chargers that can make this equipment affordable for all homeowners. If you are looking to take advantage of the sun, give us a call for a free estimate at (520) 858 0220.

There are three main solar power inverter types for residential solar power. They are string, micro-inverter, and power optimizer. All of them convert the DC power that your panels produce, to AC power that your house uses. Each type has its own set of strengths and drawbacks, but which is best?

Let’s go over the pros and cons of each inverter type individually to see which is best for you.

String Inverter

String inverters are the most common type of solar power inverter system because the technology has been around for more than 20 years. It is a simple system with each solar panel connecting to the next panel in a “string” and eventually feeding into the central inverter.

Pros: Lower initial cost, simple design

Cons: Lower efficiency, hard to troubleshoot, susceptible to shading issues

Micro Inverter

A micro inverter system is very different from a string inverter system. Each solar panel gets its own small inverter attached to the back of the panel. This converts the power to AC immediately and then combines the panels to feed the house.

Pros: More efficient, easy to troubleshoot, not susceptible to shading issues, a lower initial cost

Cons: More susceptible to heat failure, more complicated system overall, less popular in general, low long term reliability

Power Optimized

A power-optimized system combines the best attributes of the string and micro inverter systems. It is a string inverter at its core, utilizing a central inverter. However, it integrated a power optimizer module, that is attached to the back of each panel, to regulate the power coming out of each panel. This increases efficiency to 99.5% and mitigates any shade or troubleshooting issues.

Pros: Very efficient, easy to troubleshoot, good long term reliability, heat tolerant, not susceptible to shading issues

Cons: Higher initial cost, newer technology

At Solar Solution AZ, we have installed over 3,000 solar panel systems on homes all over the Southwest.

We highly recommend SolarEdge Power Optimized systems, due to their great track record with reliability and efficiency.

Give us a call to learn more from a solar expert! (520) 858-0220

“How much do solar panels cost? What is the price of a solar panel system for my home?”

These have been my most asked questions since I started helping people control their electricity costs. They aren’t always easy questions to answer either. The answer for someone with a small townhouse and a $100-a-month average electric bill will be much different than for someone with a large custom home and a $250-a-month average electric bill.

The important point to keep in mind is that solar power will always cost less than your electric bill.

The way most solar works in Arizona, is that an installer outfits your home with its own solar panel system, which produces enough electricity that you won’t have to buy any more electricity from the electric utility company. These panel systems are usually large, sophisticated units that last for 25 years or longer. That means that these systems will pay your electric bill consistently for the next 25 years.

The biggest misconception about solar is that panel systems are expensive. When in reality, a quality solar panel system can save you over $50,000 throughout its life. 

Let’s take the examples from earlier and look over some quick numbers that illustrate my point. The first homeowner spends $100 a month on his electric bill a month, so over one year spends 1,200, and over 25 years (the lifespan of the solar panel system) spends $30,000. A solar panel system for this homeowner would have been somewhere between $10-15,000 (after Federal Tax Credits) which means a savings of approximately $20,000!

The second homeowner has even better opportunities with solar. In this case, they spend $250 a month. Over a year they spend $3,000 on electricity and $75,000 over 25 years. In this case, their solar panel system would need to be a bit larger, so we would be in the $25-35,000 range. This means they have the opportunity to save around $40,000!

That doesn’t even take into account that your electric bill gets more expensive every year either! With solar panels, your payment will never go up and never be a surprise!

Most of our customers finance the total amount of the solar panel systems on a $0 down 15 or 20-year term. With this option, your monthly solar payment is much less than what your electric bills were before going solar.

Call our Solar Solution AZ today at (520) 858-0220 to get more information on how you too can save thousands!