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Are Solar Panels Reliable? Are they safe?

You may be asking yourself “Are solar panels reliable?” I’ll be quick to tell you that throughout nearly 100 residential installations that I managed and installed for a local solar company, I haven’t had a single customer call in to tell me that they experienced a leak- and we’re going back about 4 years from the day this is written. There was never an equipment failure, never a defective solar panel, a wrong wire gauge used, breaker-box incorrectly installed. Now, I take my work very, very seriously, but I have to give some credit to the equipment manufacturers.

Fact: The average warranty on a solar installation is 20 years. It’s hard to find anything in your home with a warranty that compares. Except for roof shingles. Roof shingles (most people use asphalt ones) actually have a nickname. They used to call them “25-year shingles”, because of their 25 year warranty. They still do, but recently, technology has enabled manufacturers to guarantee their products for 30 years, earning the new name “30-year shingles”

While a negligible amount of annual depreciation does occur, solar panels are as reliable as ever, most being guaranteed for 20 years. The inverters that transform the Direct Current(DC) energy into Alternating Current(AC) are often carry the same warranty. The wires used to connect them all together can last for decades because they are properly shielded and rated. And the entire installation and workmanship is often guaranteed for up to 20 years.

I myself guarantee all my jobs for 20 years, and I feel comfortable doing so because I use only the best products. Also there is a proven method to the installation that allows the installer and homeowner infinite confidence and peace-of-mind. Solar panels are reliable, and have been for many, many years.

The same technology works so well, it has changed little in the last 40 years. Advancements have been made to make the protective glass and frame stronger, the supportive rails more sturdy, and the equipment less likely to fail in extreme conditions.

There is one huge advancement that has been made recently, though, and that is live-monitoring. If you so choose, you can have each individual panel and inverter automatically report to an online troubleshooting and monitoring program. If anything should happen to any part of the system, the owner would be instantly notified and technicians dispatched.

This is why I believe in this system. This is why it all works. Homeowners, installation companies, and the investors who fund these ‘free solar’ programs can all sleep peacefully at night because solar panels are reliable. They’ve been powering your calculators for decades. Ever had an issue with one of those? How about the satellites up in space? The faith-inspiring strength and reliability of solar panels allows us to send them up into space and trust that they’ll continue to work for years to come. Solar panels are more than reliable, they’re dependable.

 

Free Solar, and How it Works - Not Just Viable, but Profitable

You’ve probably heard the term “Free Solar” before,

either on this website, or in an ad somewhere. As conscious consumers, we’re skeptical of anything labeled as “free”. As the saying goes, “if it’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t”. I’d like to explain how it is totally possible and even profitable to provide homeowners with solar panels at literally no cost.Energy from the Sun! Free solar installations like this one might just save our planet.

First let me clear up the “no cost” stigma. Surely there must be some kind of fee somewhere, at least for processing the paperwork and such. Actually, there is no charge. Not a single penny for start-up, maintenance, and use. Nothing involving the entire process costs you any money.

So, how can it be free? Wouldn’t somebody lose money?

I’ll explain this is the most general terms possible.

Anytime a solar system is put on a house, it has to be “sized”. This is the process of determining how much energy the system should generate. In other words, how many  solar panels you’ll need. So how are they sized? Without exception, the system is sized so that your ANNUAL energy usage from the grid is zero. I’m going to rephrase this a few ways so you know exactly what I mean.

The total output of all of your solar panels is such that, on an annual average, you have used ZERO energy from your utility company. Sure, you’ll use some at night, but while your at work during the day, the electric company is happily using your excess energy. Every bit of energy that is given and taken is kept track of and tallied up. By the end of the year you’ll find that all your electric bills averaged together equal $0 in energy usage.

In other words, it’s like- once you have solar panels- you really don’t use the electric company’s energy at all. At the end of each year, you’ll owe them $0 in usage.

Your energy use is now completely “offset” by your solar energy production. It’s like you’re living off the sun.

So now let’s suppose you signed up for the “free solar” program. That means you didn’t pay one penny for the installation, and, as we discussed, you’re no longer paying the energy company anything. Let’s say your electric bill was $350 dollars a month (at a rate that increases every couple of years). Well now its $0. The energy company gets no money from you anymore.

Let’s lay out some facts about our example. You’re using a lease company that we at Covenant Solar recommend, they’ve installed the solar panels on your roof, and you’re now free from paying your old utility company for every kilowatt/hour you use. Your old bill was usually around $350 per month, at a rate that continually increases.

The lease company paid for your free solar panels, and if you needed to offset a monthly bill of around $350, the whole installation probably cost them a little under $20,000. In order for them to make money on this, they require a monthly lease payment from you. Now in order for the whole idea to make any sense at all, the payment they’re asking for is going to be much lower than your bill was before. Let’s say $200 per month.

So you were paying $350 per month and now your paying $200. You’re saving $150 per month, $1800 in the first year. By the way, if you’re using a company we recommended, these installations and the solar panels are completely warrantied for 25 years, which is about how long the shingles on your roof last. The lease is also good for 25 years, and that $200 per month lease payment is a locked-in number. Your rate won’t increase ever, for 25 years.

From the standpoint of the lease company, they will have made enough money from just your lease payments to pay off the system after just 8 years. And you’ll still be paying them for 17 more years after that. Now you see how they’re making their money back.

So you’ve literally done nothing besides make a phone call, spent zero money, and saved thousands of dollars a year, protected yourself from 25 years of rising energy costs, and it actually gets better.

Assuming, again, that you’re going with a company we recommend, the lease company will pass along tax credits, government rebates, renewable energy incentives to you, as an added bonus, even with free solar programs! On top of that, you’re helping to save the environment.

Don’t worry! You don’t need to even think about the panels on your roof, not once. All repairs and maintenance are completely covered. Why do they make it so easy?

Honestly- we’re trying to save the planet. Limited natural resources are being depleted, and this entire “free solar” program is an initiative to ensure that this world is still here for our children and grand-children.

Please let me know if there is anything I can do to explain this more clearly. And feel free to contact me if you have any questions about how it all works, or where you can sign up to start saving money. I’d love to hear from you.

 

-Rob

877-241-3544

Rob