Q. How much can I expect to get out of Solar Panels towards my LIPA bill?
     A. This system has generated 6212KW in 2 years. While the amount generated fluctuates each month according to amount of sunlight, angle of the sun, and hours of daylight, a yearly amount is the best way to see the benefits of Solar Power. Multiply a full years worth of generated amount by the LIPA rates you pay to see your annual savings. Remember also that LIPA rates are broken into 2 parts on your bill. They do that to make the rates look lower than they are. You should add the 2 rates together to get your real rate you are paying.

Q. I heard that LIPA does not buy back the power that I don't use, is that true?
    A. NO. When you generate more than you use, the extra electric flows out to the grid, and your meter turns backwards, thus reducing your bill. Also, that happens during daytime or "peak" hours when electric rates are higher. Your bill is credited at that higher amount. Then you use electric from the grid at night when the rate is lower. Every little bit helps.

Q. So if I use less than 0KW per month, do I get a check back every month?
    A. No. If your usage is less than 0 for the month, the difference is put into a "energy bank" and used later
to lower your bill during higher usage months. Any difference at the end of the year is refunded to you.

Q. How long do they last and how long are they warrantied for?
    A. The panels are warranted for 25 years. There is not enough data available yet to determine the actual life expectancy of the panels, but it should be more than 30 years.

Q. What about batteries, they can't last 30 years?
    A.  There are no batteries in this system. Because it is "grid tied", you do not need them. If batteries were
added to this system you could expect to be changing them every 5-10 years. They are expensive and did not seem worth it to us when we installed the system. The only drawback to not having batteries is that when the power goes out in the neighborhood, so does your power. Since installation we have had 1 power outage here that lasted for about 5 minutes.

Q. Is there alot of maintenance involved?
    A. Not a lot. To generate the maximum amount they should be kept relatively clean. When you see they have a film of pollen on them during allergy season, you should clean them. Using a house wash mixing bottle, I spray them down with windex twice a year. That makes the pollen blow right off and makes snow break off in the winter. Snow will fall off really quick because the surface tension and heat melts the bottom layer of snow. The system should be cleaned about once a month during the warmer weather, and should be sprayed with windex before the winter to increase the surface tension effect.

Q. How long does it take to have Solar Panels installed?
    A. It took us over a year. The local Solar contractors have a waiting list that is now pushing 2 years due to the high demand, but zoning regulations, permits required and the actual ordering of the solar panels, (they are not sitting on a shelf waiting for you.), takes about a year.

Q. If you are so happy with your system, why are you selling?
    A. The short answer is family conditions and the economy. We love our system and our house, and we hope to install Solar Panels on our next house, but we need to do what is best for our family.

Q. Technology always goes down in price, have you seen this yet with Solar power?
    A. No. Technology prices are usually driven down by better manufacturing processes and higher demand for the "next generation" of the product. Neither of those factors has come to pass with Solar Panels. As a matter of fact, the demand for Solar Panels has increased tremendously over the last 2 years and manufacturers are having a hard time keeping up.

Q. Where can I get more info about Solar Panels and Solar power in general?
     A. There is a wealth of information available on the internet. Just do a simple search on google. You can check out www.sekik.com That's one of my favorite sites because the links on it change regularly. You can also E-Mail me at axe6st@yahoo.com and request more info. I can answer more questions or I can send you a bunch of links to many sites.