FAQ

A: The decision to lease vs. purchase depends on your finances and your long-term goals—whether you are primarily motivated to maximize financial benefits or to reduce your emissions. According to Energy Sage, the main practical difference between leasing and buying is ownership. If you buy a solar panel system, you own the system either outright (if purchasing with cash) or after repaying your solar loan. If you lease the system or sign a power purchase agreement (PPA), a third party owns the solar panel system. This distinction impacts the cost, maintenance, terms, financial offsets, and savings/returns on the investment of your solar panel system. In addition, not all companies offer solar leases and/or PPAs—confirm that your chosen provider offers the financing option that you want. Learn more about the pros and cons of buying and leasing on our Payment Options page. You can also use the Institute for Local Self-Reliance's Ultimate Solar Calculator to compare buying vs. leasing.

A: In Texas, ALL HOAs must allow the installation of solar panels. It’s the law. The State of Texas passed HB-362 in 2011, prohibiting HOAs from restricting solar panels. There ARE some steps the homeowner must follow, but they ARE allowed to install solar panels in any HOA. Cities are advised to review HB-362 before considering restricting solar panels.  For more information on solar rights and regulations, click here.  For more information on how a municipality can engage HOAs in solar discussions, click here.

A: No. There are too many different shapes and angles to the roofs around the country to make the manufacture of different shapes economical.

A: Since 2010, the North Texas Renewable Energy Group (NTREG) has organized the annual DFW Solar Tour, held in early October, to showcase both large and small solar installations located across the DFW region. While most locations are not open to the public the rest of the year, you can find a list of participating locations – with brief descriptions and pictures — from previous years here. Consider also reaching out to NTREG directly because many of their members are also solar owners and/or installers.

A: It is questionable and depends on the force of the water involved. A safer approach would be to use a finer spray directed from an off-angle to the solar panel glass.

A: Yes, but only if it’s “owned” by the building owner. Leases are not considered property to be included with the sale. See the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Guidelines.

A: Unless the panels are exceptionally dirty, no washing is needed. If a thick layer of dust or other material exists on the panels, a hose-end sprayer from the ground will work. Homeowners should not get on the roof to clean the panels.

A: Often, yes. However, some companies will not. The homeowner will need to ask their insurance company. If the insurance company you are with does not cover solar panels and you want to add them to your home, shop around for a different insurance company.

A: (Answer coming soon)

A: You can sign up for our email list to receive updates on Solar PV events, trainings, legislative items, and more.

A: Solar hot water panels have plumbing attached to them. At least two pipes are needed - one for the incoming cool water, the other for the heated water to return to the storage tank. Solar electric systems have wires.

A: The value must be determined by an Appraiser of appropriate certifications and experience.

A: There are two main things to consider when preparing your home for solar: 1) the condition of your roof, and 2) the energy efficiency of your home. First, before installing solar panels, you will want to ensure that your roof is in good condition and have it inspected by a professional roof contractor. Roof contractors will consider the roof age, roofing materials, ventilation and whether there are visible signs of damage. Most reputable roofing contractors provide free estimates, so this should not incur an additional cost. Second, you can maximize the benefits of solar by making your home as energy efficient as possible. For instance, you can weatherize your home and replace old inefficient appliances with Energy Star models. For more information on preparing your home/business for solar, visit our Steps for Going Solar page. You can also learn more about home energy efficiency from the U.S. Department of Energy.

A: This depends on whether your solar system is connected to the grid. If it is, as in most cases, your system will shut down to protect your electric provider's linemen. On the other hand, if your home is off grid, you will not be impacted if the power grid is compromised. You can learn more from the Texas Solar Energy Society.

A: No. The only thing it will stop is the electricity coming from the utility company. Although the inverter will not be operative, the solar panels will continue to generate voltage as long as they are illuminated. If a battery backup system is part of the solar electric system, removing the meter may activate it and cause some of the circuits in the structure to continue to be electrically “hot."

A: If the house was built after the early 70s - when the International Residential Code began requiring 2x6 rafters on 24” centers, the answer is generally “no.” Three years of testing by Structural Engineers at Sandia National Laboratories, results of which were released in April 2016, found that roofs made using 2x6 lumber on 24” centers were 330% stronger than estimated by the Building Code. This is a substantially greater margin than needed to support a solar panel array with a dead-load of 2.5 lbs. per square foot.

A: Whether a solar buyback program is right for you depends on how much excess generation you produce, aka how much electricity your installation pushes to the grid. You can find your excess generation by downloading your daily consumption and generation meter readings (15-minute intervals) from Smart Meter Texas. To find available buy-back plans, visit the Power to Choose website.

A: No. Short of an occasional washing, residential solar electric systems require no maintenance.

A: Yes. Wiring from PV arrays is required to be run sufficiently below the roof to provide a safe distance for ventilating. However, requiring it does not mean the installer followed the rules and that the wires in the attic are installed according to code. Wiring run below the roof deck is required by NEC Article 690 to have labels installed directly above the wiring on the roof-side of the deck. When fighting a fire, these markings may get burned away.

A: Community solar consists of a central installation that provides customers with an opportunity to opt into the solar installation and receive a proportional share of financial or energy output of the system, thereby allowing customers to realize the environmental and economic benefits of solar energy without requiring a solar installation of their own. For more information, visit our Community Solar page!

A: Risk factors include the same concerns as for any other asset-based loan - financial strength and stability of the borrower, credit history, and so forth. There is also a difference. Unlike a piece of machinery, solar PV, once installed, has very little, if any, maintenance or overhead associated with it. Risk factors appear to be lower than for most equipment purchases. Properly designed and installed, a solar PV system will often have a net positive cash flow if the term of the loan and interest rate are appropriate. Calculations as of June 2016 have shown the value of energy produced to be equal to or greater than the monthly payment on a loan. If the borrower has a P&L and balance sheet that meet your criteria, odds are good to excellent that they will be paying the bank instead of the utility company. Once the loan is paid, their cash flow position improves by the amount of the loan payment and more, because the cost of the solar electricity does not increase with time as does the cost of utility energy.

A: Increasingly, cities are choosing to address solar PV systems through specific ordinances. The American Planning Association maintains a list of the solar planning and zoning regulations, including direct links to the codes themselves. You can also view our Solar Ordinance Matrix, an overview of existing solar ordinances in the North Texas region. If you know of any ordinances not represented here, or of any information that has changed, please contact us to correct it!  For more resources on how to address solar in the zoning code or adopt a solar ordinance, click here.

A: PV stands for photovoltaics, which can literally be translated as light-electricity. This term has two parts: the first derived from the Greek word for light (photo) and the second in homage to the electricity pioneer Alessandro Volta (volt). You can learn more about PV on our Solar 101 page or at the U.S. Department of Energy's Photovoltaic Technology Basics website. Residential Solar 101 is another excellent resource to learn more about how PV cells work and solar terminology.

A: More than 25 years of studies and research have proven homes with solar panels generally sell from 4% to 50% faster and for a premium of $2 to $4 per installed watt than non-solar homes. The value of the solar panels are based in part on their original price and the amount of energy produced annually. This has a net effect of reducing the electrical utility bill year-round, which in turn adds value to a home - same as if the improvements were in energy efficiency aspects. In rare instances, the solar panels were a “neutral,” not aiding nor hindering the sale. In none of the thousands of sales were owned solar panels a negative. The same cannot be said of leased solar panels. In those cases, leased or third-party-owned systems on a residence where the homeowner has a contract (often long-term), buyers were wary and often walked away.

A: If it is an system owned by the homeowner and properly insured, contact the insurance company. If it is a leased or third-party-owned system, contact the company; they are responsible for repair.