First, the panels collect sunlight where a layer of silicon cells creates Direct Current (DC) electricity. This direct current travels to an inverter that will convert the power into Alternating Current (AC) electricity that can be used by the house. Solar energy now travels to your electric panel and powers your house.
The generated electricity that is not used passes through your meter and back out to the energy grid, meeting power needs at other nearby buildings and getting you credit on your utility bill.
Solar is a clean and renewable energy source that could power your home entirely, save you money, add value to your home, benefit the environment, and help supply energy to others.
A good candidate for solar is a property owner – a home or a business – with an ideal location for an installation.
An ideal location has adequate space and limited shade, a structurally sound roof in good condition with southern exposure, OR enough clear property space for a ground mount.
Financially speaking, the investment is most profitable for those with the highest utility costs, but anyone paying for electricity will save with solar.
If you think you match these criteria, don’t hesitate to talk with one of our consultants to see if you are indeed a good candidate. If you’re not, we’ll tell you!
Orientation: Your roof should have good southern exposure. Due south is considered 180 degrees, and thus your roof should be pointing somewhere between 40 degrees in either direction (approx. 140 – 200 degrees). Solar can be installed on roofs facing due east or west and still function reasonably well, but at a lower than ideal efficiency.
Shading: Your roof should have minimal shading. Do trees or other buildings cast a shadow on your roof? What about sections where a chimney or another structure casts a shadow? This will impact your panels’ efficiency and energy production.
Space: Your roof needs to have enough space to fit the array. We can work around most obstacles such as windows, chimneys, or other exhaust exits, but space is one more factor to consider.
Condition: Ideally, your roof should be in good condition (we recommend less than 12 years old) and structurally sound.
One of our consultants can easily check out your roof using satellite imagery, and with a few questions determine whether or not solar is a viable option for you, so don’t hesitate to give us a call.
If your roof is not ideal but you have space on your property, consider installing a ground mount. It’s not only a practical solution, it provides optimal conditions for maximum energy production.
The best way to see if solar could work for you is to request a quote. The price range of a solar install varies greatly depending on size, energy needs, and the type of panels you choose. To give you the most accurate and personalized quote, here are the pieces of information we like to receive from you and why:
1. Your address: we can take a look at your property on Google Maps to determine sun exposure and shading. This gives us an idea if solar panels would produce enough energy to be a worthwhile investment for you.
2. Your annual energy use: take a look at your utility bill and see how much energy you use in a year (kWh). This determines what size system you need.
3. Your current utility rate: While you’re at it, we’ll figure out with you about how much your utility charges per kWh, and this will help in calculations that determine your return on investment. The easiest thing to do is send us a copy of your most recent electric bill, and we will take a look at the information with you. The higher your bill, the more you will save with solar.
Contact us with this information and we’ll be glad to give you a free estimate.
In short, the answer is yes!
We have experience doing residential, commercial, and agricultural installations, meaning we can do work at your home, business, farm, barn, garage, or any other structure you’ve got. This means we also have experience installing solar on a variety of surfaces, and we have the solutions you need.
We do both roof mounts and ground mounts according to your needs.
The majority of our installations are grid-tied, but we are one of the few companies in our area with experience providing battery backups, and we’ve also done installations completely off-the-grid.
You can be confident that we have enough experience to find the right solutions for you. And if we don’t, we’ll bring in the expertise to get the job done well.
Yes! Most of the time you’ll hear these terms we are referring to the size of your system and how much it produces.
The size of a panel is referred to by its watts (W), which is a measurement of how much power it can produce. When we talk about a SunPower 360 panel, we’re talking about a panel that is 360 watts.
The size of a system is generally referred to in kilowatts (kW), a term meaning 1,000 watts. For example, if you had 20 SunPower 360 panels on your roof, 20 x 360 = 7,200 watts, or 7.2 kilowatts. So we talk about the size of your system being 7.2 kW. (More specifically, this means it is able to produce 7.2 kW of DC power.) As a frame of reference, most small residential systems come in between 5 and 10 kW.
As we talk with customers we use watts primarily as a way to talk about the size of a system. In addition, pricing is often discussed on a per watt basis as a way to effectively compare prices between differently sized systems. For example, you’ll hear us talk about a system that may cost $3.50 per watt, or $4.00 per watt.
Finally, you may have already heard the term kilowatt-hours (kWh), and this is a way to measure energy over time. Your utility company bills you for the number of kilowatt-hours you use. Your solar system will produce a certain number of kilowatt-hours per day or per year.
The kWh figure we refer to most often is your annual use or your annual production, because talking in yearly terms includes and averages out the changes over the course of the year. For example, a home will use more energy in winter or summer for heating or cooling, or a solar system will produce more energy in the summer because of longer, sunnier days. When we talk about annual use/production in kWh, we take all of those changes into consideration. In general, we try to get a solar system’s annual production to match your annual use.
Because solar is a significant investment, it’s worth making sure you’ve found the right people who will do the work well. There is more to consider than price. Here are some questions we’d encourage you to ask if you are looking around, and while we’re at it we’ll give you the short versions of our own answers.
What brands do you use?
When we are not installing SunPower, the brands we prefer to use include LG, SolarWorld, Silfab, and Canadian Solar. Other brands are possible.
What warranties will come with the installation?
With SunPower, you get the full 25 year workmanship guarantee and the 25 year performance guarantee at 87% production. We guarantee our own work (roof and anything else we touch) for 5 years.
What does your work and price include?
Our prices are turn-key, meaning we take care of everything from start to finish: designs, permitting, utility interconnection, SREC registration, installation, and monitoring setup.
How much experience do you have? What is the history of the company?
Evoke has existed since 2013, but owner Wes Checkeye has been installing, designing, selling, and servicing solar installations since 2003 with one of Pennsylvania’s pioneer solar companies HeatShed.
Do you use your own install crew or do you hire subcontractors?
We have our own install crew with more than 40 years combined experience and our owner Wes will be on site overseeing the installation.
How is the work completed to ensure an aesthetically pleasing install?
Each site is different, but we take great care and great pride making each install as aesthetically pleasing as possible. This includes considering the direction of panels, symmetrical layouts, and appropriately hiding wires and conduit. The mounting systems we use are completely hidden from sight once the panels are placed. We show each customer their design long before installation day.
