How to install a solar energy system? Find more by following the steps below.

Find a consultant with lots of experience. Our sales/design team know the products and the process. We’ll steer you to the right products for your system.

There are some essential questions you need to answer before you invest time and money in solar:

Do you have room on your roof or on your property for an array of solar panels?

Would you rather have panels on your roof or on the ground where you can reach them easily?

Does the sun shine on this area for most of the daylight hours?

Do shadows from trees or other structures fall on this area at certain parts of the day?

Is your roof structurally sound enough to add the weight of solar panels and racks?

Will you be able to face your solar panels so that the winter sun hits the panels at as close to perpendicular as possible at noon?

Check your electric bills for how much electricity you use during your highest months of usage. This is a kWh number at the bottom of your bill. Write that number down so that you can refer to often.

Educate yourself! Read our website and follow our educational articles. Whether you plan to hire an installer or do it yourself, these are things you need to understand. Check out your local bookstore for how-to manuals on solar. If you plan to make your own electricity, you need to understand the basics of electricity and more. Make safety your priority and you will sleep better at night.

Learn the difference between gridtie and offgrid systems and decide what kind of system is appropriate for you.

Size your system. The process is different for sizing offgrid or sizing gridtie.

Once you have an idea of how many panels it would take to produce all the electricity you use, you can look at comparable systems to come up with a ballpark price. Now you need to set a realistic budget.

Check out the solar subsidies—local and state incentives, utility rebates, and the tax credit— and then refigure your budget.

Contact your county or city building department and be prepared to install “to code” in order to qualify for incentives. We recommend installing to code for safety. Make contact early on with the electrician you will hire to do the final hooking up of your system.

Check in with the Wholesale Solar Design Team. Are you on the right track? Need a little more incentive? If you install solar yourself you can save 20% – 80% of the cost of your solar electric system. The potential savings is worth doing a little research and buying a few new tools.

Wholesale Solar’s Design/Sales and tech crew will back you up all the way, from sizing your system, choosing components, to getting it up and running.