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Solar Energy Services
1514 Jabez Run
Millersville, Maryland 21108

info@solarsaves.net

410.923.6090

Solar Systems with Integrated Electric Vehicle Chargers

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â€Ķ.like Peas and Carrots

Solar Panel, Solar energy, Annapolis MDAs referenced in our accompanying EV Growth Blogs, the adoption of Electric Vehicles has skyrocketed in recent years. This is small wonder considering EV purchasers can look forward to a 30% federal tax credit on the upfront cost, reduction of fuel costs of at least 60% (according to this Nissan Leaf owner’s calculations), and State Grants/tax credits where applicable (Maryland, for example) and the negation of various oil changes and maintenance costs that accompany an internal combustion engine. For homeowners who have discovered the substantial energy savings by purchasing (not leasing!) a solar residential system, it’s a natural step to want to extend these savings to their current, or future, electrified vehicle.

Ahead of the curve on this natural progression is an innovative new product from inverter manufacturer SolarEdge. All solar systems have two major components 1. Solar panel arrays 2. Inverter(s) that convert incoming DC energy to appliance-ready AC energy. As the national leader in residential inverter supply, SolarEdge made a great move in developing an Inverter that has a built-in EV Charger with a 25’ charge connector. Net energy meter customers (NEM) or energy generating customers interconnected to Pepco are not eligible to apply for the R-PIV rate.

Electric Charging,Solar, Annapolis MD

Why not choose a separate EV Charger?

Four reasons:

  1. Cost. Upgrading to an inverter that has a built-in EV Car Charger comes at around a $1000 cost increase (assuming one inverter/car charger). However, this upgrade – as part of the solar installation – qualifies for the 30% federal tax credit, putting the material cost at around the same as a separate stand-alone EV Charger such as Clipper City. In addition, the integrated inverter has no additional labor or electrician charges – its all covered in the solar install.
  2. Warranty. Popular stand-alone Car Chargers such as Clipper City come with a 3- year warranty. Solar Edge’s integrated inverter has a 12-year warranty, with upgrades up to 25 years available.
  3. Design Elegance. Between service panels, routers, generators and other wall-mounted electronics – its nice to have a 2-in-1 solution and save some wall space. No additional wiring or conduits needed. Of course, the inverter does need to be placed within 25’ of where the EV will be parked nightly.
  4. All Pros no Cons. As with Stand-alone chargers, Solar Edge’s integrated solution allows for indoor/outdoor placement, comes with a 25’ connector and offers software that tracks your EV’s energy consumption that is accessible from desktop or phone, and can be controlled remotely.

Thinking Ahead

Due to the clear advantages, and seeming inevitability of rapid EV adoption by the majority of Americans by the Year 2030, we now ask all of our prospective solar shoppers two questions:

  1. “Do you plan to buy an Electric Vehicle in the not-so-distant future?”
  2. If so, “ What is your expected weekly/annual mileage?”

Mileage calculations inform how many solar panels we should add to the array in order to cover as much EV car use as possible (as roof space allows). Worth noting for our Washington DC/Montgomery County solar customers, PEPCO does require us to fill out an Electrical Usage Calculation Sheet if the solar system is sized over 120% larger than the past 12 months usage history. In those cases we simply submit the estimated kWh increase (as per expected mileage calculations) that the EV will add.

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Solar in Critical Areas – Maryland, Virginia and Delaware

Solar Panels, Solar Energy, Solar in Critical Areas AnnapolisWhat is the Critical Area?

The Critical Area includes all land within 1,000 feet of Maryland’s tidal waters and tidal wetlands. Along our precious shoreline of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, we have had many homeowners looking to take advantage of enhancing their waterfront landscape with solar panels.

Aside from the clear economic advantages, we are in solar for all the right reasons; to protect the environment, preserve our natural resources, and to leave the world a better place. With that said, installing solar in the critical areas encourages us to comply with two important regulations that ensure shoreline preservation.

Lot Coverage

In the critical area, you are allotted a certain amount of lot coverage depending on the size of your lot. Our first step in the process is to prepare a “Lot Coverage Calculation” worksheet that indicates how much lot coverage you have available and ensures that there is legally enough space to account for the square footage of your new solar panels.

Buffer Management Plan

Though lot coverage is not impacted by solar installations outside of the critical area, the total area of additional lot coverage leads us to our next calculation. The Buffer Management Plan requires that every square foot of additional lot coverage is mitigated by planting either grasses, shrubs, or trees within 100 feet of the shoreline. The goal for this mitigation is to slow down the erosion of the shoreline, and we are big supporters of this mission. There is some flexibility with the types of flora that can be planted in this area, so we consult the homeowner in selecting preferred plants for their new shoreline oasis.

Though this process involves a few more steps in terms of permits, we have become subject matter experts thanks to our waterfront solar supporters in Kent County, Queen Anne’s County, Talbot County, Dorchester County and Anne Arundel County. Every county has a slightly different twist on their permitting requirements, and this helps local companies like SES thrive.

Peters’ Journey to Net Zero

Solar Service,Home Solar PanelsWhat Net Zero Meant for Us? Our Severna Park based, four-person family was looking to offset some of our home’s dirty energy, but we really did not have an expectation we could offset it all, but we had to start somewhere. We took our first step shortly after I joined the solar industry in 2008.

Low Hanging Fruit. In February 2009, we installed a 120-square foot solar water heating system to offset most of our water heating, and a small portion of our space heating for the first floor of our home. We saw big savings from this 3-panel system right away. Ever since, I enjoy the act of turning off the back-up water heating in April and leaving it off until almost October. For us, offsetting a dirty and expensive oil-fired boiler was the obvious low hanging fruit. We would later convert that remaining load to natural gas when the utility extended the pipeline to our home.

Solar Electric (PV) With the rest of the heat, A/C, and appliances all running off electric, it was time to look at the next opportunity. A few years later, when budget allowed, we decided to add a 5 kW solar PV system to our second story roof which faces SSE. My best determination was that we offset just over 40% of our electric load with that PV system. We were happy, but knew we’d want to find a way to get to NetZero eventually. , . I began to evaluate the remaining rooftops and consider what it would take to get us there. Solar panel efficiencies had improved a lot over the past several years so this reduced the remaining roof space we’d need to hit our goal

Phase 2 (PV). In the spring of 2016 we finished filling the balance of the south roof with some slightly higher wattage panels. As part of the same expansion, we added 24 relatively high efficiency panels to the E/W, low slope, rooftop of our one-story garage. We now had a total of 6.6 kW Equivalent of solar thermal and 13.8 kW of PV.

Not There Yetâ€Ķ.We almost tripled our PV with the last upgrade and according to my calculations, this would get us to NetZero electricity. We’d know for sure by April, the annual true-up time frame for netmetering with BGE. When April 2017 came around, we were disappointed to come up a bit short (unfortunately, with a couple teenagers in the house, my usage predictions were a little off). Where do we go from here? I was not ready to put panels on the north roof, there had to be something available to us on the demand side.

Oops – More Low Hanging Fruitâ€ĶOne thing about Energy Efficiency, there’s always more opportunity. I had changed out many bulbs to LED over the prior several years, mostly through attrition, but I had not replaced any of the more than 2 dozen canister lights we had throughout the ceiling upstairs and down. Not only were these lights very inefficient, but the heat they generated in the summer was just adding to our air-conditioning load. We found the LED replacements on sale and replaced them all, as well as the remaining few incandescent lights in the house.

Commercial Solar Energy,Solar ServiceEureka. we have arrived!… In April of 2018 we received a $46 check from BGE for the annual overage from solar. With the kids heading off to college soon and a new refrigerator around the corner, I’m confident our checks from BGE will be getting bigger for the near future. At least until we purchase an electric carâ€Ķ

DC Property Owners: Big Hot Water load = Big Solar Incentives

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A growing number of building owners, developers and condo associations in the District of Columbia have come to realize that their building happens to be located in the most solar-friendly city in the USA .  Solar contractors, investors and financing vehicles are falling over each other to get solar panels on District roofs and start generating  the lucrative solar renewable energy credits (SRECs).   Whether via Direct Purchase, or $0 solar leases – SRECs are undoubtedly the reason for the solar season in DC (more to follow on those below).

However, before you sign on the dotted line and fill your roof with a 25-year solar PV (electric) system, as offered by 9 out of 10 solar professionals, make sure that you’re not losing the opportunity to vastly increase your return on investment with a Solar Thermal System.

Solar Water Heating Feasibility

The pre-qualification for a Solar Thermal System involves three questions:

  1. Does your building have a substantial, daily (365 day) hot water need? (i.e. apartment building/condos, restaurant, laundry, brewery, health center)
  2. Does your building have a centralized water heating system (as opposed to individual units throughout the building)?
  3. Can the building accommodate additional storage tanks?

If you answered YES to these three questions you really (really) should first consider a Solar Water Heating system either before – or at a minimum – in tandem with, a solar PV system.  (Shopper Beware – unless your solar contact has experience with solar thermal – which many do not – you’re going to have to be prepared to shop further).

What is Solar Water Heating (or Solar Thermal)?

Other than using the sun for energy generation, Solar Water Heating Systems operate entirely differently from their electron-shaking PV counterparts.  These time-tested, technologically mature systems are mechanical in nature and relatively simple.

Moreover, a solar thermal panel is 60 – 70% efficient; whereas a solar PV (electric) panel is typically 17 – 24% efficient.  Therefore, solar thermal panels generate substantially more energy per square foot than PV panels,  monetizing many more SRECs.

Solar Service , Home Solar Panels, Solar Renewable Energy

 

Let’s Review SRECsâ€Ķ

SRECs (Solar Renewable Energy Credits) – along with the 30% Federal Tax Credit and 100% Year 1 depreciation– are what drive the tremendous economic benefits of solar in Washington DC; one of several jurisdictions that have enacted a Renewable Portfolio Standard requiring that a specific percentage of electricity consumed must come from solar.   Whether residential, commercial, or institutional, each time a solar system generates 1 Megawatt hour of energy – the solar system owner generates 1 SREC.  This SREC is then sold via aggregators to an SREC market where it is bought by competitive energy suppliers to allow them to meet their share of the compliance obligation, or else pay a legislated fine (Alternative Compliance Payment, or ACP) for every SREC they are short.  Washington DC currently generates the highest SREC values in the country, largely due to the fact that DC does not have the real estate to install large solar farms which can rapidly oversupply a market and drive down SREC prices.

How much are SRECs Worth?

Washington DC SRECs are currently trading at $395/SREC.  To provide a frame of reference, a 6000 sq ft rooftop in Washington DC outfitted with a 75kW solar PV (electric) system could generate around 90 SRECs/year (over $35,000/year).   Depending on variables such as system size, corporate tax rate and and project site attributes, this SREC income – combined with a 30% Federal Tax Credit and 100% Year 1 depreciation, typically result in IRR’s between 30% – 60% and a Simple payback of 3 – 5 years.    Assuming solar thermal is applicable, this same roof outfitted with a Solar Thermal System could fit a kWh equivalent of a 150kW+ system, generating 180 SRECs/year – and see an IRR of 50 – 80%, with a simple payback in the 1 – 2 year range.

Solar Service ,Home Solar Panels, Residential Solar PanelsMaintenance

Although Solar PV (electric) clients often opt for an O & M (operations and maintenance) contract through their solar installer, Solar PV Systems  have relatively minor maintenance needs; usually an annual inspection along with ongoing monitoring.    Solar thermal (water heating) requires a little more maintenance including a 3 – 5 yearly service which, at a minimum, includes a replacement of the propylene glycol/energy transfer fluid that can degrade with time.  Nonetheless, the impact of service costs on the overall IRR is relatively small and easily absorbed by the increased SREC income.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

A Primer on Solar Power

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Did you know that attempts to harness the sun’s power through the development of solar cells dates back to the late 1800’s? I am sure that this, and other information, may be new to our readers. This article will provide you with some basic facts about solar power and solar energy. That way, you can join the conversation, and the renewable energy movement!

  • The first successful solar cell was developed in the early 1950s. It was made of silicon, and able to power small electronic devices. This was hailed as the beginning of a new era of energy resources, even then being acknowledged as having the potential to offer a limitless supply of electricity.
  • The first true application of solar cells could be found in the space program at NASA and in Russia. They were the only ones who could afford this technology in the 1960s.
  • The cost of solar cells continued to decline incrementally, but not so significantly that solar was a common source of energy through the 1970s. But, as the 1980s dawned, and ever since, solar power has insinuated itself into all aspects of life, commercially and residentially.
  • The first solar panels for buildings were developed in the early 1970s. In truth, this initial foray into the potential for large scale residential solar power was actually a solar array built into a rooftop. Panel development followed, as the cost and manufacturing efficiency increased.
  • President Jimmy Carter had solar panels placed on the roof of the White House in 1979. Everyone was getting into the act!
  • Welcome to 2018. Today it is common to find solar-powered cars, solar-powered telecommunications, and even solar-powered aircraft. One car company, renowned for their progressiveness, has incorporated solar panels into the roofs of their vehicles!

But, there’s more! Technology continues to expand the horizons of solar energy, making it affordable and applicable in new ways and new places. For example, it is possible that eventually solar panels on rooftops will be replaced with solar shingles!

Or, consider this, a solar fabric is being finalized that can be attached to houses as a cooling device!

We here at Solar Energy Services are excited about the future applications of this renewable source of energy for personal and commercial uses. You can count on us to utilize our superior knowledge and expertise to your advantage. We look forward to serving you!

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The Fairytale of the 25 year Solar Workmanship Warranty

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Commercial Solar Service,Solar ServiceIf you’re like most solar shoppers, you prefer two or three bids on a substantial home improvement project; enabling you to sanity-check pricing, design options and find the overall best contractor-fit.  Included in these proposal comparisons is the Warranty. Most solar systems come with 3 warranties:

  1. Solar module manufacturer’s warranty; usually 25 – 30 years,
  2. Inverter(s) manufacturer’s warranty; usually 10 – 25 years (inverters convert DC energy to home-accessible AC energy)
  3. Workmanship warranty – entirely separate from 1 & 2 above. This insures the design and installation, insofar as contractor/labor portion of your install is covered for a given period of time, as determined by the installation company.

Industry Standard

As the popularity of solar has increased – so has the number of competing contractors and their accompanying solar proposals. All of these proposals should include a workmanship warranty. What will differ is the duration of the workmanship warranty. The standard duration for a residential solar system was always 5 – 10 years until a couple of years ago when some contractors started offering an unprecedented 25-year workmanship warranty. This is a good thing, right? On paperâ€Ķsure.

Compete only to Beat

With over 35 years in the solar industry, it’s fair to say we’ve seen a lot of solar installers come and go; especially in the last five years. The go-ing usually brings with it a slew of phone calls to our service department as solar system owners panic about no longer having their contractor around to honor the workmanship warranty; particularly those looking to resolve existing issues. Ironically, these are sometimes homeowners that chose the contractor over us due to a workmanship warranty of shorter duration. We have stuck with the industry-standard of 10 years, whereas some other installers have increased to 25 years to match the manufacturer warranties.

So, the big question – and the reason for this current article is – Why? If some of our competitors are offering a 25-year warranty – why don’t we? Seems only natural, given the fact that we’ve been in business for longer than 99% of them – greatly increasing the probability that we’ll be around to honor an extended workmanship warranty.

The Big Answer (in two parts)

  1. We’re keeping it Real: Understandably, a 25-year workmanship warranty is attractive to a homeowner because – by design – it matches the 25-year solar panel warranty. This does not change the fact that a workmanship warranty exists entirely independent of the installed equipment warranty(s). A contractor’s history, fiscal health and future plans have little or nothing to do with the equipment warranties. Given this, we avoid inflating the language in our contracts to provide misleading comfort to a home or business owner, with the sole purpose of beating out the competition at contract-signing time.
  1. We’re still keeping it Real: Of all the orphaned solar projects we’ve come across – we cannot cite a single known instance where a homeowner has taken legal action over an abandoned workmanship warranty item; simply not worth the court fees or the hassle. Most exert their energy on finding a contractor who will fix the problem as soon as possible and get their solar system restored to full working condition. Hence, the true value of the workmanship warranty is contractor integrity and the likelihood of whether they both intend to and will remain in business to honor their contractual agreement. For most solar contractors, the standard ten-year commitment reflects a realistic forecast of longevity and commitment; avoiding the temptation to head off into fairytale land in order to beat-out the competition.
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Diagnosing and Preventing Critter Damage to Solar Panel Arrays

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Solar Service ,Home Solar Panels It’s no secret that hundreds of thousands of homes have installed roof mounted solar panels, with that number increasing with each passing day. The upward trend brings increasing problems that arise when tech meets nature. In an acorn shell we’re talking critters who nest, feed, chew and live their critter lives in and around solar panel installations.

Which Critters?

Any animal that can fit under your array poses a risk to a solar installation. Pigeons and other birds looking for a warm/safe place to build nests may do so under a solar array. This doesn’t usually cause any malfunction to the system. However, water build-up and bird waste may cause minor roof damage and may be more of a nuisance than anything.

Squirrels, mice and rats, on the other hand, can wreak havoc on a solar system. These members of the rodent-family have teeth that require filing down throughout the course of their lifetime. The wires, plastic connectors and small parts that run underneath the panels can be excellent teeth-filing equipment. We have seen squirrels chew the outer plastic covering of wires, as well as penetrate junction boxes on the back of panels and chew into the solar panel interiors. This type of damage will cause panels and even whole systems to cease power production.

Solar Service, Home Solar Panels ,Washington DC SolarWho’s at Risk?

Any solar system can be susceptible to critter damage. However, those most at risk are usually systems that are in wooded areas; particularly where tree branches extend close to the rooftops, allowing easy access for squirrels to make the jump from branch to solar system array. Although many homes and businesses fit this description, it’s also worth mentioning that for every critter complaint we’ve had – there are 20 or 30 more systems that have had NO issues with critters. However, it’s also worth mentioning that most of our customers are no more than 10 years into a 25 – 40-year solar system lifespan. Time will tell what the probability of critter-damage risk over a system’s lifetime will end up being.

Detecting and Diagnosing the Damage

Most solar system owners first become aware of a problem when their solar system does not seem to be producing as well as it used to. For homeowners with online monitoring, they may see that a string of panels – or individual panels (in the case of those systems outfitted with a microinverters or optimizers) are no longer registering power output. Others may hear scampering around on their roofs and may notice their utility bills creeping up. That’s when they call our service department. Our technicians need to remove and inspect each panel, as well as their connecting cables, suspected of damage. In most cases, we can remediate the wire damage onsite without engaging the solar panel manufacturer for a replacement panel. Whether this takes removal of every solar panel, or just a few – depends on the extent of the damage or ability to detect the extent of the damage.

Home Solar Panels,Solar Service, InstallationInstalling Critter Guard

There are a variety of anti-small-animal solutions out there for solar systems designed to create a barrier around the perimeter of the solar system. We usually choose the one most compatible with your solar system; depending on the type of racking initially installed. Most critter guards are made of some type of strong steel-mesh screen and they do not require drilling into the roof.

One of our more popular systems, the aptly named “Critter Guard” employs clips that attach to the bottom flange of the module frame and have hooks to snap the screen into place. The clips are painted steel and can be snapped to the appropriate length to accommodate height variations so there are no small spaces that accommodate a small animal. The mesh screen is vinyl-coated steel, rigid enough to keep out even the most industrious squirrel.

Residential Solar Panels ,Solar ServiceCritter Guard is now a standard option that we offer to our customers and we strongly encourage it when the structure has trees that are encroaching on the rooftop. While the tree branches may not be close enough today to make contact with the roof, over time, if not maintained, they can grow out to become that ideal path to an appealing new nesting site.

What are the costs involved?

The costs are always less if you can prevent the problem in the first place. Adding Critter Guard at the time of installation typically costs from $500 – $2000 depending on the size of your system; but of course this cost is integral to the solar system so most tax advisors would agree that the 30% tax credit would apply.

The costs for any rodent damage remediation will depend on the extent of the damage. Critter damage is not related to defects in installation covered under our standard Workmanship Warranty; neither will most solar panel/inverter manufacturers consider this damage a Material defect. Our service department charges Hourly-Time + Materials. These costs may range anywhere from $500 to $4000 for a mid-sized solar system including all remediation and installation of Critter guard to prevent further damage. We recommend inquiring with your home’s insurance agent to see if the costs can be covered under your homeowner’s insurance policy.

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Poly Vs Mono Panels for Residential Solar Installations

IfSolar Service, Home Solar Panels,Commercial Solar Service ,Annapolis MD – like most educated consumers – you’re getting multiple quotes for your solar power installation, you’re probably having to compare between various equipment offerings by your solar vendors. Themostprominent of these offerings – both in terms of financial investment and warranty security –are the solar panels themselves.

Solar panels come in a variety of power ratings. For residential applications, the most popular panels today usually fall somewhere between 270 watts and 315 watts, with price points that usually increase with the wattage (in the standard size footprint). Less obvious, however, is the type of solar panel you may be asked to choose between.

In general, your solar quote will include a panel whose cells are made from crystalline silicon. Silicon is us

ed in solar panels not necessarily because it’s the most optimum semi-conductor available – but because of the extensive research on the processing and physics of silicon grown out of the integrated circuit industry. The processes used to access and arrange the silicon determine whether a panel is deemed to be

As the name suggests, monocrystalline panels utilize a single, continuous crystal structure in the processing of the silicon ingots from which the solar cells are made. It used to be that this high-grade silicon resulted in substantially higher efficiency rates than other solar panels. However, improvements to manufacturing in polysilicon processes have closed this gap significantly. Still, homes and businesses looking for the highest possible efficiency rating on a solar panel would likely choose a Mono panel.

The silicon ingots used for manufacturing the solar cells for Poly panels are manufactured by melting many fragments of silicon together to form the ingot. Because this results in many crystals in each cell, there is usually less freedom for the electrons to move. As a result, polycrystalline solar panels typically have lower efficiency ratings than monocrystalline panels.

Should I choose a Mono or Poly solar panel?

As with any choice it comes down to buyer preference:

Aesthetics: In general, Mono panels have more options if you are concerned with how your solar panels will look. If you want something low-profile; maybe a uniform, all-black aesthetic devoid of white lines, silver racking and diamonds – most manufacturers offer this aesthetic in a Mono panel. However, there are now a few poly panels available in all-black. For example, REC has a 280-watt poly panel on the market that is now available in all-black.

Cost:  Mono panels tend to cost more than poly panels. A small roof looking to get the highest possible solar fraction by going with a high wattage solar panel will most likely end up with a Mono panel as these include the highest wattage options (300w plus). However, if a homeowner has the roof space and is looking for the highest possible value, it may be most cost-effective expand the array by one or two more panels and go with a Poly. Many commercial applications utilize poly panels due to the focus on cost over aesthetics, particularly if the panels are not visible from the ground, due to a flat roof installation.

Performance:  Due to the amount of information out there disparaging efficacy of poly panels compared to monos, this is a subject worth broaching. It is true that under factory test conditions, poly solar panels tend to have slightly lower heat tolerance than monocrystalline solar panels. As a result, under high temperatures, poly panels would perform slightly worse than their mono counterparts. Heat can affect the production performance of solar panels and shorten their lifespans. However, this effect is minor, and most homeowners do not need to take it into account. This is evidenced by the standard 25 year manufacturer’s warranty is the same for both mono and poly panels.

First Community Solar Project in Washington DC

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PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, January 10th 2017

 

Father/Daughter Team Up for DC’s First Community Solar Project

WASHINGTON DC:  January 10th, 2017.  DC Resident Rebecca Mann and her father Neal Mann are poised to be the FIRST two PEPCO customers to take advantage of Washington DC’s newly revised and adopted Community Renewable Energy Facilities of 2016 (CREF).  After a process lasting three years, the District has finally worked out all of the kinks that enable D.C. residents to benefit from solar, even if they can’t put panels on their own roof.  Community solar offers the benefit of solar to community members (subscribers) who can’t, or prefer not to, install solar panels on their homes. This also gives renters an option to purchase solar power.

For the flagship project, Rebecca Mann is unable to install a solar power system due to limited roof space and shading constraints.  Located one mile away – her father, Neal Mann, is currently having a 16.24kW grid-tied solar power system installed.  This will generate enough power to offset a good portion of both his own, as well as his subscribing daughter’s, PEPCO utility bill —  at full retail price.

The project is currently under construction and is poised to be interconnected and officially net-metered by the end of January 2017.

Solar Energy Services, Inc. is one of the region’s longest running solar installation companies.  Founder Roger Perry has been in the solar energy industry for over 35 years.  His partner, Rick Peters, is a current Board member and past President of MDV-SEIA.  Locally owned and operated, SES installs both residential and commercial solar PV (electric), as well as solar thermal (hot water) systems in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia.

Useful Links

PEPCO’s Green Power Connection and CREF

History of Washington DC’s Community Solar

For further information, contact:

Lisa Walsh 

Solar Energy Services, Inc. 

410-923-6090 X304

443-253-6941 Direct

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Non-South facing solar panel installs in Maryland, DC and Virginia

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The Design

Eastern Shore ,MD,Solar Service, Home Solar PanelsWhen planning a solar panel system for your home, the first consideration for any solar designer is the tilt and orientation of your roof areas.  We need to know which roof(s) will ensure the most optimum solar output – which translates to the best Return on Investment.   For us here in Maryland, the most optimum solar roof orientation is Due South at 180 degrees.  Of course, not everyone has this perfectly oriented roof and our customer base consists of homes that have South, West, East and everything-in-between orientations.  Occasionally we even install on North-facing roofs if the pitch of the roof is low enough that panels are close to flat, or can be tilted southerly.

For homes that face East-West, you may be wondering which roof would best suited for solar.  This is a good question given the fact that the output of your solar panels is directly related to your Return on Investment and how quickly the panels can pay for themselves.

If either East or West favors a more Southerly angle, then that would likely be a more favorable roof.  Assuming that there aren’t issues related to shadingor obstructions caused by chimneys, vents, skylights and other roof-placed items.

If the house has a perfectly split East-West orientation, with all things equal – the next consideration would be roof angle; the lower the tilt (i.e. closer to horizontal) – the more solar energy will be generated over the course of the day.  If the tilt on either side is the same then we would usually favor the West facing side.   Here in Maryland, DC and Virginia we tend to have cloudier mornings, and sunnier afternoons going into dusk.  Therefore we want to capture the late afternoon sun (west facing) more than early morning sun (East facing).  Of course, should you happen to have a tree, chimney or other obstructing factor(s) on the West roof – we’d favor the East.

The Economics

Homeowners looking at an East-West installation often have concerns as to whether or not their system will be profitable enough, compared to its south-facing counterparts.    Disqualifiers for cost-effective solar systems include shading and limited available roof space.  Rarely, however, is a home found unsuitable due to a Non-Southerly facing roof alone.

To illustrate, following is a comparison of a 10kW system’s output respective to East, West and South facing orientations.  Data compiled using the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) weather data patterns for Baltimore, MD –

10kW system installed on a 20 degree pitched roof with zero shade

 SOUTH (180 degrees) WEST (270 degrees) EAST (90 degrees)
ANNUAL OUTPUT 13,224kWh 11,389kWh 11,328 kWh
*Annual $avings $1853 per year $1594 per year $1586

*Savings based on a conservative $3.00/watt installation, and $0.14/watt BGE rate

Data from PV WATTS

As illustrated, although perfectly South would be ideal, the East and West orientations provide a competitive amount of solar and would add only a few months to the payback period.  If you were choosing between East and West (as opposed to installing on both), the difference is nominal.  The choice of which roof may come down to aesthetic preference, distance to utility meter and regional weather patterns.

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