Take Charge of Your Power

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Net Metering Guide

The FTC is a federal credit and is worth 30% of your total system cost.
Clean Energy Tax Credits

If you are in an energy community you are eligible for another 10% bonus.
Link to map here

Home Envelope Efficiency Bonuses are also available. $3,200/yr for 10 years to make your home more energy efficient.
Energy Efficiency Cheat sheet

In an effort to create innovative streamlined solutions for our members we have partnered with a Solar Tax Consultation firm to assist you with your energy tax incentives; on average they are able to find an additional 15-40% of additional incentives based on your Net Metering Agreement with your utility company.
Solar Tax Pro’s2

We’ve partnered with a SREC market maker to streamline the process for Homeowners. We will register your system with them and they will reach out to you to provide you with options depending on your risk profile.
SolSystems, Our SREC Market Partner

Overview and links to Timberline & Timberline Solar Warranties

We have partnered with several industry leaders and offer multiple financing solutions for our members. Including the “GAF PowerSwitch Choice” offered through GAF’s partnership with Mosaic Finance, available solely for Timberline Solar Customers.

Terms and definitions

Here are some of the best benefits of switching to solar energy:

• Solar Energy Is Cleaner – the solar panels use the sun to produce energy and the sun is one of the cleanest energy sources; this is in contrast to popular energy sources like coal and oil which produce more polluted energy.
• Solar Energy Is More Predictable – if you sign up for solar through the PPA program / lease program / loan program, then you will get a locked-in monthly rate allowing you to know the exact amount of your monthly electric payment.
• Solar Energy Adds “Likeability” To Your Home – if you sign up through the PPA program, having a solar energy system adds “likeability” to your home. While the solar system won’t strictly add “value” to your home (because you lease rather than own the solar system), it will add “likeability” to your home. If someone is looking to purchase your house and they see that you use solar energy (which is cleaner, cheaper and more predictable), your home will have an advantage over the other houses on the market.
• Solar Energy Adds Value To Your Home – if you purchase the solar system with cash or through a loan, having solar energy can actually add real, concrete worth to your home’s value. Let’s say, for example, you own a $200,000 house. If you purchase a solar energy system it would likely add around $40,000 – $60,000 in value to your home (depending on the size of the system you purchase).

When you hear that solar is “free” it is referring to the PPA program or ‘Lease’ program. In these programs, your solar system is installed for free and your insurance, maintenance and warranty are included in the program. This means that you only have to focus on making your monthly utility and solar payments — combined together, these two payments will be cheaper than your current utility rates.

Yes. If you purchase your solar system with cash or through a loan, you’ll be entitled to any tax credits that are available to you.

How much solar panels will save you on your electricity bill will be different for everyone based on a number of factors. Generally, you can expect to save anywhere from 10%-40% on your electricity bill by switching to solar energy.

In addition to saving money on your monthly energy costs, switching to solar allows you to predict what you’ll pay each month. Paying for solar energy is a locked-in rate, whereas utility companies can raise and lower rates on a monthly basis based on a variety of factors.

Net metering is the process of getting energy/utility credits from the energy that your solar panels produce. Solar panels typically produce lots of energy during the day, but you’re not using all of that energy during the day. As a result, the excess energy that you do not use goes back out into the utility grid. By releasing energy from your system back into the grid, you are not only supplying your neighbors with clean power produced by your solar system but you are also building up credits of energy in your utility account.

At night, then, you will feed off the energy grid using the credits of energy you built up in your utility account during the day. To put it another way, even though you’re using the energy from your utility company, you aren’t paying for it because you’re using your energy credits that you built up during the day.

Time of use rates is a metric dictated by the utility company. Your utility company will charge you more or less depending on what time of day you use the electricity. Generally, in the peak hours (somewhere between 2pm – 6pm) they charge you more and then in the off-hours (late evening, early morning) they will charge you less.

Grid-tie solar is synonymous with the concept of net metering, the process through which your solar energy builds up credits of energy in your utility account.

Off-grid solar refers to the concept of using a battery backup to store excess solar energy rather than release the excess energy back onto the public grid. Off-grid is a less commonly used because many districts and zones make it illegal to be disconnected from the grid.

Green energy is cleaner energy. Solar, wind, and water are all clean energy products. In contrast, coal, oil, and nuclear are forms of dirty energy products and harm our planet.

Solar panels produce energy for your home and that energy flows into your house in the form of electricity. Any excess energy that is unused goes back into the grid and awards you utility credits which get used when the sun goes down.

Solar energy feeds back into the grid through the net metering program. When solar panels produce excess energy (i.e. energy you won’t use/need) that energy funnels back into the grid, awarding you credits of energy in your account which you can use to power your home at night.

At the end of each night, any remaining unused energy credits left in your utility account will roll over into the next day and beyond.

At the end of the year, if you have enough energy credits left in your utility account, then the utility company will actually PAY YOU for overflow energy you’ve supplied to the grid.

“It Will Change My Electricity and My Lights Will Flicker”

No, solar is not going to change your electricity or cause your lights to flicker. The only “difference” you will see is on your monthly utility bill which will be significantly cheaper having switched to solar.

“There’s A ‘Catch’ On The Lease / PPA Program”

No, there is no catch and there are no hidden costs. We install your solar system for free and we cover everything you need for your system, including your warranty, insurance, maintenance. All you need to do is just continue to make your electrical payments which will be reduced because you’ll be saving money with solar.

Yes. Solar panels work on cloudy days, but are not as productive as sunny days.

No. Solar panels do not work at night because they need sunlight to produce energy.

On a similar note, the moon that we see (being reflected by the sun’s light on the other side of the earth) simply does not produce enough light to power solar panels. At night, then, you will rely on utility credits to power your electricity.

Yes. Solar panels do work in the winter, but do not produce as much energy as in warmer and sunnier months. During the winter, your energy usage will rely more heavily on the utility/electricity credits built up through the net metering program.

The average lifespan of solar panels and your solar system is typically between 30-50 years.

Like with any electric product, the hotter or colder the environment around the electric product is, the more the electric product will struggle to produce energy at the highest level.

The same is true of solar. So, if you live in an extremely hot environment or especially an extremely cold environment then your solar system may produce less energy than more temperate climates.

When getting a solar system you want to make sure you have a warranty and are clear on what the warranty covers. We recommend looking for a roof leak warranty around 10 years.

We warranty solar panel systems for 25 years with an option to extend that warranty in two 5-year increments. Ultimately, then, you could warranty your solar panels and system for 35 years.

There are a few options for monitoring the activity and effectiveness of your solar panels:

(Option 1) Outside Energy Meter – your first option is to look at the energy meter attached to the exterior of your house. On this meter you will see arrows pointing left and right, allowing you to see whether your energy is running forwards or backwards.

(Option 2) SolarEdge App – if you purchase your system through a cash or loan purchase, you can use the SolarEdge phone app to track how much energy your solar panels are producing, how much money you are saving on your utility bill, and how many energy credits you’ve built up on your account.

(Option 3) Sunnova App – if you purchase your solar system through the PPA program or through a lease, you can use the Sunnova phone app to track the output of your system and the credits/savings you’re building up.

Make sure you do your homework when choosing a solar panel and solar company. The efficiency of a solar panel can vary dramatically depending on the brand and model. Some solar companies have solar panels that look sleek and beautiful, but simply do not produce high levels of energy. We use industry-leading products that produce maximum amounts of solar energy.

There are two ways to store solar energy. First, you can store energy in a battery. Alternatively, you can “store” energy through the net metering program which is really just a credit (not storage) system.

Each solar panel is typically around 5′ x 5′ and most homes have about 20-30 panels. As a part of our consultation process, we always produce a mockup design so you can see exactly how your solar system will look on your property.