Frequently Asked Questions
You have real questions, and we have real answers. Solar of Soflo is committed to not only ensuring you get the best system for your home,
but that you and your family thoroughly understand how solar fits into your lives.
There is a 30% tax credit available to anyone who purchases solar technology for their home or business.
Solar power can cost half as much per kWh compared the power you are currently buying from the electric utility company. For example, today you are buying electricity from the utility at $.12/kWh and, over time, you could be paying up to $.20/kWh, as the cost of electricity increases (FACT: There is a 4% annual increase in electricity costs).
When you produce your own power with solar, you could be paying $.08/kWh and you would not be subject to any inflation. You can lock in your electricity rate forever!
Solar energy is not stored unless you have an energy storage component such as batteries. During the day, you will use the solar energy in your home. If you produce more than you are using, you will sell that power back to the grid in the form of “store credit.” Then you buy it back at night or on days when you use a lot of energy. If you produce more than you use on average for the month, the extra amount carries over to the next month.
Solar energy is not stored unless you have an energy storage component such as batteries. During the day, you will use the solar energy in your home. If you produce more than you are using, you will sell that power back to the grid in the form of “store credit.” Then you buy it back at night or on days when you use a lot of energy. If you produce more than you use on average for the month, the extra amount carries over to the next month.
We use only the highest-quality equipment, which we have selected after extensively reviewing product offerings from dozens of manufacturers.
When we choose a panel or inverter manufacturer, we look for things like warranty terms, financial backing, years in business, technology, R&D, and cost. We use only use Tier 1 solar panels with 25 year warranties and Enphase microinverters based on their track records and industry presence.
We have dozens of customers who are more than satisfied, and we know you will be, too.
Every solar power installation we do is engineered to withstand 170+ mph winds. In fact, that is a Florida Building Code requirement. We attach directly to the roof trusses to ensure a secure, long-term attachment of your solar panels.
Solar power inverters convert DC power to AC power. All of the appliances in your home use AC power and most all of the world is powered by AC power (unless you live on an island). Without inverters, your solar panels will only produce DC power, which your home cannot use.
Not much at all. You should rinse off dust and grime twice a year, but if you just let the rain do the work you might not even notice. Clean the solar panels regularly if that area of your home or business is known to collect lots of big debris or is a popular bird hangout.
If you add solar to your roof today and then a few years later wanted to re-roof, it’s not that expensive to quickly remove the panels from the roof, re-roof, and put them back on. In most cases, the amount of power that you would have saved by installing solar is greater than the cost to remove and reinstall the panels, so it would actually cost you more to wait.
If you plan on re-roofing this year, we suggest you go ahead and do it at the same time as the solar installation. That way, our installation team can work with your roofer and we can make sure that your roof warranty is preserved. It’s extremely common for roofers and solar installers to work together on projects.
Most solar power systems are connected directly to your home or business and the electrical grid. Some solar power systems have an energy storage component that provides backup power during a power outage.
If you have ever been without power, you may feel that adding energy storage is critical to your home or business. Fortunately, there are many options we can provide for back-up power, such as the Tesla Powerwall.
It’s likely that you have a traditional water heater/storage tank (big white, cylindrical tank) in your home or business. This tank uses a heating element to heat water for use in the shower, sink, washing machine and other appliances. This heating element uses a lot of electricity to heat water for you.
A solar hot water system uses the sun to heat water, reducing the costs of running the heating element. This saves you a ton of money, and these systems last a very long time.
There is a state statute in Florida that we call the Solar Access Law. It states that no HOA can restrict you from installing solar panels on your roof based on where they’re installed or how they look. In other words, you have the right to install solar panels and your HOA can’t tell you otherwise.
Most of the time, an HOA will only ask for a layout of the panels on the roof.