Read the home’s energy story
Twelve months of kWh use reveal more than a single dollar bill. Note planned changes such as an electric vehicle, heat pump, pool, addition, or changed occupancy. A production estimate should then account for the address, orientation, tilt, shade, roof condition, and selected module rating instead of relying on house size alone.
Grid-connected solar can change how electricity is purchased or exported, but utility credits, fixed charges, interconnection rules, and system-size limits vary. A site-specific design should state these inputs and should not promise that a bill will disappear.
Practical checklist
- Gather twelve months of kWh use and tariff information.
- Document roof age, shade, access, and likely future loads.
- Compare modeled annual production, equipment, warranty, and exclusions across proposals.
Keep resilience separate from annual offset
Solar panels alone generally do not keep a home powered during a grid outage. Backup requires an appropriate inverter, storage, controls, and selected wiring. A resilience conversation therefore starts with critical loads, their hours of use, and motor-starting demand—not with a blanket whole-home claim.
US installation feasibility also depends on structural, electrical, permitting, interconnection, and installer review. Financing, incentives, savings, runtime, and eligibility all require current, site- and jurisdiction-specific confirmation.
Practical checklist
- List critical circuits separately from normal daily usage.
- Ask who handles permits, utility application, and commissioning.
- Treat production and savings figures as assumptions to verify.
Review the proposal as a home project
A solar agreement affects more than equipment on a roof. Review roof responsibility, electrical changes, access, restoration, permits, inspection, interconnection, monitoring, warranty handoff, and the procedure for unexpected site conditions. Compare these project obligations alongside production assumptions so a seemingly similar system does not hide a materially different installation scope.
Practical checklist
- Keep assumptions, exclusions, and the next verification step in the written project record.
Practical FAQs
Questions to take into a review
How many panels does a US home need?
There is no fixed answer. Use consumption, site-specific production modeling, panel rating, roof constraints, and utility rules.
Can solar provide backup during an outage?
Only if the system is designed with suitable storage, controls, inverter capability, and backed-up wiring.