Products

SunPower
SunPower is an industry leader in solar electrical production. Their panels are up to 50% more efficient than conventional panels and up to 100% more efficient than thin-film solar panels. That means more solar power and less space required. The SunPower 225 and 230 are the highest efficiency solar panels commercially available for residential use. The SunPower 225 all-black residential solar panel provides unprecedented performance and is beautifully designed to complement your home’s appearance. The SunPower 230 is designed to offer the highest performance available.

Backed by a 25-year warranty, SunPower solar panels promise lasting value and peace of mind.

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Warranty

SunPower panels (.pdf)
SunPower inverters (.pdf)
BP panels (.pdf)
Xantrex inverters (.pdf)
Zomeworks Trackers have a 10-Year Standard Warranty with Extended Warranty Available

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Rebates/Tax Credits

Currently there are 4 layers of incentives for residential systems in Arizona:

1. Utility rebate
2. Federal tax credit
3. State tax credit
4. State and county sales tax exemption

1. APS offers a rebate that is paid after the system is installed and commissioned (turned on). Currently this is $1.95/installed watt. Arizona Solar Power covers the rebate amount upfront, so YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY THE FULL SYSTEM COST. You are only responsible for paying up to the rebate amount as the utility rebate will be accepted as the final payment when you assign the payment to ASP.

2. Federal Tax Credits Extended through 2016

The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which was signed into law on October 1, 2008, contains renewable energy legislation which is great news for our solar customers. Not only was the 30% commercial solar investment tax credit extended through 2016, but the same tax credit was also extended to residential installations. Under this new legislation the previous $2,000 cap for residential solar installations is eliminated. This means that, as of January 1, 2009, the purchase of a residential solar electric system makes you eligible for a tax credit equal to 30% of the cost of your solar system, including installation.

3. The state tax credit is for $1,000. This can be carried forward for up to 5 years, if your liability is low enough. For example, if you only owe $500 / year, you would owe the state government $0 for the next two years—until you’ve reached a total of $1,000 taken off what you owe in taxes.

4. The state and county sales tax exemption saves over 4% off each system.

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Selling Electricity to APS

You will not receive monthly checks from your utility company. You can, however, expect to reduce your bills by a high percentage. Money saved is tax free money earned.

As of July 1, 2007, APS offers "net metering" to their residential customers. Since grid-tied solar electric systems don't have any form of storage, if there is any excess power the home is not using (for example, when you're not home during the day), it gets sold back to the utility company at the same rate they charge you. Your meter literally runs backwards, and they simply bill you the net diifference at the end of the month. If your meter reads a net negative for the month (you produced more than you used), APS provides a wattage credit to your account.

APS, has "rollover" and you can save up for high summer usage. An example of this follows. Say you produce 1,000 kWh, and use 800 kWh, with APS you wouldn't owe anything for your electrical usage, as they have bought the first 800 kWh at retail prices, and for the last 200 kWh you sold in excess, they will credit your account. Credits accumulate each year, but reset to zero at year end.

Residential APS electricity buyback info (.pdf from July, 2007)

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Grid-Tie vs. Batteries

A grid-tie system generates electricity when the sun is shining and when the utility company is "on-line". If the utility power fails, you have no electricity even though you have solar generated power. This is to prevent safety issues for the utility workers who would not expect power on "dead lines". In most areas this isn't a problem, since the utility service is reliable. You can use small uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) to provide power to critical loads in an outage (recommended for computer equipment or life-support units).

Batteries are necessary if you are "off the grid". With no utility, you need to generate power day and night, using batteries to store power for times when no sun is shining. Batteries are expensive, and need to be replaced every 7-10 years, whether you use them or not.

Grid-tie systems with battery backup are complicated, expensive systems and are only recommended if frequent power-outages are a problem, and you don't want to use a generator. Battery backup systems (UPS) can be added to regular grid-tie systems at a later date, without affecting the cost significantly.

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Homeowners' Associations

None of our clients been denied solar by a Home Owners' Association or any CC&R regulation. This is because state law protects your rights to implement solar energy on your property.

Even though no one can "effectively prohibit" you from utilizing solar energy, it is still desirable to work within the Home Owners' Associations' application process. After you've decided to get a solar electric system, simply supply us with the application and contact person, and we will take care of the rest.

Link to state law regarding solar and HOAs
A.R.S. 33-1816

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Space Needed

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Mounting

Appropriate mounting location:
You need space that is unshaded all day during the peak sunlight hours of the day throught the year for maximum production/economic benefit/environmental benefit. Solar electric panels are very sensitive to shade, but do perform with limited efficiency in cloudy weather.

Roof features to take into consideration as potentially shading a solar array include: vents, chimneys, skylights, other roof surfaces, air conditioners, swamp coolers, antennas, satellite dishes, etc.

Other things to consider, trees (even trees in your neighbor’s yard), utility poles, mountains, large buildings, etc.

There are four main types of mounting:

Pitched Roof Mount (more economical)

Flat Roof Mount

Ground Mount (more expensive)

Trackers (most expensive but highest power output)

For pitched roofs:
For south facing roofs, we simply mount the panels flush against the roof for maximum aesthetic appeal.

For east/west facing roofs, typically we mount half of the panels flush on the east facing pitch, and half on the west for maximum aesthetic appeal. This technique sacrifices production by 20%. We can tilt the panels towards the south to maintain maximum production at the sacrifice of aesthetics.

For north facing roofs, we always tilt the panels toward the south as to not sacrifice production of the system.

For flat roofs
Panels are typically mounted at 10 or 15 degrees, and sometimes as high as 25 or 30 degrees.

For ground mounts
Concrete and upright poles are used for mounting. Typically the array is in a single plane that is tilted 15 or 25 degrees. It is also typically necessary to trench and run conduit to the electrical box and meter, which is usually billed per foot.

Trackers
Zomeworks tracker units are used to gain the maximum output by tracking the sun's movement across the sky all day long. Gains of about 32% can be realized by tracking. Though the units cost more than a fixed mount, you can reduce the number of panels needed by using a tracker, since you get higher output overall. (For example a ground mount setup may need 10kW of panels to meet the needs of the user, but the same user could install only 7.5kW if trackers are utilized.

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Financing Options

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