How to Determine If Your House is Right For Solar

If you’ve ever wished there were more options to choose from when it comes to your home energy needs, solar might be just the solution you’ve been looking for. Every homeowner should consider making the economical and climate-friendly switch to a life powered by solar energy, but not every home is ideally set up to reap the benefits. Yes, the number of sunny days in your region plays a part in this, but everything from the surface area and slope of your roof to the number of trees around your property can impact your solar energy potential. In the solar industry, we use what’s called a Sun Number Score to help our customers figure out just how much they could save with solar energy.

A Sun Number Score is a number between zero and one hundred that determines the overall solar power potential of your home. This number is the result of individual determinations about all kinds of things: the direction and slope of your roof, the annual climate and average electricity rates in your area, even the average cost of solar panel installation where you live. Sun Number Scores are essential to determining the viability of solar panels for homes and buildings. If the Sun Number Score of your home is seventy or above – you’ve hit the solar jackpot! If it’s closer to zero, solar may not work out for your home in the end. Low scores won’t stop you from going solar, by any means, but you’ll definitely see a lower energy output than solar ready homes with strong scores.

Think of figuring this score out as an easy act of solar prep for homeowners. It’s the step that helps solar go from a promising opportunity to an absolute no-brainer. Once you’ve determined your score, you’re well on your way to an exciting new lifestyle of energy independence.

FREE TIP: If your overall score is high enough, you could send the excess energy your system produces back to your city’s grid to redeem credits! This opportunity typically takes form in what’s called net metering or buy back programs.

Benefits of Going to Solar Energy for Most Homes

Let’s get into the real reason most people choose to power their home energy needs with solar: the incredible benefits. If you have set your sights on solar, get ready to bring home some serious payoffs.

Did you know that solar power is the fastest-growing American and global energy source? And it’s no wonder; studies show the average household can save anywhere between $20k and $40k over the course of the system’s lifetime. That amount of savings is simply too great for most homeowners to leave on the table, but there’s a bigger picture beyond the cost savings of switching to solar—much bigger.

As sustainable living and green energy gain critical importance around the globe, we can’t overlook the ecological benefits it provides. Air quality, resource availability—everything about the way we live is impacted by the health of our ecosystem. Solar panels for homes and buildings generate electricity without emitting carbon dioxide or methane into the atmosphere. This is great news as carbon dioxide gets trapped in our atmosphere for decades, and methane emissions—the negative impacts of which are twenty-five times greater than that of carbon dioxide—make things even more dangerous.

A home that gets its energy from solar is a big win for public health. After all, as the threat of climate change continues to impact our way of life we all need to do what we can and make sustainable adjustments to how we work, live, and play for the good of the planet. If you live in a solar ready home with strong energy potential, making the switch can do more than save you money, it can help you save the place we all call home.

When considering your home energy options, solar is truly unmatched. With incredible benefits ready for the taking, including government incentives at the federal, state, and local levels, the reasons to switch to solar are numerous. Be sure to check out our next piece, Benefits of Solar Power: The Government Incentives You Need to Know, and as a next step in your solar prep, consider learning more about how switching to solar works by downloading our handy project planner.

See you on the bright side.

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