3 Ways a Battery Backup Can Save You Money
Do More with Your Solar Solar power can be a great way to save money, support the environment, and keep your home running during a grid outage. But did you know that if you double down with a battery backup, you can save even more? Depending on your specific needs, here are three ways having a battery backup could improve your energy savings: Provide power during an outage. If you live in an area that has numerous outages or rolling blackouts, a common setting is to have your battery fully charged (100%) in case of emergencies. Nothing saves you money like not having to [...]
Your Summer Solar Checklist
Our good ol’ California sunshine has returned to the state. That means your solar panels should be working at peak production… provided everything is functioning as it should. To make sure you’re ready for the upcoming season, here are three ways to ensure you get optimal performance out of your solar system: Regularly check your monitoring. Log into your monitoring platform to ensure your system is producing and no alerts or errors are present. Check the status of your inverter, if possible. Each inverter is different. Depending on your specific system, you may have a display screen or indicator light that shows if your system [...]
Battery Backups, Generators, or Both? Here’s How to Decide
Power outages used to come without warning and wouldn’t last more than a day, but now they’ve become a regular part of Bay Area life. Natural disasters, brownouts, and planned power outages mean we need to be ready to keep our homes running with a backup power source. Battery backups and generators are the two main backup power sources on the market right now. Let us walk you through the benefits of each one. Comparing Battery Backups and Generators Battery Backups Can store grid or solar panel energy Runs on electricity produced by solar energy Can schedule usage Good for [...]
How the New CA Solar Policies Affect Your Savings
On December 15, 2022, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) unanimously voted to approve a new Net Billing tariff (NBT), the latest policy for Net Energy Metering (NEM) for solar. If you are or plan on being a California solar owner, you need to understand how the NEM 2.0 and NBT policies affect you. The Purpose of Net Energy Metering Net Energy Metering was introduced to reduce costs for energy companies and to maximize the energy produced by solar owners. A solar array will generate energy during sunlight hours. An owner wouldn’t need that energy until getting home from work, [...]
How Does Winter Weather Affect My Solar?
Fall is in full swing, and our days are getting shorter—even in sunny California. That means your solar panels are likely generating less energy. And that’s perfectly normal! Why? Instead of our typically bright 15-hour summer days, we’re barely seeing nine hours a day in the winter. Plus, many of those daylight hours are dampened by overcast skies and rain. Less sunlight means less solar power. (That’s the basics of solar power production, of course.) The good news is, because your panels are generating so much energy during the summer hours, your true-up bill at the end of the year will [...]
PACE: The Preferred Solar Loan Option for California Homeowners
Call us biased, but we believe that solar energy is the best choice for California homeowners. We’ve written articles about how homes with solar power don’t have to worry about power outages and scheduled shut-offs, or have to deal with the rising costs of the public utility electric bill. There are many families across the state who agree and who would love to power their home with clean renewable energy, but hesitate because of finances. Saving money with solar can seem out of reach for those who need it the most. Fortunately, PACE is available here in California, and it [...]
Going Solar with Less-Than-Perfect Credit
Investing in solar panels is a wise financial decision for you, your family, and your community. Many solar panels have a guaranteed lifespan of 25 years and, on average, pay for themselves with energy savings in one third of that time. It seems like it is the ultimate solution for families who are looking to make ends meet. However, many homeowners hesitate to make the switch to solar because they are concerned about not being eligible for affordable financing options. Is it possible to buy solar panels with a lower credit score? Personal and Government Loans for Solar If you [...]
Ditch the Power Outage Alerts
If you’re living in the Bay Area, chances are you've received these alerts from PG&E either by text, email, or phone, letting you know that your power will be out. And unfortunately, between extreme heat, record-breaking droughts, and limited resources, these outages won’t be stopping anytime soon. The good news is that you don’t have to wait and worry about the next outage alert. A solar system paired with a battery backup is the ideal solution to free yourself from reliance on the grid. With a custom design engineered by Synergy Power, northern California’s solar energy experts, you can become [...]
Sleep Soundly With a Battery Backup
“Daddy, I don’t want to be alone in the dark,” Kate told her dad tearfully. “I was so scared last time.” Children are often scared of what lurks in the night—and most of us remember a time when we were too. But a well-placed night light won’t do any good if your power goes out. Eric Piekarczyk, our CEO, knows this all too well. A few years ago, after a long California summer riddled with blackouts, he discovered that his 3-year-old daughter Kate had found her own way to deal with the issue: by sleeping with a flashlight under her pillow. [...]
ONE INVERTER TO RULE THEM ALL
INTRODUCING THE SOL-ARK 15K INVERTER The future of power is just around the corner—and we’re bringing it directly to you. The new Sol-Ark 15k Inverter is the cutting edge of energy technology. This inverter does it all, does it better, and does it with simplicity to complement your solar power array in one powerful unit. Here are a few highlights of this amazing new inverter: 93% efficiency from PV to battery to AC power Stackable up to 15 units Outdoor rated and designed to last over 20 years Smart technology-enabled, including monitoring, communication, and AI Want to know more? We interviewed [...]
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