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Building a House & Considering Adding Solar? Read This.

Are you designing or building a new house in Orlando, Florida? Since the cost of installing a home solar system has fallen rapidly over the years, there has never been a better time to go solar, especially if you are building a home from the ground up. 

When you integrate solar into your new home’s construction, you can take advantage of solar’s financial and environmental benefits without needing to retrofit your home later down the road. The benefits are endless!

Thinking of incorporating solar in your new home build? Here are some great reasons and considerations! 

Why Install a Solar System When Building New? 

If you incorporate a solar system when your home is being built you can design your home with a photovoltaic system in mind. While your solar system doesn’t need to be at the forefront of your home design decisions, but designing with solar in mind, you can eliminate potential issues at the time of construction instead of needing to work around them later. 

So, keeping that in mind, here are a few design considerations that can maximize your solar electricity production: 

• The ideal solar home has a south-facing roof, allowing it to capture as much sunlight throughout the day. 
• The best solar-friendly roofs aren’t shaded by trees and don’t include obstructions like chimneys or dormers. 
• You may want to consider an electric furnace instead of gas
• Metal and shingle roofs are best, though tiled roofs can also be modified for solar installations. 

If you design your roof with solar in mind, you can also explore roofing options like solar roof tiles, which are installed as part of your home’s roof, not on top of it. 

More> What Direction Should Solar Panels Face? 

Installing Solar Increases Your Property Value 

Homes with solar arrays sell for significantly more than comparable homes without them. A high-quality solar panel system can add tens of thousands of dollars to your home’s value. 

It’s true! > 3 Ways Solar Power Increases Your Home Value

Tips for Designing a Solar Ready Home 

Installing a solar panel system at the same time as new home construction can significantly cut costs. Here are some solar-ready design guidelines that can help make your project easier for everyone involved: 

When designing a home with solar in mind, pay attention to the following: 

Steepness and Orientation of Your Roof

A south-facing roof with an angle of 30-45 degrees is ideal for solar. 

The Layout of Vents, Dormers, and Chimneys

Will any of these things shade your solar panels during the day? Shade can impact electricity production, so keep this in mind! 

Roof Load Bearing Specifications

It is important to ensure that your roof can bear the additional weight of a solar panel array. 

Roof Mounting Points 

Integrating mounting points during construction can save time and money and prevent damage to the roof during solar panel installation. 

Learn More> Is Your Roof Right For Solar? 

There are also electrical considerations to keep in mind including:

Electrical Conduit from the Main Panel to the Roof 

You will need to have an electrical conduit installed between your solar panels and your main electrical panel. 

Circuit Breakers and Main Electrical Panel

You will need to ensure that your electrical system can handle a solar panel array. 

Space for PV Inverters

While most of your solar system is on your roof, some components like PV inverters need to be installed near your electrical panel. 

New Construction with Solar in Mind 

Once you have decided to include solar in your new home’s design and construction, make sure that your builder knows that you want your home to be solar-ready. Having solar integrated into the blueprints and design will make it easier for our team at Solar Bear to install your solar array. 

Ready to get started? Harness the power of the sun with Solar Bear Orlando! Get a FREE estimate today—407-904-7585!

Do Solar Tax Benefits Apply If I’m Re-Roofing?

Every long-term homeowner is familiar with the need to re-roof. If you’re re-roofing in Florida, we here at Solar Bear Tampa understand that you might be interested in taking the leap to solar. 

There are undeniably many benefits to roofing with solar, including significant home energy savings on a month-by-month basis. But do solar tax benefits apply if you are re-roofing with solar? 

As with most tax questions, the answer is somewhat complex. 

According to the IRS, solar tax benefits apply to costs “for property that uses solar energy to generate electricity for use in your home located in the United States.” That sounds like it might apply to re-roofing, right? Well, let’s continue to look at what the IRS has to say.

The IRS tax code regarding the solar credit says that “Some solar roofing tiles and solar roofing shingles serve the function of both traditional roofing and solar electric collectors and thus serve functions of both solar electric generation and structural support. These solar roofing tiles and solar roofing shingles can qualify for the credit.”

That sounds pretty promising, but there is a specific clause of the tax credit code that is very important to consider when answering the question of whether solar tax benefits apply if you’re re-roofing. 

It continues like this: “This is in contrast to structural components such as a roof’s decking or rafters that serve only a roofing or structural function and thus do not qualify for the credit.”

That means that if you’re re-roofing for any structural reasons, it’s pretty tricky to claim the solar tax credit. That being said, if you consult a solar professional and a tax attorney, odds are good that together, they can figure out how to choose qualified solar tiles or solar roofing shingles that will apply for the tax credit. 

Solar tax credit or not, there are many reasons to re-roof your home with solar. If you have any questions or need re-roofing advice, call our experts at Solar Bear Tampa today! 

Is Off-Grid Legal in Florida?

If you are planning to install a solar system for your Orlando home, you may be wondering if you can go entirely off-grid, and if so, is it legal in Florida? That is a complicated question, but one that our team at Solar Bear Orlando is happy to help answer! 

Ready to go off-grid with your solar panels? Keep reading to learn if it is legal in Florida. 

Is it Legal to Live Off-Grid in Florida? 

The short answer is yes, it can be legal, but there are caveats. In remote and rural areas of Florida, it is generally legal to live off-grid and power your home completely with solar power. But if you live in a residential zone, you may not be able to. 

While off-grid solar power is perfect for properties that are unable to get utility services, if you live in a residential zone that is connected to the grid, your solar system must be grid-tied for one very important reason: safety. 

Generally, grid-tied solar systems rely on being near the power grid and extending transmission lines to power your home can become quite expensive. So, if your home is more than 100 yards from the power grid or is very remote, an off-grid option may be worth it.  

MORE> Grid-Tied Solar Systems Vs. Off-Grid 

If you are interested in installing solar panels in Orlando, Florida, you know who to call! Contact our team at Solar Bear today for a solar installation quote and to discuss what incentives you may qualify for— 407-904-7585!

Florida Zoning Laws

All the land in Florida is under some sort of zoning. Zoning laws are put in place to regulate things like tall buildings and minimum lot and home sizes. Zoning also dictates what you can do with and on your property. 

Before planning to go off-grid with your solar system, it is important to research the local zoning laws, so you are aware of what is permitted and what isn’t. 

Some common zoning areas in Florida include:

• Industrial
• Commercial
• Agricultural
• Rural residential
• Residential 
• Environmentally sensitive areas 

In rural and remote areas, you will likely to able to live off the electricity grid, but in residential areas, it can be quite difficult to do. 

Off-Grid Electricity in Florida 

In Florida, if you do not live in a remote or rural area and have a solar system, you are required to be tied into the power grid. Florida law supports the idea that in the event of a power outage, ALL power needs to go out, including your solar system. If your solar system continued to feed the power grid with energy through net metering while the power was out, it could put utility workers at risk as they work to restore power to the grid. 

Being tied to your utility company means that your solar system is connected to the power meter but when you are off grid, you are only tied to your meter. Being completely off-grid requires more money up-front, while when you are grid-tied, you have the flexibility to choose whether you want to participate in net metering or install backup batteries. 

It would be amazing if you could go completely off-grid in residential areas, especially due to our ample sunshine in Florida, but unfortunately, the current Florida legislature rules make it hard to go completely grid-free. 

LEARN MORE> Everything Your Need to Know About Net Metering 

Go Solar in Orlando 

There has never been a better time to harness the power of the sun to power your Orlando, Florida home! Going solar is easy in Florida with the help of our experienced team at Solar Bear. While your solar panels may still have to be grid-tied, you can take advantage of net metering or reach near independence with the installation of backup batteries. 

Plus, with federal and state tax credits, PACE financing, and other incentives, going solar in Orlando couldn’t be more cost-effective. 

Ready to go solar and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with generating your own power? You’ve come to the right place! Call Solar Bear Orlando for an energy audit and installation quote today—407-904-7585!

How to Tell If You Need Whole-Home Solar Backup vs. Critical Load

At Solar Bear Tampa, we know that each home has different solar needs. That’s why our friendly team of solar experts is always on-hand, ready to help you decide what your best solar options are. Regardless of which kind of solar setup you decide to go with for your home, a big part of what makes your solar-powered home effective around the clock, night and day, is your solar backup system. But there’s a difference between whole-home solar backup and critical load. 

Having whole-home solar backup means that when the power grid goes down in the event of a blackout or a storm, your home’s power switches over to an inverter, which is fed by high-powered solar batteries. This switch will allow your home to remain powered as long as there is charge in the batteries. Sounds pretty good, right? Whole-home solar backup is certainly a powerful tool but depending on how large your home is (and how much energy you use on average), this option can get pretty expensive. 

The other option is critical load backup. In essence, critical load backup works the same way as whole-home backup does, only instead of using battery power to run every single electric thing in your home, with critical load backup, you choose which appliances to provide power to in case of a blackout, so that you don’t run down your battery power so quickly. (And so that you don’t have to purchase giant, expensive solar batteries capable of powering the entire home). For instance, most people choose to apply critical load backup to appliances like their refrigerator (so that they don’t have to worry about food going bad during an outage), lighting, any well pumps your home may use, or televisions and outlets for charging small devices. 

Typically, appliances that use large amounts of power are ovens, stoves, laundry machines, and for that reason, they’re not usually considered critical load appliances. If you do want to maintain power to any of those appliances during an outage, you’ll likely want to consider using whole-home backup rather than critical load backup, since they’ll require the same amount of power to run on critical load backup anyway. 

If you need further advising on whether whole-home backup or critical load is right for your home, call Solar Bear Tampa today!