Our SunPower installations come with a 25 year warranty: the panels are guaranteed to last that long. We consider the lifespan of an installation to be 30 years, but many would agree 40 years is realistic; we’ve seen panels in the field that were installed in the eighties, and they are still producing well. We are happy to be working with SunPower, a solar manufacturer with 30 years of experience upon which their warranties are based.
Bottom line: if you move and sell your house, you have options!
Some of our more committed customers have chosen to move their installation with them. It really is possible! If you purchase your system, you own the panels, and you have every right to keep them. Just keep in mind this can be an intensive and expensive project depending on the move.
Other customers have sold their home with no problems and studies show that a solar system will significantly increase the value of the home. A thorough study was done by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (“Selling into the Sun: Price Premium Analysis of a Multi-State Dataset of Solar Homes”) stating that home values increased $15,000 for a small-scale system, and that value increased according to system size and how much savings it provides.
As a general rule of advice, we counsel our customers that it is still worth installing solar if you plan on being in your home for another 5 years. If you have plans to move sooner than that, we would generally advise you to wait.
When you need to replace your roof in the future, the solar panels will need to be removed before and reinstalled after. This can be done with no worries, but it’s an added expense to an already expensive roof replacement, so factor it into your considerations. So yes, your roof should be in good condition before adding solar. If the expected lifespan of a system is 30 years, it would be ideal if your roof would last that long too. As a general rule, we recommend your roof be less than 12 years old.
The number of panels depends primarily on two criteria: how much space you have and how much energy you use.
As often as possible, we try to meet as much of your energy usage with solar as possible, providing you with the best savings. The number of panels depends entirely on how much power you need, the size and efficiency of the panels you choose, and the sun exposure they will get at your location.
To give a general idea, to produce 10,000 kWh annually, we might use around 30 standard efficiency panels or 20 high efficiency panels. (So we recommend high efficiency panels if space is limited!)
Talk to one of our consultants to know more about your particular case.
Whenever possible, we design a system so that it produces the amount of electricity you typically use.
It all depends on the size of your system, the efficiency of the panels, and their exposure to the sun. To give an example, a 10kW system could typically produce between 11,000 kWH and 14,000 kWh per year. Again, this range depends on the efficiency of the panels and the site conditions.
Keep in mind that we always discuss energy production over the course of a year which provides a consistent average for your consideration. Your production will vary each day and each month depending on the amount of sunshine, the weather, the season, etc, but speaking in annual terms takes these variations into consideration. Production estimates we provide with our consultations are based on typical weather data and sun exposure for your area.
Ground mounts are a versatile solution for many customers. If your roof is too small, has insufficient southern exposure, or contains too many obstacles or sources of shading, a roof mount likely will not work for you. But if you have property space, a custom array can easily be mounted in the ground.
The added advantage is that this allows for optimal tilt and orientation for maximum sun exposure. Given these ideal conditions, it is likely that you could produce more power with less panels than a roof mount. All that is needed is enough clear space on your property.
Some customers prefer a ground mount even if they have ideal roof conditions because it produces more power and they prefer to not attach panels to the roof. With hedges strategically planted, it is even possible to hide the ground mount from sight. The advantages are many: maintenance is easier and roof issues (though admittedly rare) will never be a concern.
Our ground mounts are typically built on a foundation created with large ground screws: this is cleaner and faster than pouring concrete, more efficient and more versatile, and it gives the added advantage of easy removal if ever the need arises.
Ground mounts are also excellent choices in agricultural settings: let the pasture produce in yet another way and let the animals do the yard work for you around the mount.
Custom built ground mounts are one of our specialties whereas many other solar installers do not offer this solution. Take a look at some examples in our gallery and contact us for more information.
A solar installation is a big decision and important investment, so we want to help our customers as much as we can to make the process as simple as possible.
1. We begin with a consultation. Is solar right for you or not? What are your needs and preferences? This a relaxed, informative, exploratory process. We are not here to pressure you but rather to give you the details and the time that you need.
2. Once you’ve decided and signed a contract with us, we go to work for you. We will design your system and draw up installation plans. We contact your utility and submit an interconnection application, getting their initial approval to connect to your future system. For New Jersey residents, we submit an initial application to the New Jersey Clean Energy Project (NJCEP) which manages financial incentives including SRECs. Then, we submit permit applications to your township for all necessary approvals.
3. Our experienced crew will come to install the system.
4. We manage all the township inspections after install and get the necessary approvals for operation.
5. We submit another round of applications to your utility and NJCEP (NJ residents) to get their approval for operation.
6. We will come back to your home to turn the system on and make sure you understand how it works.
7. Finally, we’ll make sure you are set up to manage the SRECs you’ll begin to earn.
You can expect to be in steady communication with us in the office as we schedule and move through each step of the process, and we are always happy to answer your questions along the way.
We do our best to give you a target install date as the process begins. The wait time between contract signing and installation depends on your utility and township granting necessary approvals as well as Evoke’s install schedule, which can vary depending on weather and time of year. In general, 8 to 12 weeks is the average timeline to expect. We do everything within our power to work with you and meet timeline constraints when they exist, and we will personally keep you updated through every step.
The hardest part is the wait!
Unfortunately, you can’t expect your system to be turned on when the install crew leaves. Before energy production and utility savings begin, we need to get approval from the township inspectors and approval from your utility to begin operation. This can take a few weeks. We continue to work for you after install and when all approvals are received we’ll come out to show you how to turn your system on. This can sometimes take up to a month, but the wait depends on your utility company and township.
Stay calm! You have every reason to rest assured…
If something goes wrong, you are always welcome to call us for help. We are here for that, too. Evoke does provide ongoing service maintenance for our install customers.
SunPower systems come with full 25-year warranties, and all other panels, inverters, and racking systems come with excellent warranty coverage as well. We will inform you of all available warranties before signing the contract, and at the end of the install process we will make sure you have all the information you need in this regard.
As for Evoke, we generally provide a 5-year warranty on all of our workmanship.
Overall, problems occur very rarely. You will be pleasantly surprised at how worry-free your system can be.
