Namaste Solar

Very little, if any. Solar panels are relatively lightweight, so there are rarely any structural modifications required. Conduit and wire must be installed from the solar panels to the electrical service panel. Typical installations take only 1–3 days with only 1 hour without power.

For both residential and commercial solar systems, the federal tax credit is 26% in 2020, and drops to 22% in 2021. In 2022, the residential tax credit drops to 0%, while the commercial tax credit drops to and remain at 10%. Note that your utility company or city might also provide local incentives in addition to the fedreal tax credit. Learn more about the tax credit on our blog: https://blog.namastesolar.com/how-to-get-your-solar-panel-tax-credit-in-2020

We recommend that you contact your homeowner's insurance agent to inform them that you are adding solar to your home. Depending on your policy, your premiums may or may not increase. It is important to make sure your solar system is listed on your policy.

Solar electric panels are built with high‐impact tempered glass. The solar industry standard dictates that panels should be able to withstand golfball-sized hail. If your solar panels do suffer any hail damage, you can claim the damage via your homeowner’s insurance policy. Learn more about the durability of solar panels on our blog: https://blog.namastesolar.com/hail-solar-panels-how-much-hail-can-solar-panels-handle

Not at all. Grid-tied systems simply feed into a breaker in your main service panel.

With any grid‐tied system, the solar system will turn off during a utility power outage. You will experience power outages the same way you do now. This is a safety feature built into the inverters to prevent accidental back-feeding into the grid, which could endanger utility workers. When the utility grid is running again, your solar system will automatically turn back on and resume generating power and saving you money.

The average residential system size is about 6–7 kW. That said, averages won’t help in sizing a solar system for your specific home or business any more than an “average” shoe size will help you find a comfortably fitting shoe. Sizing a solar PV system involves careful consideration of three main factors: (1) available sunny space where a system can be installed; (2) a customer’s electricity consumption; and (3) project budget.

Standard solar panels have efficiencies ranging from 13%–16% and produce about 13–16 watts per square foot. Namasté Solar uses high‐efficiency panels that reach up to 22% efficiency and produce about 20 watts per square foot. Although efficiencies can reach up to 30% or more, the cost is usually prohibitive except for military or space applications.

Solar panels carry 25–year warranties, with life expectancies of 40+ years. Learn more about solar panel lifespan on our blog: https://blog.namastesolar.com/solar-panel-maintenance

The payback is typically 10–14 years, depending on if the system was purchased outright or financed.

With a loan, you can go solar with little to no upfront payment and lock in a fixed monthly solar electricity payment that is comparable to your current bill. For purchasing a system outright, most residential solar PV systems cost between $15,000 to $40,000 on average (before the federal tax credit or other incentives), which includes the cost of all materials, installation, freight, permit fees and sales tax.