Free light hits your solar panels.

Every day, light hits your roof's solar panels with photons (particles of sunlight).

The free electricity flows into the inverter.

Those produced electrons flow out of the panel and into an inverter and other electrical safety devices.

Any energy you don't use goes back into the grid and you receive money for it.

A bi-directional meter keeps track of all the power your solar system produces. Any solar energy that you don't use immediately will go back into the grid through the meter. At night or on cloudy days, that extra solar juice is credited back to your bill.

Monocrystalline silicon (mono-silicon or single silicon).

Right now, these are the most efficient type of solar panels. In other words, when sunlight hits these puppies, more of it turns into electricity than the other types below. As a result of their high silicon content, they're also more expensive, but you need fewer of them. That's why they're ideal for roofs. You can tell if you have a mono-crystalline solar panel by its square-ish cells.

BIPV are the least efficient and are better for buildings, not homes.

BIPV's (building integrated photovoltaics) can look like real roofing tiles. That's nice, but good looks do cost a lot more. Second, they're way less efficient than conventional PV, which means you need a sunny spacious roof to make a dent in your electric bill. Finally, they may not last as long as regular panels.

What's a typical solar panel efficiency rating?

Most solar panels are around 11-15% efficient. The efficiency rating measures what percentage of sunlight hitting a panel gets turned into electricity that you can use. The higher the efficiency, the less surface area you'll need in your solar panels. Although the average percentage may sound a little low, you can easily outfit a typical roof with enough power to cover your energy needs.

Factors that affect solar array efficiency include:

Panel Orientation

Your roof ideally should face North, but designers can compensate for most other directions.

Roof and Panel Pitch

The "pitch" or tilt of your roof can affect the number of hours of sunlight you receive in an average day throughout the year. Large commercial systems have solar tracking systems that automatically follow the sun's tilt through the day. These are expensive, however, and not typically used for residential solar installs.

Temperature

Some panels like it hot, but most don't. So, panels need to be installed a few inches above the roof with enough air flow to cool them down. Some PV panels are designed to be more efficient in hotter climates.

Shade

Shade is the enemy of solar. With poor solar design, even a little shade on one panel can shut down solar production on all of your other panels. Installers use special gadgets to instantly reveal any shady spots on your roof, no matter what time of year. Remember: Shade bad. So, trim those nearby trees. Did I mention shade is evil for solar panels? Beware the shade.

The Inverter converts Direct Current into Alternating Current.

The solar inverter is the second most important (and second most expensive) component of a solar PV system. It's important because it converts the raw Direct Current ("DC") solar power that is produced by your solar panels into the "plug-the-toaster-in" Alternating Current (AC) power that comes out of your wall outlets.

Inverters also have technology that maximizes the power output of that DC energy.

Gold Warranty that beats international standards.

• 10 YEAR EXTENDED INSTALLATION WARRANTY Want Solar warrants the workmanship of our certified installers for an extended period of 10 years from the date of installation.
• 10 YEAR EXTENDED MANUFACTURE WARRANTY Want Solar warrants the system installed to be free of any manufacture fault or failure for a period of 10 years from the date of installation.
• 10 YEAR ON SITE OR REPLACEMENT GUARANTEE Want Solar guarantees on site service for replacement at no extra cost to the customer for a period of 10 years from the date of installation.
• 10 WEEK INSTALL GUARANTEE Want Solar guarantees to have your system installed within 10 weeks from your sign up date, or we will pay 1 Quarter of your electricity bill for the year.
• 25 YEAR PERFORMANCE WARRANTY Want Solar warrant that if the panels power output of less that 90% of the minimum power output specified in the product specifications during the first 10 years, or less than 80% of the minimum power output during the following 15 years, then Want Solar will repair or replace the component/is.

Different types of roofs put up the cost of installation.

Provided there's enough space and sun, solar can be installed on any roof. It does, however, cost more to install on tile roofs and very steep roofs.

Tile roofs cost more for solar because there's no way to walk on them without causing some minor damage, such as breaking a clay tile here and there. Installers will make it right, but it may raise your costs somewhat. Similarly, very steep roofs may take more time to install and require special cranes or equipment. On flat roofs, you may need a few more racks to position the panels at the correct angle.

How are solar panels attached to my roof?

The way panels are attached to your roof depends on the type of roof you have. In general, tin roofs are attached through bolting mounts into your strongest roof rafters and then attaching rails to those mounts.

But it's not just drilling a hole and crossing your fingers. Installers also add sealants into and around the mounts that fill in any gaps. Often the mounts are surrounded by metal "flashing" -coverings that serve as an extra rain proof barrier. Parallel rails are then attached to the mounts and the solar panels are attached to the rails.

Live in a townhouse or have some other flat roof? These roofs can be attached with racking and some type of ballast, such as concrete blocks, to keep panels stable and without drilling holes the roof's structure.

Eliminate your power bill.

Your electricity bill will reduce straight away and, you’ll start saving money immediately after your initial investment, with free power for up to 30 years.

Over $2500 to $4300 in up front Subsidy.

Through the Solar Credits Programme, all householders are eligible to receive over $2500 to $4300 as an up-front discount on their solar system.

It’s you or your neighbours.

Solar subsidies are actually paid by the electricity retailers and, as such these costs are passed onto their customers through higher electricity prices. So you can either be part of the 20% which install solar and receive all the benefits or be part of the 80% paying for their neighbours to have solar!