Solar Solutions

Solar energy is beneficial for many reasons. Not only does it lessen your environmental impact, but it can save you a great deal of money while also adding resale value to your home.

If you are reading this, you may already be convinced that it’s time to install solar panels. But is your roof ready to go solar as well? By answering the following four questions, you will find out if solar panels can be easily installed on your roof.

1. What type of roof do you have?

Asphalt shingle (sometimes referred to as a comp or merely shingles) is the most common roofing material around and, luckily, is the easiest type for solar installers to work on. Flat roofs also provide a good situation for solar panel installation, though you may have to factor in additional costs for mounting and racking equipment so that the panels can be angled towards the sun. AMECO Solar can install panels on most roofs with concrete or ceramic Spanish tile.

Depending on the condition of your roof, our solar installers may be able to work on more delicate roofing materials like slate or wooden shake. We can usually tell if it’s a possibility by checking out your roof on Google Earth, but sometimes a more in-depth roof evaluation is needed.

2. How old is your roof?

If your roof does not need to be replaced for another 10-15 years, then it’s a great time to consider going solar.

Aging roofs can prove to be challenging and sometimes increase the chance of damage occurring during installation. The biggest challenge is that it will significantly increase your costs in the long run. When you decide to reroof, it’s costly to remove and reinstall the solar panels. If you find yourself in this situation, we recommend waiting until you are ready to lay down a new roof and coordinate the solar installation to occur at the same time.

Not sure when your roof was last replaced? One of our consultants can survey your roof and determine if it provides a good situation for solar panels. If your roof needs to be replaced in order to accommodate your solar system, there is a possibility that this added expense will qualify for the federal 30% solar tax credit.

3. Which way was does your roof face?

Since more energy will be produced if the solar panels are exposed to sunlight all day long, south-facing roofs produce the highest amount of solar energy in California. East or west facing roofs also allow solar panels to soak up a significant amount of the sun and provide enough energy to power your home. If the best part of your roof faces north, you may not have the best situation for solar.

4. Do you have enough room on your roof for solar panels?

It is a solar installer’s dream to have a roof that is perfectly sloped with yards and yards of uninterrupted space. Then, solar panels can be laid down in nicely organized rows to offset your electricity usage.

A roof with a lot of obstacles (such as roof vents or skylights) can make solar installation complicated.  This will most likely increase the price. Some roofs may have so many obstacles that we can only install a small number of panels and they won’t make much of a dent in your electric bill.

What is the best roof for solar panels?

In a perfect world, a south facing roof made of comp shingle with 10-15 years of life in it would be the best roof. But the world ain’t perfect! Really, many roofs with different angles, made of different materials, and of different ages, make great candidates for solar panel installation.

In nearly 40 years of business, we’ve come across a lot of different roofs and have been able to install on the majority of them. If your home is in the Los Angeles or Orange County areas, you can get our expert opinion by contacting us and scheduling a solar evaluation.

Recently, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a division of the U.S. Interior Department, held an auction for the first group of Solar Energy Zones (SEZ) on the western side of the United States. SEZs are areas of federal land that have been designated as prime locations for the construction of a solar generating plant.

Solar Developers Interested, No Bids Yet

The SEZ at the San Luis Valley site in Colorado was chosen due to its proximity to existing transmission infrastructure and the minimal environmental impact that it would have on the land.

It seemed like a great place for a developer to invest in a solar plant that would deliver clean, renewable energy to the electric grid. Even though many developers expressed interested in the project beforehand, the auction did not attract any bidders.

Issues with Solar Auction Process

Some  industry observers have speculated that potential developers were dissuaded from bidding because the rules and project specifics had yet to be finalized at the time of auction.

This was only the first of several auctions the BLM will be holding in the coming months for its 19 Solar Energy Zones (three of which are located in California). Because of the recent no-bid conclusion, the BLM will go back to the drawing board and revise their strategy for upcoming auctions.

How Rooftop Solar Differs from Utility Solar Installs

While solar installations of all sizes are important for our energy future and allow us rely less on dirty energy, smaller scale solar installations are typically easier to complete than utility scale solar projects.

Often, environmental obstacles and opposition from local interests result in considerable delays for utility solar projects. For example, developers of the  Ivanpah Solar Project in California came across multiple delays and had to adapt their plans many times in order to preserve the native desert tortoise population.

In contrast, most residential and small commercial solar installations only take a few months to install and connect to the electric grid. Additionally, they often receive little-to-no opposition. In fact, most rooftop solar installations are applauded for their environmental benefits that are good for the solar panel owner and their surrounding community.

If you’re interested in learning how your family can benefit from adopting solar power as your main source of electricity, we invite you to contact AMECO today by calling (888) 595-9570 or emailing GoSolar@AmecoSolar.com today to schedule an evaluation.

On October 24, the U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will begin auctioning off the first of its Solar Energy Zones (SEZ), areas that it has designated as prime real estate for the development of utility-scale solar power plants.

The BLM will be accepting bids from developers for the rights to begin the process of designing and constructing new solar installations, part of a larger effort to promote renewable energy sources.

<h3>What is a Solar Energy Zone?</h3>

SEZs are large parcels of land that have been selected as ideal spaces to create new solar energy generating stations. Typically, they are selected because they are not used for other types of develop such as residential, commercial or industrial facilities, or because they are located on old landfills, garbage dumps and Superfund sites that are unfit for human habitation.

<h3>Solar Energy Zones in California and Other States</h3>

The first two sites that will be auctioned off are located in Colorado. However, there are two SEZs in California located in the Imperial East and Riverside East regions. The latter is the largest zone currently listed for auction, offering almost 150,000 acres of developable land (originally it was over 200,000, but about 50,000 acres were removed to reduce the impact on nearby Joshua Tree National Park).

The SEZ plan is an attempt to tackle two problems simultaneously:

1) Find enough land to build large scale projects.
2) Make use of areas that are otherwise uninhabitable due to environmental and sanitation factors.

While there is still plenty of progress to be made on the small-scale, distributed generation front, AMECO Solar is happy to see that the federal government continues to advance an agenda the prioritizes solar power over fossil fuels and other non-renewable sources.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has announced that pools for commercial or public use will now be eligible to claim rebates from the California Solar Initiative (CSI) for installing solar pool heater systems. The CPUC expanded its definition of eligible facilities to include any pools for multifamily residential housing, hotels and motels, therapy, educational, governmental and non-profit institutions.

The CSI Thermal Program will pay $7.00 for every therm that is displaced annually by the installation of a solar pool system. As more of the funding for this program is subscribed, the per-therm rebate will decrease. Participating pool owners will receive a one-time payment that is based on a calculation of estimated future therm displacement.

The expansion of the CSI-Thermal program for hot water to public pools could be a major benefit for recreational and educational facilities throughout the state. Water heating costs for these institutions are typically one of their biggest expenses, so any way that they can save money will benefit those who use the community pools.

Organizations such as the YMCA and other community centers can realize significant savings. AMECO Solar recently completed the installation of a solar pool heating system on the roof of the California Aquatics Therapy & Wellness Center in Long Beach, California. Now that they are heating their pool with solar energy and the organization is saving upwards of $13,000 a year, which will add up to almost $250,000 in savings during the life time of the solar pool heater.

In mid-August, the CPUC also approved commercial facilities to receive rebates from the Thermal Program. This decision opens the doors for gyms, water parks and other enterprises to lower their expenses and help steer the state toward a renewable energy future. The final details of the program are scheduled to be finalized at the California Public Utilities Commission by November, 2013.