FAQ

The goal of installing a photovoltaic system on your home of business is to reduce the power the building needs to use from the grid. Unfortunately there is no reliable way to relate a building’s square footage to its power usage, which makes it difficult to give an answer to this question simply. However, if it’s a rule of thumb you’re looking for, think of it this way instead: In Florida, 7kW of un-shaded solar PV will reduce your power bill by an average of 1,000 kWh each month.  You would need roughly 34 solar panels for a system that size.

A grid-connected solar PV system will connect to the main distribution panel of a building. The power from that system will mix with power from the grid to power some or all of everything attached to that distribution panel. Typically, these systems will not power an isolated circuit alone, and therefore it cannot be said that it will power a specific appliance. The goal of a solar PV system is to simply reduce or "net-zero" the amount of energy the building needs to use from the electric grid.

Grid-connected solar PV systems in their basic form, will not supply any power to a building when grid power has been interrupted. There are two main reasons for this. First, power from a solar array is variable, and cannot provide a steady load to your building without the presence of grid power. Secondly, during a power outage, an active PV system could potentially put power back onto the grid, electrifying wires that are being repaired, and causing an unsafe situation for personnel repairing the grid. For these reasons, the PV system’s inverter will automatically turn off if grid power is lost and cannot be restarted until grid power returns. This said, however, it is possible to create a battery bank that is kept charged by the Solar PV system and the grid to power certain circuits during power outages.

Every make and model of solar panel varies somewhat in size, but a typical silicon solar panel with a rating of 190-220 Watts measures roughly 3.25’ x 5’ or 17 square feet.

The answer to this question is most likely yes. A flush mounted solar array including mounting hardware weighs less than 3 lbs. per square foot. More of a concern in Florida is the uplift created by windy conditions such as hurricanes. Mounting hardware takes these forces into account and all PV systems are custom designed to match the individual roof’s load requirements. If high wind zones in areas near the coasts make it impossible to attach traditional PV panels without putting the roof at risk, alternate options such as thin-film PV that can withstand wind speeds of 160 mph and weigh almost nothing can be explored.

It is a common sight in Florida to see solar water heaters on roofs, either to heat water in the home, or to heat a swimming pool. These are an excellent option for indirectly lowering power bills related to water heating and should certainly be explored. PV systems generate electricity, and directly lower power bills relating to any power load in your home or business, allowing you to lower your bills even further.

All solar PV installations are built to meet or exceed an area’s wind zone requirements which range from 90-150 mph in the State of Florida. In these calculations, your roof’s uplift capacity is taken into account and the system is attached in a way that will ensure the system stays put in these high wind conditions. The faces of solar panels are made of very strong tempered glass and are built to withstand impacts by 1” hailstones. Keep in mind that most insurance policies will cover damage to solar panels, and we encourage our customers to confirm this before installing a system.

Solar photovoltaic systems have been around for a long time. There are systems that were installed in the 60’s and 70’s that are still reliably producing electricity today. That said, the solar panels, which are the majority of the cost of your system, have power output warrantees of up to 25 years. Solar panels have no moving parts, and are built to withstand whatever nature throws at them.

Warrantees differ between manufacturers, but typically the warrantee for a solar panel is as follows: 10 years of minimum 90% rated power output and 25 years of minimum 80% rated power output. (It is one of the properties of solar panels, that over time, the power output decreases. We take this decrease into effect when modeling financial returns for our customers.) Inverters, which convert the solar direct current energy into usable alternating current energy, usually have a warrantee of 10 years. In addition, QuickBeam Energy is the only installer in the State of Florida to offer a 10 year warranty for materials and workmanship.

This is perhaps the part of the discussion that scares building owners the most. The answer is, yes, sometimes. It really depends on the type of roof, and the wind zone of the area. For tilted roofs, the answer is almost always yes, unless the roof is a standing seam roof, in which case clamps can be used. For flat roofs, ballasted systems can be used that minimize or eliminate the need for roof penetrations. Any penetrations that are made for QuickBeam’s customers, however, involve certified roofing contractors. If the customer has a roofer that they wish us to use, we will usually be more than happy to have them make the penetrations and attachment of the components under our supervision.

Mounting options exist for just about any type of roof. These include, asphalt shingle, metal roofs, standing seam roofs, built up flat roofs, membrane roofs, and barrel tile roofs.

An ideal roof for solar faces due south, or is flat and allows us to tilt the panels toward the south. However, if your roof is not ideal, let us take a look. Depending on the pitch of the roof, and the actual declination of the roof, we may be able to attach the panels in a way that they do not suffer much from their orientation. Also, have you considered a ground mounted solution?

You may have heard about the need to clean solar panels. Panels do need to remain relatively clean in order produce electricity efficiently. In many parts of the country, regular cleaning in necessary due to desert dust, snow, or even suit from forest fires. In Florida, however, our regular rainstorms do a great job of keeping the panels clean without any need for cleaning. Other than cleaning, which is rarely if ever necessary, there is no other maintenance needed. Our systems are typically monitored remotely and any issues that arise can be detected by abnormal fluctuations or loss of power production.

Even minor shading can greatly affect the output of a normal solar array. For cases where some shading will likely occur that cannot be resolved by changing the location of the array, we would likely consider a micro-inverter solution that will minimize the effect of the shading.

There are a few ways to do this. The inverters keep track of their kWh output. This can usually be read on the inverter itself. Also, a meter like those used by the utilities can be installed on the output side of the system that can be read by the customer. Our systems typically include online monitoring, however, so the customer can see the output of their PV system through their web browser from anywhere. This also allows us to monitor your system and be notified as soon as any problem arises. The utility will usually only monitor what is put back into the grid, not what is actually produced by your PV system, letting them know how much they need to subtract from your bill. If your system puts as much back onto the grid as you take off, your bill will be nearly zero.

Florida statute 163.04 prohibits home owners associations and the like from making rules prohibiting any type of renewable energy generations system. Click here to read the full statute text.

The short simplified answer is that when your PV system is producing more that you are using, your utility meter spins backwards. When you are using more power than your system is producing (at night for example) your meter spins forward. Overall, if you put as much back into the grid as you take out, your monthly reading will come out to zero kWh. In practice, your utility will actually install a “dual meter” which will meter your ins and outs separately. At the end of each month, they will subtract the outs from the ins to come up with your billed total.

Let’s say you put more energy back into the grid than you take out over the period of a year. How you are compensated for these extra kWh’s can vary depending on your power provider. In the case of the Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs) which include Florida Power & Light, Florida Public Utilities, Gulf Power Company, Progress Energy, and Tampa Electric, they are only required to pay you the avoided cost of this power, which essentially is the fuel cost (usually around $0.04-0.06 per kWh). This payment would occur on Jan. 1st of each year. Some utilities will provide more compensation, or at least allow your credits to roll over for a full calendar year. Because of this reduced benefit for excess generation, we don’t suggest at this time that customers build a system that over a year will produce more power than they will use. We look closely at a customer’s power statements to ensure that they will use what they generate.

No. The State accepts applications for PV systems, and pays out rebates in the order they are received until funding for the program is exhausted. Applications not awarded the rebate are put into the queue for the next year’s funding. Please check the State’s solar rebate website for updated information.

Typically rebates have taken about a year to be processed and mailed out. This is not guaranteed, however, and customers should check the State’s solar rebate website for updated information.

There may or may not be any effect. We ask that you contact your insurance agent to answer this question.

Yes. Grid-tied solar PV systems require integration into your home’s electrical system, and by law a permit is required for this type of work. Furthermore, your electric utility will require such a permit, and will likely require that they themselves inspect the system before allowing you to interconnect with the grid. We handle the permit process for you for all of our installations, and unless otherwise noted, all permit fees are included in our contract price.

Put simply, yes. By installing a PV system, you are reducing the amount of money needed to operate your home or business. This makes the building more valuable.