Take Another Look – A Solar System May Be For You

Today’s USA Today reports that prices on rooftop solar systems have been falling, with more price decreases expected. Add to those decreases the recent elimination of the cap on federal tax credits for solar power and suddenly the price of solar systems is moving within the reach of average families.

If this news has you rethinking your solar options, check out Roof Ray to see your home’s solar potential. This site features a widget which utilizes info from Google Maps to allow residential customers to analyze solar options and cost estimates.

The site is simple to use. Once you enter the address of the home you wish to analyze, a satellite view of the structure will appear. Just click on the roof area available for a solar system. A tiny box will appear where you click. Be careful here – there does not seem to be any way to remove a box if you click in the wrong place. The boxes may be repositioned somewhat but I was not able to get one box where I wanted it after a misclick placed it incorrectly. If that happens to you, too, just hit the “start over” button and began again.

In order to get the orientation marker, which indicates the direction of the roof’s slope, note that you have to re-click on the first box you created to complete the definition of the area. Then drag the red line that then appears to the bottom of the roof, select the roof’s pitch, and you are done!

Once this is complete, you’ll see a bar graph that shows projected output in kilowatt hours based on the weather statistics for your area. You can choose to enter info on your current electricity bills if you want to see an estimate of your electricity bills after a solar system is installed. The site pulls from its database of utility rates; it did not have the rate for my area but had a rate for my state and also allowed the rate to be corrected.

One section shows the return on investment or ROI so you can see how long it would take to recuperate the cost of the system. This includes the federal tax credit as well as any state rebates so you get a complete cost picture.

If Roof Ray does not have a satellite picture of your home or if you want a quicker estimate of the solar potential of your area, visit MyGreenScene.com for maps showing alternative energy potential – solar potential is the first one listed.

If you live in California, also check out Sungevity. They also provide remote roof analysis of solar potential, including helping people determine the best combination of panels for your roof. I wish they served Texas!

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