- Overview
- Solar Basics
- Benefits
- Incentives
- Financing
- Implementation
- Get Started
Residential Solar Overview
At OnPeak, we understand that our residential customers and their requirements are distinctly different than those of our commercial customers. Every individual has their own initial motivations for investigating a solar electric system for their home. Some are driven by environmental concerns while others are looking simply for a profitable investment. We've organized the tabs in this section to correspond to our own decision making process and hopefully it fits yours but feel free to jump around:
- In Solar Basics you'll learn how photovoltaics generate electricity from sunlight and the relationship among all the other components of a solar electric system and how they affect how quickly you'll earn a profit from your system.
- Once you understand the basics, the Benefits of your solar system will make more sense and perhaps you'll come up with some benefits that we haven't listed but are important to you, your family, and your community. Share them with us.
- Solar economics are important and are driven primarily by federal and state Incentives that are continually changing. You'll see the latest and the greatest.
- We'll need to figure out how you pay for your system so our Financing tab outlines some of the options available today which range from a traditional outright purchase to a power purchase agreement that requires no capital from you. However, each method has its pros and cons.
- In Implementation you'll see how easy and timely the process really is for you regardless of the financing method you choose.
- By the last tab, you've made your decision and can Get Started
Once you've reviewed our residential tabs take a look at our FAQ page and our Glossary page for more information. If you have any questions go ahead and contact us. We're just a call away. It's Just That Easy!
Solar Basics for Homeowners
Understanding how solar panels convert sunlight to electricity and how these panels integrate with other components to bring power into your home and feed the utility grid will be valuable as you navigate the installation road to your fully operational system. You'll be well informed and be able to pass on information about your system and perhaps take advantage of our referral program as you expand solar to your friends, neighbors, co-workers and relatives. If there is a term that you're unfamiliar with and that we don't define here, most likely it's included on our Glossary Page.
Let's start with the solar cell:
Solar Cell
A standard solar cell is comprised of silicon, a semiconductor material also found in computer chips, but for solar cells the semiconductor material can also be produced from other materials that provide advantages and disadvantages from traditional silicon. For our purposes we will look at three types of solar cells:
- Monocrystalline Solar Cells
- Polycrystalline Solar Cells (also known as Multicrystalline)
- Thin Film Solar Cells (also known as Amorphous, CdTe, CIGS, and other variants)
Monocrystalline Solar Cells
A monocrystalline solar cell is formed from a single, large silicon crystal that is sliced in thin layers. Because the silicon is a single crystal, the transfer of electrons within the semiconductor is very efficient which results in this type of solar cell being the most efficient when compared to polycrystalline and thin film cells. The top face of the cell has a homogenous look and is coated to prevent reflection of sunlight. Because they are more difficult to make, these cells are also more expensive. Their efficiencies range from 14% up to 20% but are a good choice for homes with limited roof area and high power demands.
Polycrystalline (Multicrystalline) Solar Cells
These cells are similar to monocrystalline except they are manufactured from a single mass that is comprised of randomly oriented silicon crystals. Because of the various boundaries between the individual crystals, these types of cells are not as efficient and range from 13% to 15%. They are less costly than monocrystalline and are a good choice for standard home installations.
Thin Film Solar Cells
This type of solar cell has no crystalline structure and is produced by depositing silicon or other semiconductor material with photovoltaic properties on a substrate material. Such cells are generally lower in cost but also less efficient than panels created from crystalline silicon although when thin film material is used in a flexible format it has advantages in allowing Building Integrated Photovoltaic applications (BIPV). Other types of semiconductor material include copper indium gallium selenide, abbreviated CIGS. Because the efficiency of thin film is generally less than 10%, a much greater number of cells must be used to generate the same amount of electricity as can be generated from crystalline cells. This can result in additional racking and installation costs and may not be optimal where roof area is limited. However, thin film does have the advantage of tolerating heat better than crystalline.
Solar roof shingles made from thin film material are available and have potential in installations where the homeowner wants an aesthetic option to traditional solar panels. OnPeak recommends that homeowners first look at available aesthetic crystalline and thin film solar panels that might meet their needs before settling on lower efficiency and potentially more costly solar shingles.
Solar Panel (Module)
The term solar cell and solar panel or module are often used synonymously, however, a photovoltaic panel or module is an assembly of solar cells that are interconnected and packaged in a unit that generally has a glass covering, a frame, and a backing material of plastic, metal, or fiberglass. Panels come in a variety of sizes, shapes, efficiencies, and wattages. In the panels to the right the cells are clearly visible. More aesthetically pleasing panels are available with solid black faces and black frames which allow the panels to coordinate better.
Inverter
The inverter is the component of a solar electrical system that converts the panel generated DC current into AC current that is suitable for your home appliances. For grid-tied systems, the AC current generated must be of sufficient quality to allow connection to the utility's grid. Most modern inverters are certified for such installations.
To maintain its highest efficiency, an inverter must be connected to an optimal number of panels. Normally, in selecting a system it is not a good idea to have the system installed with an oversized inverter with the plan that you will install additional panels later. Either install the larger system or install a smaller system and then in the future install your add on system complete with its own panels and inverter. Your OnPeak representative can discuss your options if you are planning on upgrading your system size in the future, such as if you plan an addition to your home and will have additional roof space available.
If in a blackout, the utility power in a grid-tied system shuts down, the solar electric system will also shut down to avoid what is called Islanding which is a safety concern for utility workers. If your system were to remain operational and be feeding electricity into the grid, utility workers could be endangered. If you install a backup battery system, you can continue to maintain power.
Battery
Usually not installed on most grid-connected solar installations, a battery stores any extra electricity that the system generates. In an off-grid system, the stored power can be used when the solar electric system is not generating power such as at night or not generating enough power such as during cloudy periods or when the power demand of appliances exceeds the generating capacity of the system.
For on-grid systems, the grid can be considered the battery and provides power at night or in cloudy conditions or when power demand excess the generating capacity of the system. However, when utility power shuts down, a grid-tied system without a battery will also shut down for safety reasons. The advantage of having a battery is that your system will continue to operate in a blackout and can be used to power appliances. The disadvantage is that battery systems, depending on their size, can add significant additional cost as well as complexity to the installation and require routine maintenance and replacement every few years. Batteries are not recommended for grid-tied installations except in locations that have a very higher probably of loss of utility service for significant periods of time. For other areas, a small generator, either natural gas or gasoline driven, is a good alternative to provide backup power.
Net Meter
A net meter is an electric meter capable of recording both the amount of electricity used from the utility's grid and the amount of electricity fed into the utility's grid from your solar electric system. Such a meter spins both forwards and backwards, the latter indicating that your system is feeding the grid. A net meter can be used to supply the data necessary for "Net Metering" which is an electricity policy that allows you to receive credit (or a deduction from your electric bill) for the value of the electricity your solar electric system has fed into the utility's grid. Net metering policies vary across the nation with regard to availability of net metering, the value of the credit and when it expires. New Jersey currently maintains a net metering policy allowing credits at the retail rate with any annual excess being purchased at the utility's avoided cost rate.
Balance of System
The balance of system term is often defined differently but is used to describe whatever else is required for a system to function beyond the photovoltaic panels. Accordingly it might include the following:
- Inverter
- Battery
- Net Meter
- Racking
- Wiring
- Safety Disconnects
- Monitors
Racking
Racking generally consists of metal rails that are bolted to a building's roof upon which the solar panels are mounted. In addition to keeping the panels securely fixed to the roof, they provide a space between the roof and panel to allow for air circulation. Without this circulation, the panels would become very hot during operation and produce less electricity.
Wiring
There are electrical connections between individual solar panels to join them together into what is termed a string. A number of strings comprise an array. One or more strings are individually connected to an inverter. Depending on the number of strings in your array, you may need more than one inverter. There is also wiring between the inverter, power disconnects, and the electrical panel in your home (where your circuit breakers are located). There may also be low voltage communication wiring between your inverter and an in-home performance monitor. The wiring between panels and to the inverter handles dc electrical power, while wiring from the inverter to your electrical panel and meter handles ac electrical power. The low voltage wiring is generally dc.Safety Disconnects
There are safety disconnect switches at various points in the system. One between your panels and the inverter and another between your inverter and your electrical panel. These two disconnects provide the ability to turn power off to your inverter (so that it can be serviced) and the system to be disconnected from the utility-grid. Systems with batteries and multiple inverters may have additional disconnect switches.Monitors
Inverters normally include a basic readout of how much energy has been produced but to track the statistics of your system, most homeowners opt for at least a basic solar monitoring system whose display device is located within the living area of the home. Basic units can provide the amount of energy produced while more sophisticated units can analyze your production and determine whether the system is indeed operating properly. There are also third party monitoring services that link to your system remotely. Many of the advanced monitoring units provide the ability to access the data through personal computer software to generate detailed reports and even serve them online so you can see how your system is performing in real time while at work or away from home.
Benefits of a Home Solar Electric System
Solar electricity has many advantages for a homeowner. Among the most important are:
- Lower power bills
- A great return on your investment
- Increasing your home's value
- Doing what is right for the environment
- Supporting ourselves and our Country
Lower Power Bills
Net Metering
A solar electric system will immediately reduce your electric bill and, depending on the size of your system, may eliminate it entirely due to the nifty "Net Metering" policies adopted by the State of New Jersey. Any excess power your system generates is fed back to the utility grid and you receive credit for this excess that can be used to offset the electricity you pull off the utility grid when your home uses more power than your system can generate such as at night or during very cloudy weather. If you have any excess at the end of an annual period, the utility will reimburse you at their avoided cost rate. This rate is approximately 8 cents per kWh, less than current residential rates but definitely better than if it the value of any excess were to revert to the utility.
Time of Use
With solar, you'll be protected from future electricity rate increases. Power prices in New Jersey have increased dramatically over the last few years and with continued increases in fossil fuel prices we can expect them to continue to increase year after year. Current Atlantic City Electric rates for a monthly 1,000 kWh usage are approximately 19 cents in summer and 15 cents in winter. With a solar system, you'll want to investigate whether the option to use the utility's Time of Use rates will further reduce your bill. By avoiding the higher cost of power during the daytime hours, you can reduce your overall average power cost. The Time of Use schedule may not work for everyone. Your OnPeak representative can help you evaluate your options when sizing your system.
Locked-In Rates and Predictability
You won't need a crystal ball to predict what your future electric rates will be since you'll be generating your own power for the next 25 to 35 years. You'll be locking-in the price of power and we all know power prices are expected to increase so it's a no-brainer that you'll be saving in the future.
A Great Return on Your Investment
With available Federal and State incentives such as unlimited investment tax credits for homeowners and solar renewable energy credits that can be sold on the open market, a solar electric system has the potential to be a profitable investment. As more homeowners catch on to the value of systems, incentives will no doubt be reduced and eventually eliminated. Now is the best time to invest in a solar system while incentives are high and alternatives for your investment dollars are showing low returns.
The OnPeak Solar Equation
The return on your investment is dependent on a number of factors or variables that go into what we like to call the "OnPeak Solar Equation" the sum of which provides the highest return on investment (or alternatively the lowest cost per generated kWh of electricity). The variables are:
- How much sun your location receives
- Your utility power prices
- The size and efficiency of your solar electric system
- The available incentives from government or other sources
With the equation, a solar electric system in New Jersey can easily outperform the return on investment capable with a system sited in a state with excellent solar resources such as Arizona. This is because the power prices and available state incentives in New Jersey are much higher than those in Arizona. Another example is tracking systems which can improve dramatically the power generated and significantly decrease the cost per kWh of the generated electricity. If you are contemplating a ground installation, trackers should be investigated.
The Payback Illusion - Let's Focus on ROI
Many solar professionals and their counterparts in the utility and financial circles like to equate the term Payback with the Return on Investment you'll see on your system, but the terms are completely different. The term Payback reflects the period of time required in years to recover the cost of a solar electric system and is simply the number of years it takes for the sum of the financial benefits associated with a solar electric system to equal the expenditures made to that date. Unfortunately, this metric does not take into account the time value of money (present value factors), inflation in electric power prices and system maintenance costs, and the effect of taxes. More importantly, Payback completely ignores the value of the electricity the system generates and the value of the solar renewable energy credits created after the Payback point. These can be substantial for a system with a 25 to 35 year life.
Payback is an acceptable method for comparing one solar electric system to another but when deciding whether an investment in a system has a greater return potential than a traditional investment in securities, other property, or collectables, we must take into account both the time value of money (inflation) and the effect of taxes as the financial benefits associated with your system may not be taxed but the income on other investments is often taxed. Your OnPeak representative can help you sort this out but if your finances are complex you may need to pull in your legal and financial advisors to make the proper decision.
Increasing Your Home's Value
A solar electric system can improve your home's resale value. Technically, the present value of the cash flow associated with the savings in electric bills plus other financial benefits such as the value of solar renewable energy credits should be the value attributed to a system. However, most buyers will view the savings and SREC income as additional funds they would have available to meet their mortgage and real estate tax payments. Accordingly, in New Jersey a home with a typical 5 kw system might generate $5,000 annually or over $400 monthly from its system. This amount could accommodate an additional $65,000 of mortgage payment on a 30 year 6.45% mortgage. Given the cost of such a system might be $35,000 currently, the potential for the resale value to equal or exceed the system's original cost provides another significant benefit to the acquisition of a system. In addition, New Jersey provides a property tax exemption.
Doing What is Right for the Environment
By avoiding electricity produced from fossil fuels, your system when combined with all the systems throughout the world will have a dramatic positive impact on our environment. Utility plants that burn coal and other fossil fuels create significant air pollution and contaminate soils. Even nuclear power has its disadvantages with regard to the long-term storage of spent radioactive material.
Using solar avoids the creation of smog, acid rain, and greenhouse gases helping to slow global warming and the negative health affects associated with the burning of fossil fuels. Putting your solar electric system in place is like planting two acres of trees.
Supporting Ourselves and Our Country
Your solar electric system provides you with energy independence from both foreign oil sources as well as autonomy in blackout and brownout situations if you have a battery system. 
Distributed power also reduces the amount of utility infrastructure needed throughout the country eliminating the energy required to produce the equipment as well as the energy lost by transmission of electricity over long distances.
Incentives for Home Solar Installations
Thanks to some great Federal and State incentives for homeowners, the out-of-pocket dollars you need to invest in your solar electric system (and be energy independent and green all at the same time) are now very low! Federal incentives will be around for a while but State rebate incentives continue to decline and will probably disappear in the near future. To take advantage of them, you need to call us now to get your application paperwork submitted by the first day of the next funding cycle, September 1st.
For homeowners there are three incentives that currently apply and we'll go into detail here on each of them but to get the full impact of what they mean personally to your finances you'll have to schedule a site visit at which one of our representatives can help you better understand everything:
- Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit
- State Rebate (up-front rebate based on solar capacity installed)
- Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (generation based incentive)
Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit
The most significant federal policy for the residential solar industry was enacted in October 2008 as part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (H.R. 1424). The bill provides for the following:
- A 30% investment tax credit for residential solar property available through December 31, 2016
- There is no maximum limitation on the credit (previously $2,000).
- Allows the use of the credit to offset AMT liability
- Allows any unused credits to be carried forward up to eight succeeding taxable years (until tax year 2016).
The credit is calculated based on the homeowner's expenditure for the solar equipment and installation, less any subsidies such as New Jersey rebates. The lifting of the $2,000 cap is significant for New Jersey homeowners since, as we shall see below, state rebates are being reduced and will eventually be eliminated. The improved Federal incentive will help offset the impact of rebate reductions at the state level.
State of New Jersey Rebate
Background
The State of New Jersey's Clean Energy Program has instituted a Renewable Energy Incentive Program or REIP which offers up-front incentives to homeowners who buy their electricity from NJ public utilities when these homeowners invest in solar electricity systems.
Rebate Eligibility
- The system must be "customer-sited" which means that it must be located on the homeowner's side of the meter and is primarily for the purpose of serving the home's electrical demands.
- The system must demonstrate that the estimated annual energy production does not exceed the amount consumed annually by the home (prior bills will do).
- The system must be a "small system", one that has a rated capacity of less than 10kW DC (sufficient for most single family homes).
- The homeowner must be a ratepayer of a utility regulated by the NJ Board of Public Utilities and also pay the Societal Benefits Charge which is used to fund both rebates and other incentives (Atlantic Electric and PSEG customers will qualify).
- Equipment must have a 5 year warranty (many panels are warranted for 25 years).
Rebate Amounts
- $0.75 per watt for installations less than 10kW DC but the rebate only applies to the first 7.5kw DC installed or a maximum dollar amount of $5,625.
Rebate With the recently declared fiscal crisis in NJ, the dollars allocated to the renewable funds in NJ were cut significantly and only a few applications for each solar integrator will likely be granted rebates and most likely only for applications that are submitted on September 1st. The amount of money available has been severly restricted. Even without a rebate, Solar in NJ is still a great investment because of the SRECs available and a SREC application can be filed at any time without having to wait until September 1st.
You have 12 months from the date of approval in which to complete your installation and submit the final documentation. This is plenty of time to work out the details of your installation, so contact OnPeak now to allow us to start the process and file your application to maximize your rebate.
Payment
After all inspections are completed and paperwork submitted, payment of the rebate amount is made in about 60 days. You can assign your rebate to OnPeak so you won't have to pay us first and wait for it.
Example
For a standard 5 kW residential installation with a Home Energy Audit your rebate would be $3,750.
A pre-rebate investment for a 5 kW system might be $26,750. Post the rebate (at $0.75/watt), the expenditure would be $23,000 or, if you could absorb the entire $6,900 of tax credit in the year of your installation it could represent an out-of-pocket of only $16,100.
Conservatively you might expect this system to generate 6,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a year and at 16 cents per kilowatt-hour your avoided cost of electricity would be about $1,000 per year. So is it really going to take 16 years to payback your investment?
That doesn't sound very good and is one of the reason's solar was not very attractive before big rebates were around and when the panels were even more expensive. But New Jersey doesn't expect you to "Go Solar" with just rebates and avoided electric cost. They've created a generation based incentive method using Solar Renewable Energy Certificates to make it all worthwhile and then some. Remember the details of this example as we look next at the primary financial incentive for Going Solar: the SREC.
Note: The NJ rebate is generally non-taxable for homeowners and as such the amount of the rebate is traditionally deducted from the total system cost to determine the amount eligible for the Federal investment tax credit. As a result of the most recent economic stimulus legislation, there are varying interpretations of how the Federal ITC is calculated. OnPeak has incorporated the conservative calculation in its example above, however, some installer will provide a more aggressive calculation which could present an out of pocket cost that are lower. OnPeak advises you to consult with your tax and legal advisors to confirm the financial and tax implications of your solar investment. Remember that you will be filing your tax return and that the installer can not and will not be guaranteeing the Federal ITC amount they have presented to you in a proposal. Your total solar investment before any State rebate and Federal ITC should be your point of comparison on the same basic system when evaluating one system or installer against another. Aggressive tax positions, high power generation, and high inflation assumptions are typical methods used to inflate system returns and you should be wary of such practices.
Solar Renewable Energy Certificates
Background
While the first incentive under The State of New Jersey's Clean Energy Program - Renewable Energy Incentive Program or REIP is the up-front rebate, the second, and more motivating incentive, is the sale of Solar Renewable Energy Certificates and sometimes called Credits or Green Credits. These certificates are created through the generation of solar electricity and are considered a production based incentive.
New Jersey and other states have created Renewable Portfolio Standards or RPS's. The New Jersey RPS requires utilities in the state to obtain 22.5% of their power from renewables by 2021 of which 2.12% needs to be from solar electric system. 2% does not sound like much but could reach 1,500 mW of installed capacity or 200,000 average residential installations. In order to meet their RPS requirements, the utilities purchase SRECs from homeowners and business which have solar electric systems and are generating SRECs. If they don't purchase the SRECs, there is a minimum value per Megawatt Hour (mWh or 1,000 Kilowatt Hours) they need to pay to the state called a Solar Alternative Compliance Payment (SACP) whose value is $711 for 2009. It is expected that SRECs will trade in the open market at approximately $100 below the SACP, however, the values could fluctuate depending on the number of SRECs available. The state has set a fixed SACP value schedule for the next 8 years and is working on a 15 year schedule.
For every mWh generated by your system, one SREC will be provided by New Jersey to you which you can then trade(sell) to the utility that needs it to meet their RPS requirements. Companies and even individuals can purchase SRECs which allows anyone who purchases an SREC to say they use solar power and are "green". If you sell all your SRECs, technically you cannot state that you use green power (even if you use all the power that you generate in your home) but you can say you host a system which is just as good for your wallet as it is for the environment. You can also just retire your SRECs (not sell them) and in that case you can say you use solar power and are "green". SRECs are created for 15 years, however, after that period you can still create Renewable Energy Credits and be able to trade them on their respective market.
Requirements
To trade SRECs to third parties you'll need the following:
- A REC (renewable energy credit) account on the PJM-EIS Generation Attribute Tracking System (GATS for short). We'll help sign you up for one.
- The SREC itself
To create an SREC you'll need to generate solar electricity but for systems smaller than 10 kW (most homes), New Jersey will let you use an engineering estimate to calculate the monthly SREC generation. A program on the web called PV Watts is used and is available at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's website. If the your system has great roof orientation, gets a lot of sun each year, has very efficient panels and inverters, and you keep your panels clean it may be wise for you to select actual production as your reporting method rather than use PV Watts. You can monitor your system over the course of a year and if your generation is significantly above the average determined by PV Watts it may make sense to switch your reporting method.
Example Continuation
To continue our original example above, you've invested $16,100 in your system and expect to see $1,000 of savings each year from avoiding your electric bill for a total of $25,000 in savings over the 25 year life of your system. We'll ignore any inflation for now but we all know that the $1,000 annually might be double or triple in 25 years.
If your 5 kW system generates approximately 6 mWh over the course of the year, you would create 6 SRECs. Over the course of the next 15 years at a conservative SREC value of $450, you would have traded $40,500 of SRECs.
So between SREC and avoided electric cost you've received almost $66,000 of cash on your investment of $16,100 (post rebate and tax credit). As you can see, if you can't get the NJ rebate of $3,750 on your system, it really doesn't impact your overall cash flow very much.
Note: there are varying interpretations on whether SREC sales represent taxable income. OnPeak advises you to consult with your tax and legal advisors to confirm the financial and tax implications SREC sale proceeds. Some installers will definitively state that SREC sales are not taxable, however, the NJ Clean Energy SREC Frequently Asked Questions web site does not provide an answer and specifically advises that you should ask your accountant the following questions:
Is the money from the sale of SREC's treated as taxable income?
Should I provide my Social Security number to a company that sends me a 1099? and
What kinds of deductions do I qualify for?
As we stated previously, you will be filing your tax return and that the installer can not and will not be guaranteeing the non-taxability of SREC sales they have presented to you in a proposal. Your total solar investment before any State rebate and Federal ITC should be your point of comparison on the same basic system when evaluating one system or installer against another. Aggressive tax positions, high power generation, and high inflation assumptions are typical methods used to inflate system returns and you should be wary of such practices.
Financing for Home Solar Installations
Focus on solar and renewable energy has prompted support by many financial institutions and utilities. The most popular financing alternatives in South Jersey are outlined below. We can assist you in determining which program is most advantageous and also help you through the financing process:
Refinancing and Home Equity Loans
Low cost financing can often be obtained through the refinance of your existing home mortgage. This can be accomplished with your current lender or if rates are more attractive elsewhere, a new lender can be engaged.
Home equity loans are another alternative. Again, these can be obtained from your current financial institution, but rates and overall plans may be more attractive with alternative lenders such as Beneficial Bank that have developed specific solar programs.
Interest on your mortgage or home equity loan may be tax deductible for you.
Beneficial Bank Solar Energy Loans
Beneficial Bank, headquartered in Philadelphia with branches throughout Southern New Jersey, has recognized the importance of renewable energy today and for the future. The Bank has made solar financing easier and more attractive so that homeowners can benefit and reduce their energy costs, increase the value of their home and help the environment. The program features:
- a home equity loan with terms up to 20 years
- potentially tax deductible interest
- loans as small as $5,100
- ability to borrow up to 100% of the cost of equipment and installation
- a loan to value ratio of up to 90%
Current rates can be found at the Bank's web site www.thebeneficial.com. Give us a call to schedule a meeting with our dedicated branch or contact the branch nearest to you for further details on the program.
PSE&G Solar Loan Program
PSEG has committed to provide loans for 6 megawatt of residential installations or approximately $21 million of funding. Applications are first-come, first-serve basis. What makes the program unique is that the homeowner can pay the loan with SRECs (solar renewable energy credits) or cash.
The program features:
- a residential loan term of 10 years
- an interest rate of 6.5%
- loan value of 40% to 60% of system cost depending upon the amount of energy the system is expected to generate (amount should be sufficient to cover most systems once the Federal 30% credit and NJ Rebate are taken into account).
The system is used to collateralize the loan and the homeowner must reside in the PSEG service territory. The program is attractive because SRECs can be used to service the loan. As of the end of April 2009, only 1.7 megawatt of capacity remains in the program. If the PSEG program is of interest to you, please discuss it with your OnPeak representative during your site visit. Details on the program can be found at www.pseg.com/slp.
Implementation Steps to Go Solar
The process of acquiring your own solar electric system is rather straightforward. Although each installation will be different, you can expect the following to occur:
- Feasibility Evaluation
- Initial Site Visit
- System Design and Quote
- Contract, Rebate Application, and Permits
- Equipment Acquisition
- Installation
- Inspection
- Rebate Request and Wrap-Up
If at any time during the process you have questions or concerns you can contact your installation manager to assist you!
Remember, It's Just That Easy!
1. Feasibility Evaluation
When you first call On Peak, we'll collect some information to see if solar is right for you. They're easy questions including letting us know where you live, your utility provider name, and what your approximate bill is for electricity. We'll analyze this information and review a satellite image of your home to give you an initial assessment. Often the whole process can be done while you're on the phone and you'll know where you stand at the end of the call. Many homes can accommodate solar and so it's likely we'll schedule a site visit.
Unless you have a significant amount of roof shading or have a home with very poor roof orientation, solar will work for you. Your bills should be around $100 or more per month to make it cost effective but small installations can also make sense. There are a lot of details in designing and installing the right system for you, but don't worry, we'll do most of the work and guide you all the way to make the right decisions.
2. Initial Site Visit
During the site visit, an OnPeak representative will review your property to determine the best location for your system and also perform an energy review to determine what system size is most appropriate. We'll need a current electric bill to do the analysis. We'll use some shading analysis instruments to optimize the location of your panels.
We'll also bring along manufacturer literature for you to review and examples of panels and other equipment so you'll have a first hand look at what's going on your roof. If possible, you'll want to have everyone in the household at the site visit so that we can answer any questions so you don't have to!
3. System Design and Proposal
During the site visit, the OnPeak representative will put together a system design that will show you the details of your photovoltaic system and its expected performance. We'll also go through the available Federal and New Jersey incentives to give you an understanding of what your out of pocket costs will be for the investment. We'll also give you a good primer on the production based incentives (SRECs) you'll receive on the electricity you generate. Much of this information is also available on the incentive page of our web site.
We'll also visit the concept of Payback with you, but, more importantly, we'll calculate what the expected Return on Investment is on your system. You'll be pleasantly surprised how much your profit can be under the current incentives and that's one of the reasons you'll want to get your system sooner rather than later.
4. Contract, Rebate Application, and Permits
If your happy with our proposal, we'll prepare a contract that includes all the pertinent details and collect a deposit. We'll also prepare the paperwork needed for you to obtain approval for federal and state incentives. We will also process the municipal permit and the utility interconnection paperwork that allows your system to be connected to the utility grid.
5. Equipment Acquisition
Generally, it takes four to five weeks to receive your approvals on the rebate, the interconnection agreement and your municipal permits. Once we have all the approvals, we'll order your system. It usually takes a week or two to receive everything but once it's all in, we'll schedule the installation with you. Just prior to the installation date, OnPeak will deliver all the materials to your home to insure that your installation will go smoothly.
6. Installation
On the day of installation our crew arrives and simultaneously installs the panels on the roof and your inverter along with all other required electrical connections. Depending on the size of your system, this may take more than a single day.
As for any major work done to your home, we should be able to contact you during construction in case there are any questions or access issues. Often homeowners want to be around the entire time just to see how everything fits together. Naturally, if your electrical panel is inside your home, we'll need to have access to it.
7. Inspection
In order to start up your system and begin feeding electricity into your home and onto the grid, we'll schedule inspections with both your local code official (municipality) and the utility and be on site to demonstrate the system, answer any questions, and resolve any issues if they should appear. We may need access to the inside of the home and you may wish to be present. Once the system has been approved by both parties, we can make your system live.
At this point, we'll show you the details of your system and explain how everything will operate. If you have opted for an external monitoring and reporting system, we'll show you how to use it.
You're now generating electricity for your home and if you have any excess generation that will feed back onto the grid.
There's still one more inspection to go because to qualify for the New Jersey rebate and to generate SRECs, your system will need to be independently inspected. We'll schedule this inspection and be on site.
8. Rebate Request and Wrap-Up
After inspections, we submit the rebate paperwork to get your payment. You can assign the rebate to us and that way you won't have to pay us and wait for it to arrive. We'll also set up your account with GATS to begin generating and selling your solar renewable energy credits (SREC's).
Yep, it was just that easy ...
Get Started
To schedule a site visit and receive a free quote please give us a call at 856-468-2355, e-mail us at sales@onpeaksolar.com, or complete the contact form below. A representative will contact you to provide information and perform an evaluation over the phone to determine whether you're a candidate to Go Solar.