You’ll see lots of figures and factors in a solar proposal. But there are five really worth focusing on when comparing offers.
Price per watt or kilowatt. That’s the upfront cost divided by the size of the system. The lower the cost per watt, the better the system’s value. You can use each company’s estimated cost per watt to compare proposals. “It’s like unit pricing at your supermarket.” explains Vikram Aggarwal, EnergySage CEO.
Warranties. They may differ for the workmanship, the solar panels, and the inverters—that is, the mechanisms that take the direct current (DC) that the solar panels create and convert it to alternating current (AC) electricity that our homes use. A standard solar panel warranty is 25 years, Aggarwal says. Inverter warranties range from 10 to 25 years.
Rated power. This is a measure of the system’s efficiency—that is, how much electricity it puts out under ideal conditions. Rated power of at least 400W is preferable; Aggarwal recommends 420W to 440W, because he says it’s the most efficient. The solar company should also give you a projection of how much the power production will degrade by the time the warranty expires. Solar panels’ productivity degrades at a median, 0.5 percent a year, according to the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. At the end of a typical, 25-year warranty, that translates to productivity of 87.5 percent.
Annual production. You may notice that the proposals you get from different companies show dramatically different estimates of the amount of power they can provide—from, say, 100 percent of your current needs to 125 percent or more. Why bother with all that excess power? If, say, you add an electric vehicle to your power consumption, planning for more power may be worthwhile. “If you think you’re going to buy an electric car in next four to five years, you may want to oversize your system now,” Aggarwal says. “Most installers won’t be willing to add new panels and inverters in the future.” Depending on the arrangement with your utility, you may be able to sell back the excess power, reducing your electric bill further.
Quality of the solar equipment. You can look on EnergySage and SolarReviews for comparisons and judgments of solar panels and inverters; names like Canadian Solar, LG, and QCel show up highly rated there. For inverters, experts we talked to preferred microinverters, individual units attached to each panel, versus string inverters, which are connected to both the panels and each other like Christmas lights. As with Christmas lights, string inverters are annoyingly interdependent. “If one panel goes out, Aggarwal says, “the whole system goes out.”
Thinking about adding a battery to your solar system to store the excess power your panels produce? As severe weather events and power safety shutoffs prevail, now is a great time to make that smart investment. But you'll want to ask yourself a few questions first to make sure that you get the right home battery backup system to meet your needs.
The short answer is: If you want to take advantage of the benefits of solar power even when the sun isn’t shining or the power grid is down, you’ll need battery storage for your solar electric (or photovoltaic) panels. If you live in an area that implements time-of-use (TOU) rates, the amount you pay for electricity will vary depending on the time of day you use it. By installing a home battery backup system, you can use your battery during peak demand hours to send any power you’re not using back to the grid, and receive more credits on your electricity bill for doing so.
The amount of backup energy you’ll have varies depending on several factors, including:
The more power you’re consuming, the less time your backup power supply will last. So, we recommend avoiding high consumption appliances, such as multiple air conditioning units or other large appliances, for long periods of time.
If you want to be able to power certain things during an extended outage, such as your Wi-Fi modem, fridge, and electric furnace, use Sunnova’s battery duration tool to get an idea of how much home battery storage you might need to power your essential and large appliances.
You’ll also want to speak with a professional about your needs. You can start by requesting a no-obligation quote here.
The step from a solar system with battery backup to an electric vehicle (EV) is not a huge one. If you care about affordable energy and sustainability, these are all for you. But electric vehicles use a lot of power — whether you’re using solar power you generate yourself or pulling electricity from the grid. In fact, an EV could deplete your entire solar battery if you’ve only planned for enough storage to power your home in between charges.
If you have an electric vehicle — or want to get one — you should have a plan for charging it. And if you want to use solar power to charge your EV at night, make sure you have enough backup energy to do so. With home battery storage, you can also charge your EV during a power outage.
Failing to account for a major energy user, like a pool, a refrigerator, or one of another many things that has an outsized effect on your overall energy usage, can lead to a battery that’s too small. Before sizing a solar system with battery backup, use Sunnova’s battery duration tool to get an idea of what some major energy drains could be and how to account for them when planning your battery storage solution.
Aside from electricity prices varying based on time of use, in some cases, the price may vary from season to season. Basically, customers pay less for electricity at times of the day when there is less demand on the electric grid, and they pay more for electricity during times of day when there is more demand. These are often referred to as off-peak and on-peak periods.
When you add a battery to your solar system, you can program that solar battery to power your home during on-peak hours, when the utility rate is higher. That means you can factor in those reduced costs when you’re thinking about the return on investing in home battery storage. Also, if you live in a place that has TOU rates and you need to charge an electric vehicle, it makes the most sense to charge your EV with your battery during times when rates spike.
To correctly size your system, you need to know how much energy from the grid you use now. You can find that amount
on your electric bill. This will give you an idea of how much energy your home is using during times when solar
panels are not currently powering your home. That is the power that your home storage system should aim to replace.
You’ll also want to speak with your installer to see if it would be a good idea to add any additional solar panels to up the
amount of energy you capture once you can store extra power.
Incentives for home battery storage do exist, and vary depending on where you live. To take advantage of tax incentives, you need to own your system outright by paying upfront or through a loan, not a lease or power purchase agreement (PPA). There is one federal tax incentive — the investment tax credit (ITC) — that was extended by the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 to include energy storage. Customers who own their storage systems may be eligible for 30% tax credit on the cost of their installed system from 2023 through 2034.
There are other state-specific and utility-specific solar battery incentives that you can apply for, ranging from property tax exemptions and tiered rebates to post-installation bill credits.
Whether you’re interested in solar plus battery storage, or adding a battery to your current solar system, Sunnova is here to help. By requesting a quote, we can connect you with an expert in your area who can help you find the right home battery storage system and reduce your solar battery cost through rebates and storage incentives.
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