Solar panels can save you money by using space on your roof to produce sustainable energy right from your home. Monument Solar panels have a low-profile design and no visible mounting hardware. You can expect the following benefits from going solar:
Savings
Homes with solar panels rely less on the grid by capturing energy directly from the sun. Homeowners can offset their energy usage with solar panels and reduce their energy bills. By installing a solar panel system, you can take control of your energy usage and lower your costs.
Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Electricity from the grid is generated by a mix of coal, natural gas, nuclear and some renewable energy depending on where you live. Solar gives you a choice in where your energy comes from. By switching to solar, you will be reducing your carbon emissions and environmental impact of energy use.
Protect Yourself from Rising Electricity Rates
Electricity rates continue to increase over time – since 1970 the price of electricity has increased over 3% per year on average. In contrast, energy from your solar system has a fixed price. With solar, you won’t have to worry about how the price of your electricity will change in the future.
Increase Your Home Value
Purchasing and installing solar is an investment that increases the value of your home. Studies have shown that homes with solar are more appealing to homebuyers and sell both faster and at a premium price compared to homes without solar.
Secure Your Home from Outages
While solar alone does not function during a power outage, pairing your solar panels with a storage unit allows you to recharge with sunlight and keep your appliances running even when the grid goes down. Storage is designed to integrate with solar panels and can store energy generated during the day, for use at night or during unexpected outages and grid shut-offs.
A solar panel system is made up of three basic parts: solar panels, an inverter and a solar gateway. Solar panels capture the sunlight hitting your roof and convert it into electricity. A solar inverter connected to your solar panels converts this electricity into the clean energy that can power the lights and appliances in your home. The solar energy powering your home decreases the amount of energy you need to draw from the grid, lowering your electricity bill. Your solar gateway captures your system’s information and allows you to monitor your energy production through a mobile app.
How does my home get power at night?
We connect your solar system to your home’s electric panel, similar to other circuits in your house. At night, the solar system will turn off and your home will be powered by the electric grid. During this time, your electric utility’s meter will record how much energy your home is using, as it does today.
Alternatively, you can use a Storage unit to store the excess solar your home generates and use this energy at night, which would enable you to achieve a self-powered home.
Where does the solar power go if I don’t use it all?
When the sun is shining, the power that is generated by the solar system on your roof will flow into your home’s electric panel. As your system generates more power than your home can immediately consume, your electric meter will reflect as such. Some utility meters will stand still, while bidirectional meters will spin backwards when solar energy is powering your home. Your electric bill will show zero usage during that time. During a sunny summer day, your solar panels may produce more power than your home needs. At that time, your solar system will be fully powering your home and all the excess power will flow backward through your electric meter, where it will be consumed by other houses and businesses connected to the grid.
How much do solar panels cost?
The cost of solar panels depends on several factors including the installer, equipment, size of the solar panel system and any upgrades your home may need.
Going solar is an investment with both immediate and long-term benefits for your home. You can take control of your electricity bills and increase the value of your property by powering your home directly from your roof using free, abundant energy from the sun. Learn more about the factors and cost components of solar.
The True Cost of Solar
The factors that make up how much it costs to install a solar panel system fall into two general categories of hardware costs and soft costs. Hardware costs include the actual equipment that make up a solar panel system: panels, solar inverters, mounting hardware, wiring and potentially, home batteries. Soft costs are made up of sales, marketing, admin, labor and permitting costs. The true cost of solar ultimately varies depending on the installer and their soft costs, how they price equipment and any financing costs.
System Design
The approach to designing a solar panel system can differ dramatically by installer, which can lead to significant differences in cost. The best way to compare costs across companies is to look at how much you will be paying per watt ($/W). Learn more about the factors across installers that may affect your system design.
Equipment
A solar panel system consists of solar panels, mounting hardware, inverters, conduit and other components such as electrical panels and monitoring equipment. When paired with a home battery, a solar panel system can better protect against grid outages, shield you from peak utility rates and enable you to power your home and electric vehicles off of sunlight. There are price and quality variations in all components of a solar panel system.
Installation
The amount of installation labor you need for your solar panel system is largely a function of the number of panels you need installed. Professional installers mount solar equipment to your roof, wire the system into your home and ensure that all the components are functioning properly.
Service and Warranty
Your installer will often provide solar panel system warranties that cover workmanship-related product issues and hardware-specific performance:
- Product Warranty: Manufacturer’s warranty for solar modules, inverters, and micro-inverters are 25-year warranties on manufacturer defects. Enphase and SolarEdge batteries are 10 years. We offer a 10 year workmanship warranty for any issues from initial installation. We offer a 5 year roof warranty for penetrations from initial installation.
Review your solar warranties, as warranties often differ by installer. Some installers may cover the equipment and product but not the cost of labor associated with the work that needs to be performed. For example, depending on the warranty, the labor cost associated with replacing or repairing a defective panel may not be covered.
Approvals, Permitting and Additional Financing Costs
Installing a solar panel system requires electrical and construction work, and most areas require a permit, inspection and utility approval to install and turn on your solar panel system. Requirements vary by location and in some areas you may need an electrical permit along with a building permit and dedicated solar permit. The cost of permits depends on your solar panel system cost.
The Value of Solar
Home Value
Industry studies have found that solar can increase the value of your home by approximately three and a half percent when purchased with cash or loan. Homes that have solar installed often sell faster, and at a premium compared to homes that do not.
Total Value Over Time
All solar installations start building value immediately after being powered on. Purchasing with cash has the highest long-term value. Financing allows you to immediately enjoy clean energy with a small initial investment. After your loan is fully paid off, you will continue to enjoy the system with no monthly payment.
Solar Incentives
Solar panel systems, solar panel systems paired with batteries and standalone batteries are all eligible for federal tax credits until the end of 2034. Reach out to your licensed tax professional to determine your eligibility for any federal, state or local tax incentives.
Understanding Your Solar Estimate
You can get a cost estimate for a solar panel system from multiple installers. Your solar estimate will show a total dollar cost for the total system size and capacity, typically measured in kilowatts. The total system size and capacity for your home is determined by how much energy you use along with your roof’s sunlight exposure, and panel efficiency. System size is shown in kilowatts (kW) or watts (W).
Comparing Estimates Using Cost-Per-Watt
The best way to understand and compare estimates between different installers is to determine how much your solar panel system will cost per watt ($/W). You can do this by taking the total dollar cost of your solar panel system, subtracting out any included battery costs, and dividing it by the number of watts (kW x 1000).
After Monument Solar installs your solar system, you will still be connected to the grid and have an account with your electric utility provider. Your rate plan may change post-installation as required by your utility provider.
Solar can greatly reduce your electric bill, but you will often still have a residual bill. The size of your utility bill depends on many factors including local utility rates, the size of your system relative to your energy needs and what time of day you use energy. If you are on a Time-of-Use rate plan, you can often minimize utility rate charges by using less energy during peak hours.
The cost of energy varies widely by state and rate plan, which is important when considering solar panels and the value of solar energy. Energy rate plan structures, the time of day when energy is consumed from the grid vs. solar and the plan’s net metering rate all impact how quickly you may be able to recoup your initial investment by producing clean, renewable energy.
Types of Electricity Rate Plans
The following examples are some of the most common rate plan structures throughout our service territories and are intended to serve as a general guide – please check with your utility for details:
- Fixed Rate Plan
Pay the same fixed rate per unit of energy, no matter how much energy is consumed or at what time of day. - Tiered Rate Plan
Your energy rate increases in set tiers as you use more energy. Using less energy from the grid by installing solar may significantly reduce your costs by keeping you in lower, less expensive tiers. - Time-of-Use Plan
Energy rates vary based on the time of day, day of the week and/or the season that energy is being used (or any combination of these factors). You can save money by limiting your energy consumption from the grid to times that are outside of peak pricing hours. Additionally, your system is installed with storage to store solar energy to use later during peak pricing periods. - Electric Vehicle Base Plans
These plans will vary based on the number of energy meters you have in your home.
If you have one meter for both electric vehicle charging and home energy use, your rate will often depend on the time of day energy is used. In this case, you pay less by charging your vehicle and using energy during off-peak hours.
Otherwise, you may need to install a second meter: one for your electric vehicle and one for your home energy. Rates for vehicle charging will depend on time of the day and day of the week, and you will pay less by charging your vehicle during off-peak hours.
Net Metering
Net Energy Metering (NEM) is a program most utilities offer which allows you to send extra energy generated by your home’s solar panels back to the grid for a credit, which will be applied to your future electricity bills. With NEM billing, you only pay your utility for this “net” energy usage. During the day, your solar panels may generate more energy than you can immediately consume at that time. With NEM, you’ll earn credits for this excess energy. When your home energy consumption is greater than your solar system’s output, your utility will apply these credits towards powering your home with energy from the grid.
It’s like cellphone rollover minutes—NEM allows you to “rollover” these energy credits to when you use more energy than your solar panels are generating and/or your battery storage has stored.
Monument Solar’s solar power systems are grid-tied and will send excess solar energy to the grid. This also applies to customers with battery storage, who can take advantage of Net Energy Metering after their battery storage system is full.
Solar Warranty for Purchased Systems
25-Year Panel Performance Warranty
Your solar panels are guaranteed by their manufacturer to at least 80% of nameplate power capacity for at least 25 years. Monument Solar has partnered with Sunnova Protect® to offer solar system protection.
10-Year Comprehensive Warranty
Your entire solar system is covered by a 10-year comprehensive warranty. For details and exclusions, you can check your specific purchase agreement.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do solar panels last?
Your solar panel system is outfitted with durable solar panels and high-quality electrical equipment. We do not make performance guarantees outside of your warranty period, but you can expect your solar panel system to continue to produce clean energy for years.
Monument Solar has in-house crews in our service area. Many issues can be resolved remotely by our technical support line. If your system has an issue requiring onsite support, you will be able to schedule a time for our professional service crew to come to your home to resolve your issue.
Do solar panels need maintenance?
How do I clean my solar panels?
Learn More About the Federal Tax Credit for Solar
The solar ITC tax credit: Save big on your solar system installation and slash your energy bills for years to come. Claim 30% of the cost of your system as a federal tax credit and enjoy the benefits of clean, renewable energy. Don’t miss this opportunity, act now before the credit drops.
Energy.govSEIA.org