Category: News

Home battery solutions are rapidly becoming more popular in California for a couple of reasons. First, PG&E and other major utility companies are transitioning customers to time-of-use pricing—under which customers are charged a varying rate based on when they use electricity—which has incentivized customers to find ways to reduce their energy usage during high-cost peak-pricing periods.

Secondly, many Northern Californians were caught off guard by the severity of the blackouts imposed by PG&E as part of their plan for reducing the potential of fires caused by aging electrical transmission equipment. With homeowners losing power for days at a time, and being informed by PG&E that for the next decade they should expect a dozen or more such blackouts during years with severe fire seasons, it’s easy to see why homeowners are turning to solar-powered home battery systems to ensure their comfort and well-being during blackouts, and to reduce their energy costs during normal periods.

But like the fuel-powered generators that they’re increasingly replacing, battery-based electricity storage systems come in two versions: whole home and partial load. Understanding the costs, capabilities and limitations of these two approaches to energy storage will help you to better choose the solution that’s right for your needs.

Whole home energy storage systems are designed to power everything within a home—but this approach requires many compromises.

Many homeowners dream of an energy storage solution that allows them to continue living their life without compromise during a blackout—grabbing a drink out of an ice-cold fridge, then stopping to turn on the air conditioner before walking back to the living room to sit down in front of the TV.

However, even with an energy storage system that is a ‘whole home’ solution on paper, this really isn’t a realistic goal. Even an extremely large, deluxe battery system cannot store enough electricity to power a whole home for very long, and regardless of the amount of energy storage, battery systems often can’t provide for the entirety of a household’s energy needs with carte blanche usage. For perspective, a decent-sized central air conditioner requires about 3.5 kW to 5 kW to run. That means you might be able to run your AC, but you would have to sacrifice the food in your refrigerator to do so.

True whole home electricity storage systems require the home to be tailored to the system as much as the system is tailored to the home.

But even with the ideal high efficiency home, a home battery system won’t allow for running everything in your home for more than a few hours. If you’re simply looking to time-shift your energy usage—charging your batteries via solar power and/or from the grid during the day and tapping into the battery storage at night—to avoid costly evening time-of-use prices, a whole home energy storage system can handle the essentials for an evening. But in the case of a blackout, your battery backup will run out of juice after only a few hours of heavy usage, leaving you entirely without power until either the power comes back on, or there’s enough sunlight to begin recharging the battery.

For the many reasons outlined above, a partial-load battery backup system is much more realistic, useful, and affordable for homeowners.

Partial-load battery backups are integrated into only select home circuits to provide power to crucial, low-power home appliances.

If you knew that PG&E was about to cut off power for a few days, what items in your home would you absolutely need to remain powered?

Your refrigerator and freezer would be at the top of the list. You would almost certainly want lights in your living room, kitchen, and bedroom(s). Odds are that having a working microwave would be helpful, especially since you’d only need to run it for a couple minutes at a time, and it would require much less power than a stove and electric range.

You are probably thinking about your specific home situation right now and considering how you would prioritize your needs, and what you could afford to do without for a few days. Essentially, creating an energy budget.

That’s the exact idea behind partial-load battery backup systems. They don’t power everything, nor are they meant to. Instead, they are integrated into your home so that they only power crucial home systems. No, you’re not going to be running the air conditioner or your big screen TV, but you can keep your food cold and the lights on until power is restored.

In the vast majority of cases, a partial-load battery system is the most realistic and achievable means of securing your home against the inconvenience of blackouts, while also allowing you to flex your power usage to reduce your time-of-use power costs.

If you’re considering installing a home battery system, Capital City Solar can answer all your questions and help you better understand your energy needs. We are a certified Tesla Powerwall installer and offer other battery system solutions as well. Homeowners can enjoy far more flexibility than ever before, as it is now possible to install energy storage on existing solar panel systems, new solar installations, as standalone storage, or even opt to combine battery storage with a generator. Contact us to learn more about how you can achieve your goals for energy independence.

If you’ve decided that a solar power system is in your home’s future, and you’re looking at this article, that means you have already started to do some research about your options. You may have already been bombarded by ads for “free solar power,” looked into the efficiencies of solar panels, and crunched the numbers for your PG&E plan to see how much you could save. And while doing all the research and painstaking analysis on your own, you’ve probably already turned to one of the many online solar quote websites to try and pin down how much getting a system installed will cost, and who offers the best rates.

While many websites do offer fast and free online quote comparisons, there are a lot of details you should be aware of when looking at and comparing solar quotes. If you don’t know what to look for, you might spend more money than you need to, or get less than stellar service.

Make sure you look for reliable reviews indicative of a strong track record of service.

It’s important to research the reputation online of the installers you’re interested in to see if the quality of the service matches up to promises they make. Also, be sure to check how long the solar contractors you’re comparing have been around. No matter what a company promises right now, you want to be sure they’ll still be around in a few years when you need service. When we recently researched the top 30 companies on a “Top 100 Residential Solar Power Contractors” list, we found that more than a third went out of business within five years.

The internet is filled with countless review sites that allow people to sound off about a company, a product, or a service they received. But not all dedicated review sites are reliable. There are solar industry websites which allow companies to essentially pay for placement on their “best of” lists. While many of the reviews on these sites may be legitimate, you cannot wholly rely on these pay-to-play websites.

Instead, look to places like the Better Business Bureau, Yelp, and Google, which are not tied to the solar industry, and thus aren’t incentivized to show favor. The BBB is especially useful, as it allows customers to provide reviews and file complaints to which a company can respond. The BBB also uses actual people to check submitted reviews, which helps deal with concerns about fake reviews. If a company has a long string of bad reviews and complaints that have gone unresolved, this is probably a strong indication to look for another installer.

While customer reviews are important, you should also check the services your installer offers to see if they can provide ongoing support and maintenance. A good solar contractor doesn’t just install systems. They should also be able to provide maintenance when needed, and be on hand to make changes and expansions to the system if necessary.

Don’t rely on quote comparison websites alone—reach out to the companies that top your list and meet with their contractors.

The internet allows you to quickly find solar quotes that compare prices for specific square footages of solar systems. Some may show star ratings that are aggregates of user reviews. Others use satellite imagery of your home to determine the size of system that is available, and model your quotes based on that.

While all this is very convenient sounding, it doesn’t necessarily mean that a given online quote is going to reflect what the end costs will be for your home. Online quotes are only rough estimates and don’t account for a lot of variables.  Remember that every single online quote is based primarily off available data that you have provided. It’s not the same as having a contractor come out to your home to inspect the roof, take measurements of available space, and make an assessment based on what they’ve observed. Online quotes also don’t take into account differences in quality of service.

Once you’ve compared several solar installers, call those companies up and schedule an inspection of your property. In-person appointments can identify and account for issues that you weren’t aware of while doing your search. What if your roof is damaged and needs replacement? What if the roof can’t support the type of system the online quote was for? What if your home’s electrical system needs to be upgraded? A good installer can provide you with this kind of information, and suggest solutions and what they will cost.

Additionally, these inspections can also tell you important technical details about the system the installer is offering for your home. This information should include the brand of solar panels use, what types of inverters they are going to install, the time expected to complete the installation, and so on.

Research the warranties provided by the system manufacturer and installer, and the components covered by them.

After you’ve gotten multiple quotes, your next step is to research the manufacturers of the major system components for information on their overall quality and reliability.

For example, Capital City Solar has partnered with SunPower for the solar panels we use in our installations. We’ve done extensive research on our end, and have determined that SunPower panels meet and exceed our quality and service standards.

It’s important that a solar power system uses high quality parts, because all parts of these systems are expected to survive years of weather exposure, including sunlight, rain, and high winds. You may see quotes for comparable systems at lower prices, but they may be using lower end components, which can affect durability, overall build quality, and even their energy generation capacity.

But even the highest quality parts in these systems can break down over time, which makes warranties and maintenance services important for installers to offer. Manufacturers for solar products often offer their own warranties. SunPower offers a comprehensive system warranty that covers system components for 25 years.

Your installer should provide a warranty for the system installation which covers the cost of any labor necessary to fix mistakes made by their contractors.

Be certain that you’re getting a system that meets your energy needs. A system may only be cheaper because it will offset less of your energy bill.

If you look at online solar system comparison sites, you can easily find comparisons of the average cost of the most common system sizes. Currently, the average cost of a low-end 3 KWh system is just under $8,000, with a cost per watt of $2.63. That’s a tempting price tag, but that system is not necessarily the right call for your home. The average homeowner in California uses more electricity per day than such a system can reasonably generate. Such a system might only offset 25% to 50% of your yearly energy costs.

The bottom line is that a good solar installer will consider the hard numbers behind your energy bill. For example, if you use 1,000 kWh of electricity per month, or roughly 33 kWh per day, you need to a solar system that can generate that much per day if you want to entirely offset your energy bill, or close to it.

This is why it’s important to have contractors actually visit your home, rather than rely entirely on internet quotes. Your bills will tell you how much electricity your solar panels need to generate to greatly reduce the month-to-month costs. Contractors will be able look at your home and tell you exactly what kind of system you can get, and where you may need to make changes or compromises to meet your energy goals.

Solar systems are an investment into the future of your home, and it’s important that you do everything you can to ensure that you’re getting the best possible system for your money. At Capital City Solar, we know how important it is for customers to get a reliable system that can meet their needs for years or even decades. If you’re interested in getting a detailed, fact-based quote for your property, call us at 1-916-782-3333, make an appointment with us online, or use our online contact form. We look forward to helping you go solar!

Between 2010 and 2018, prices for high-capacity lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries dropped by 85%.  While the overall savings are lessening over time as prices drop, price reductions have by percentage have remained high, averaging about 22% per year over the last 3 years. While these savings aren’t entirely realized by consumers, this has still had a profound impact on the affordability of phones, laptops, and other portable high-tech devices. It’s also meant that that home battery solutions, once only within the financial reach of big businesses and some wealthy individuals, are now affordable for the average homeowner. Consequently, there are now many consumer level home energy storage systems on the market, made by both American and international manufacturers.

Energy storage batteries offer ways for homeowners to further reduce their dependence on the energy grid. And with utility companies like PG&E frequently cutting power to large swaths of California in hopes of preventing wildfires, it is more important than ever for solar system owners to buy storage batteries as part of their emergency preparations. But what makes home batteries useful and cost effective? What do you need to know?

Installing a battery system may help you keep the lights (or fridge or air conditioner) on during PG&E’s Public Safety Power Shutoffs.

Since home batteries came on the scene, the chief motive for homeowners to buy one has been to maximize the savings offered by solar power systems, and reduce the impact of increasingly costly utility rates charged by PG&E. But that’s changing.

PG&E has been increasingly under pressure in the wake of numerous wildfires caused by damaged and faulty electrical transmission equipment. The cost of legal settlements has driven the company into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and the state of California has compelled the utility to develop a plan for reducing the risk of causing fires.

As most of the fires caused by PG&E equipment have started on high-wind days, PG&E has taken an aggressive approach by enacting public safety power shutoffs. On October 9^th, 2019, the utility shut off power to nearly 500,000 customers throughout Central and Northern California, and further shutoffs occurred throughout the month. Southern California Edison has also announced its own plans for potential shutoffs for regions it services.

PG&E’s power shutoff is a response to criticism that the utility has not done enough prevent wildfire ignitions. The devastating Camp Fire, which destroyed the towns of Paradise and Concow in 2018, was sparked after transmission lines failed under high winds. The company had performed smaller-scale power shutoffs in October 2018 due to windstorm conditions, but faced heavy criticism for its handling of the incident. As a result, PG&E was hesitant to shut off power to its Sierra Nevada customers a month later, and this hesitation resulted in the most destructive wildfire in California history.

The devastating consequences of PG&E second-guessing its judgment in November 2018 led the company to broaden its response to severe weather conditions. Under PG&E’s 2019 Public Safety Power Shutdown plan, power lines passing through regions designated by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) as being at elevated (“Tier 2”) or extreme (“Tier 3”) risk for wildfire may be shut off in the event of high wind.

The CPUC’s “High Fire-Threat District Map.” Tier 3 regions are colored red, Tier 2 regions are yellow.

The company has warned that while it’s more likely that customers in these regions will be impacted, any or all of PG&E’s more than 5 million customers could potentially lose power. In particularly wind-prone areas, such as the town of Calistoga—which was impacted by the Wine Country fire of 2017—PG&E has warned of the potential for more than a dozen power outages during California’s 7-month-long fire season.

With Californians facing a potential decade or more of forced power outages, it is more important than ever for homeowners to have an energy backup system.

PG&E CEO William D. Johnson said that these precautionary outages could persist for at least ten years, until the company is able to harden its infrastructure against the extreme weather events that have sparked deadly wildfires. While many have been critical of the company, the reality is that these power shutoffs will be the new normal during California’s increasingly volatile fire seasons.

While a solar power system will allow you to continue delivering power to a refrigerator, freezer, or at-home medical equipment, it will only be able to do so during the few hours when your roof or backyard system receives intense sunlight. But by installing a home battery system, you will be able to run critical appliances during the day, while also charging your home battery, and then run those appliances overnight off the stored battery power.

You will have to be very disciplined—limited lighting, no HVAC or entertainment systems, etc.—but a home battery system can mean the difference between saving or losing hundreds of dollars of food in your home’s or business’s refrigerator and freezer. And for elders who rely on personal oxygen tanks or other electrically powered personal medical equipment, a home battery could potentially save their lives during an extended outage.

But home what battery system is right for your needs?

There are many manufacturers now offering home battery systems, with Sonnen, LG Chem, and Tesla being some of the most notable.

Unsurprisingly, Tesla is the most well-known home battery manufacturer in the market, with their Powerwall battery systems dominating the market. However, we’ve found them to be extremely costly solutions. For even sub-1,000 square foot homes, Tesla recommends a two-battery system, costing nearly $15,000 after installation. For homes of any size with air conditioners and electric vehicles, that recommendation bumps up to a 3-battery system costing more than $21,000.

While there is a lot of public trust in the Tesla brand, from a perspective of maximizing system lifespan, product quality, and cost savings both upfront and in the long run, there are cost-effective alternatives. With these considerations in mind, we’ve found that the best battery systems on the market are those made by LG Chem, a division of LG Electronics, and Sonnen, a German company that exclusively designs and manufactures energy storage systems. These are the battery brands we currently supply to our customers.

Home batteries come in a range of capacities, allowing homeowners to choose one that scales to their energy needs.

For maximum flexibility of budget, home solar batteries are produced in a variety of capacities and energy outputs. The capacity determines how much energy can be stored, while the output (oftentimes referred to as the ‘constant draw’ or ‘nominal power) is the rate at which electricity can delivered by the battery. In other words, capacity is how big of a bucket it is, while output/draw is how fast the bucket can pour.

LG Chem currently produces batteries under the brand name RESU, which stands for ‘residential energy storage unit.’ Standard RESU model batteries are available in capacities of 3.3, 6.5, 7, and 9.8 kWh (though the usable capacity, often referred to as the ‘depth of discharge,’ is about 90 to 95% of the stated capacity). RESU batteries, like most home battery systems, can be chained together for larger total capacity and output.

Sonnen’s line of batteries designed specifically for home solar power owners are marketed under the name sonnenBatterie eco. They range in size from 5 to 15 kWh in 2.5 kWh steps, with the usable capacity being about 90% of the total capacity.

Determining what size battery is right for your home depends not only on how much electricity you use, but how quickly you use it.

If you have visions of running your air conditioning all evening during Sacramento’s hot summers after charging your batteries for a day, you’re going to be disappointed. We’re not quite there yet. To give you an idea of what a home battery can do, the smallest sonnenBatterie eco model (5 kWh) could run your laundry dryer for maybe an hour and a half, or power an energy efficient refrigerator for around 4 days.

Technically, you could run a central air conditioning system for several hours off a very large battery system. Sonnen’s 15 kWh model might power a central AC for perhaps 4 hours, depending on the size. However, you wouldn’t be able to power anything else and achieve that duration. If you’re running the lights in your home, kitchen appliances, and the living room TV, you’ll exhaust the battery long before the evening is through. Then, you’ll be back on expensive on-peak priced electricity. If cooling is critical for you, but you don’t wish to draw electricity from the grid too often, consider purchasing a small portable or window-mounted AC to cool rooms you spend more time in.

The other issue is the rate at which electricity can be produced by a home battery. Sonnen’s batteries offer continuous output of 3 to 8 kilowatts (kW), meaning they can supply power at a rate of 3 to 8 kW per hour (and thus, produce 3 to 8 kilowatt-hours (kWh) in one hour). If you stack batteries for higher maximum output, you may be able to power your house more or less as normal, as long as you don’t fire up multiple high-demand appliances simultaneously.

Be careful to not mixed up by terminology. In the specifications and advertising for a battery, you will often see mention of ‘maximum power,’ ‘peak draw,’ ‘peak power,’ etc. This number is higher than the constant draw of a battery, so it’s sometimes showcased prominently to make a battery sound better. But it just means the maximum amount of electricity that a battery can deliver for a few moments.

This is relevant because some electrical systems, such as an air conditioner, may require a lot of power to start up, and then use less electricity after that. Having a higher peak draw means that a battery can deliver that added boost to help things get going. But after that, a battery can only deliver the amount of electricity listed under ‘nominal output’ or ‘constant draw.’ So, don’t look at the peak draw figure to get a sense of how much stuff a battery can power in your house.

Home batteries give homeowners the ability to engage in “time-of-use arbitrage”—buying energy when it’s cheap, and using stored power and solar power when prices are high.

As we’ve discussed previously, PG&E, SMUD, and other electricity utilities are transitioning customers to “time-of-use” pricing (SMUD uses the term “time-of-day” or “TOD,” but it’s the same thing). Under time-of-use rate plans, you’re charged for electricity changes depending on when you use it. During hours of “peak usage,” which is when people use the most electricity, utility companies charge more for the same amount of electricity than they do during periods when usage is lower.

For instance, let’s take a look at PG&E’s Time-of-Use Peak Pricing 3-8 p.m. (E-TOU-A) rate plan (they also have a 4-9 p.m. version):

What really matters for most PG&E customers are the summertime energy rates, as that’s when electricity usage soars as people turn on their air conditioners. During the summer, between peak usage hours of 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., electricity costs 40.4 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). At night and through the next day, during off-peak hours, the price drops to 32.9 cents per kWh. PG&E’s off-peak rates are already very high (higher even than SMUD’s on-peak rate of 28.35 cents). With such high rates during the afternoon and early evening, cooking dinner or watching TV in the evenings costs families a small fortune.

That’s where time-of-use arbitrage comes in (arbitrage is just a fancy word meaning to buy something when it’s cheap, and then selling it at another time or in another place for more money). People with home battery systems can charge up their batteries at night when electricity is cheap, and use the charged battery when prices are higher. Even if this doesn’t cover all your energy usage, you can at least offset some of the costs.

Solar power users have it even better. They can charge a battery from their solar power system at any time at no cost. When it’s topped out, they can divert energy produced by their panels to the electrical grid to earn a credit from their utility (thanks to an agreement called “net energy metering”). Then they can use the electricity stored in their battery during pricey evening hours, and when that’s exhausted, use the energy credits they have earned to offset any additional electricity they need to draw from the grid.

In short, a battery system allows homeowners to increase the savings afforded them by their solar power system, while preparing them for public safety power shutoffs.

With all that in mind, how big of a home battery do you need?

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average electricity consumption of a California home was 547 kWh per month, or about 18 kWh per day. Obviously, this varies according to location and personal habits. You want to refer to your energy bill to see how much energy you use.

Based upon your habits, it might be reasonable to estimate that about half of your family’s energy usage occurs during high-demand evening hours. If you want to cover most or all your evening consumption, you may want to invest in a battery with a capacity of 10 kWh or more if it’s financially feasible. A larger battery might be necessary if you have medical equipment that must stay powered overnight, and you will want to buy a system that takes this need into account.

Currently, it’s not practical to purchase a battery system that will meet all your energy needs. However, you can put a big dent in your evening energy consumption and your energy bills as well. If you want to learn more about how a home battery is the perfect cost-saving complement to a solar power system, contact Capital City Solar by calling (916) 782-3333, or send us a message using our contact form.

PG&E’s electricity rates have been steadily rising year over year, and customers can expect even greater instability in the wake of the company declaring bankruptcy. It’s little surprise that many homeowners have installed solar power systems to lower their energy costs. But some local governments have been taking another route in an attempt to help their citizens keep energy rates down: forming community choice aggregations, or CCAs. CCAs are nonprofit public agencies which represent a given geographic area, such as a county or city, and negotiate energy rates with the utility serving the area.

In 2016, Placer County began exploring the idea of community choice energy programs, and ultimately formed Pioneer Community Energy in February 2018. As a partnership between Placer County and the cities of Auburn, Colfax, Lincoln, Rocklin, and Loomis, Pioneer has thus far managed to offer energy rates lower than those of nearby PG&E customers.

Pioneer is a government agency and doesn’t have to generate profits for shareholders, which is part of why it can offer lower energy rates.

Pioneer acts as an intermediary between Placer County residents and PG&E. As a local government agency, it isn’t privately owned, nor does it pay out profits to shareholders. Any profits generated are reinvested back into the agency, which is not funded by taxes, as well as energy efficiency programs.

Like other CCAs, Pioneer does not own the infrastructure electricity is transmitted through. Pioneer purchases electricity from PG&E for use by Placer County residents. Placer residents still receive bills from PG&E, but instead of being charged the standard rate offered by PG&E, customers are charged a lower rate negotiated by Pioneer.

Pioneer customers with solar power have likely noticed a change in their PG&E billing schedule.

For new solar power system owners, the first true-up bill from PG&E can be a confusing surprise. In an effort to make billing more efficient, PG&E doesn’t bill customers with solar power month to month, but instead issues a bill once per year. If you are currently a net-metered PG&E customer, you should be sure to account for true-up billing in your annual budget.

However, Pioneer customers don’t receive a true-up bill. Placer County homeowners with solar power systems continue to receive monthly bills. Instead of a single large bill at the year’s end, the contributions of their solar systems are reflected with each monthly bill. If customers use more electricity than they generate, then they pay the difference.

This process does not entirely do away with annual billing, as customers are billed once per year for net energy metering transmission and delivery charges.

Pioneer currently maintains lower electricity rates than PG&E, but customers are seeing steady rate increases that reduce their savings.

Pioneer has consistently charged energy rates lower than PG&E’s. As of early 2018, Pioneer charged rates that were, on average, 9% lower than those charged by the utility company.

But less than two years after taking over service in Placer County, the CCA’s promised bargains are already under pressure. In August 2019, the Pioneer Energy Board voted for a plan that would increase rates in order to pay down over $14 million in debts, while bolstering Pioneer’s rate stabilization  reserve—money set aside to cover the cost of unexpected price hikes—by nearly $5 million.

Even after the increase, Pioneers rates are 7% lower than PG&E’s. However, these savings fall short of a plan that proposed on July 29^th that would have kept rates 17% lower than those charged by PG&E. Ultimately, concerns about Pioneer’s financial stability and credit rating won out over a lower rate for customers. But the spike in rates may have unintended consequences for Pioneer customers moving forward.

The problem lies with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) requirement that CCA customers pay exit fees, also known as ‘power charge indifference adjustments.’ These fees cover the cost of maintaining and operating the infrastructure that PG&E owns and operates. For PG&E customers, the cost of system maintenance is covered through the energy rates they charge. But because PG&E doesn’t control the rate paid by Pioneer customers, these system maintenance fees are instead explicitly itemized in the bills of Pioneer customers.

While the rate charged by Pioneer for electricity may be lower than under PG&E, some customers may still end up paying more under the CCA when exit fees are taken into account. Members of the Pioneer board raised concerns that if rates were not low enough, customers might be lured back to PG&E should the utility cut its own rates. However, the need to ensure Pioneer’s financial stability ultimately won out.

While Pioneer customers may not pay the same rates as direct PG&E customers, they are still impacted by PG&E’s ongoing service problems.

As we have discussed previously, PG&E customers are having to deal with the fallout from the utility company’s controversial approach to reducing the threat of wildfires by shutting down power to regions affected by high winds.

While Pioneer can offer prices lower than PG&E’s, it can’t change the fact that the electricity they bill for is delivered through PG&E’s infrastructure. That’s why, when PG&E shut off power to over 500,000 customers in Northern California in response to fire danger in October of 2019, portions of Placer County woke up to a total blackout.

Pioneer Community Energy customers are going to have to keep in mind, going forward, that issues impacting PG&E customers likely affect them as well.

Pioneer Energy isn’t necessarily direct competition for PG&E, and customers aren’t necessarily breaking free of the utility when they join. Pioneer does offer the opportunity for existing solar customers to potentially save more money, thanks to the reduced energy rates, as well as avoid the need for yearly billing.

But the savings advertised by CCAs are not as guaranteed as they may seem to be, because ultimately, the infrastructure and the overall market rates are still very much under the control of utility companies.

Customers of Pioneer and other CCAs should not rely on their membership in a CCA as their sole means of staving off PG&E rate increases. The rates charged by CCAs will go up as those charged by PG&E other utility companies rise. Going solar is a key means of minimizing your reliance on grid-supplied electricity entirely, and insulating yourself from inevitable future rate increases.

In addition, Placer County homeowners should know that while enrollment in Pioneer Community Energy is automatic, you do have the choice to stay with Pioneer, or opt to return to PG&E. If you ever wish to opt out of Pioneer, you can fill out the site on Pioneer’s website, or call Pioneer at (844) 937-7466. Please note that if you have been with Pioneer for more than 60 days and choose to return to PG&E, you will be required to remain as a PG&E customer for at least one year before you have the option of rejoining Pioneer.

Homeowners who are considering going solar may not know that it may be necessary to replace their roof before installing a solar system. This is an especially serious concern for homes 20 to 30 years old, with roofs nearing the end of their lifespans. Rooftop repairs and replacements can be a pretty big setback for anyone going solar, as they aren’t exactly cheap.

Fortunately, there is no requirement for a roof replacement before you go solar. In fact, even if your roof does need major repairs, homeowners have options when it comes to getting a solar system onto their property.

Roof-mounted solar panels can work on just about any type of roof on a home.

If your roof is in good shape, then the good news is you will very likely not need to replace your roof at all. Most modern roofing materials are compatible with solar panels, with some being more accommodating of panels (and workers walking over them) than others.

Asphalt shingle roofing, or composite roofing, is one of the most common types of roofing in the US today. Installing solar panels on this type of roofing is relatively easy, as it doesn’t require removing shingles in order to fasten the panel mounts to the rafters.

Clay tile roofing is also quite common. Solar panel mounts are generally not fastened to the rafters through the tile. Installers must instead remove tiles to make room for the solar mounting racks, which tend to be raised higher off the surface of the roof to account for the remaining tiles. This does make installing a solar system on these types of roofs more labor intensive, and therefore more expensive.

Standing-seam metal roofs are some of the most durable roofs, and they are also incredibly easy to mount panels on using a series of clamps. Most metal roofs are considered to be extremely compatible with solar panel installations.

Wooden roofs of all kinds are technically compatible with solar panel installations. However, depending on your local regulations, you may not be allowed to install a solar system on this type of roof due to fire risks. Even a ‘safe’ installation still involves electricity passing dangerously close to a potential fire hazard. If local regulations prevent you from mounting panels to wooden roofs, you can still get a solar system, but you will have to mount it in your backyard or elsewhere.

Solar panel mounts come in many varieties, so unless there are major problems with the integrity of your roof, or having a wooden roof, there is a rooftop mounting solution for almost any home.

If your roof is too small to mount many panels, or needs serious work, you can still get a solar system for your home!

Depending on your home’s energy needs, you will need a certain number of solar panels to offset your usage. These will of course take up quite a bit of real estate on your roof, and not every home can accommodate this. Or, it may be that your home’s roof isn’t in a suitable condition for a roof-mounted system, or you simply don’t want to impact the sightlines of your home’s roof. Fortunately, you don’t need to put some or even all your panels on the roof thanks to some alternative mounting options.

Ground mounted solar panels

Solar farms use large arrays of panels suspended off the ground via mounting racks. You can do much the same on your own property if you have the space for it. In fact, you can plan for a much larger system than the roof of your home would allow for! Some systems are permanently fixed into place on the ground. Others are designed to be moved seasonally, based on changes in the sun’s overall position in the sky.

Pole-mounted solar panels

A more sophisticated solution is to mount solar panels on poles. These can raise the panels higher off the ground, possibly negating anything that could physically block sunlight from hitting them. Some of these systems include tracking sensors that automatically adjust the position of the panels in order to collect as much sunlight as possible. This is a more sophisticated solution, which can drive up the cost of installation. However, it’s hard to beat the results, and there is something cool about arrays of pole-mounted solar panels adjusting themselves throughout the day.

Alternative solutions

If you have a secondary structure on your property, like a supply shed, barn, or greenhouse, these can be excellent alternative mounts for a solar system. Some homeowners even build solar sheds specifically for their system, or to augment a system that is already in place.

There may also be different mounting points on your home itself. If you have a shaded patio, the overhang might be a possible location for more panels. However, this does depend heavily on the orientation of the patio, and you need have it pass an inspection to ensure the overhang can support the extra weight.

You should still take care of any issues your roof has before you mount a solar system.

Getting roof mounted solar panels is an investment strategy that can save you money on energy bills, and increase the value of your home. Because of this, if you’re considering a solar system, it’s important to get your roof inspected right away. Our solar technicians are always happy to evaluate your roof and answer any questions you might have.

It’s better to identify and resolve problems up front, and it can be less expensive in the long run. It costs money to have panels removed and reinstalled, so by taking care of issues with your roof before going solar, you’ll have fewer expenses to worry about in the future.

If you’re considering getting a solar power system and want to make sure your roof is ready, call Capital City Solar today! We can assess your roof for any potential issues and see if it’s able to mount the solar panels your system will need.

If you have been thinking about getting a solar power system for your home, you’ve probably wondered how much money you could save each month. Fortunately, there’s a pretty simple way for PG&E customers to find out. By reading through the monthly statements of your PG&E electricity plan, you can find out exactly how much electricity you’re using and when you’re using it.

Whether you’re paying a flat rate or time-of-use rates, your bill will have the hard numbers you need to plan for a solar power system that meets your energy needs.

The benefits of a solar system change based on the PG&E electricity plan you are under.

The first step to understanding how much money solar could be saving you is to understand your billing plan. For non-solar residential customers, PG&E has long offered tiered-rate plans, but is currently working to transition as many customers as possible to time-of-use rate plans. For business customers, PG&E offers specialized Time-of-Use and Peak Day plans.

Residential Customers:

Tiered-rate plans are based around two tiers of electricity use. Tier 1 is for customers who use up to 100% of their “Baseline Allowance” of energy. Tier 2 is for customers whose energy use falls between 101% and 400% of their Baseline Allowance. Customers who go over 400% face a high usage surcharge.

Your Baseline Allowance is your home’s allotment of electricity available at the lowest price. The allowance changes based on where you live, what is used as your heating source, and whether it’s currently summer or winter.

Three time-of-use rate plans are also available from PG&E for residential customers. These plans designate five hours of the day as “peak hours,” times during which electricity costs more due to the high demand. The idea behind these plans is that customers are encouraged to shift their energy usage to non-peak hours to cut their costs.

Two of these plans focus on Monday through Friday of each week. The first sets 3PM to 8PM as peak hours, and also comes with a Baseline Allowance. The second weekday plan shifts peak hours later to 4PM to 9PM, and there is no Baseline Allowance. Finally, there is the Everyday Time-of-Use plan, which sets the hours of 4PM to 9PM as peak hours every day of the year.

Business Customers:

Time-of-use plans for small and medium-sized businesses change between summer and winter rates. As of September 2019, summer rates are in effect from May to October, while winter rates are between November and April. There are also rate plans specific to agricultural customers, using the same months for summer and winter rates.

Time-of-use plans are a little more complicated for business customers. During the summer rates, power is organized into three rate periods: off-peak, partial peak, and peak. During the winter, there is only off-peak, and partial peak. But this changes with agricultural customers, with summer only having on and off-peak periods, and winter having off-peak and partial peak.

Each of these time-of-use plans charges their own rates per kWh of electricity consumed.

Peak day pricing provides a discount on regular summer electricity rates for businesses. But in exchange, they are charged higher prices during specified “Event Days” throughout the year, which are dates on which particularly high usage is anticipated. Customers under this plan will have anywhere between 9 and 15 event days per year.

On this plan the summer and winter rates and peak hours are set up similarly to the standard business time-of-use plans. But on Event Days, from 2PM to 6PM, a surcharge is added for each kWh used.

How does your statement help you determine how much you could be saving under solar power?

Regardless of your rate plan, every bill PG&E sends has a section that charts your electricity use over the course of the billing period, while also spelling out the rates you are paying.

For gas and electric, electric-only, and agriculture energy customers, page 3 of your statement shows the charts you’re looking for. In addition to breaking down your energy use throughout the billing period, this page also shows you your rate and the various additional charges you may have paid during this time. For time-of-use customers, these charts are even more detailed, as they will show you when your energy use occurred during peak hours.

Keep in mind that in addition to your use of electricity at the current energy rates, there are other monthly charges. This can include taxes enforced by state and local governments, grid access charges, and so on.

By compiling a series of bills, you can see what your energy usage looks like on a month-to-month basis. By analyzing this information, you can not only tell if your current rate plan is right for your current usage, you can use that data to help determine how large of a solar power system you need. A well-planned and properly implemented solar system can help take the bite out of the peak hour charges you face under time-of-use plans. Capital City Solar’s service representatives can also help you analyze this information and determine the extent of your solar power needs.

You can potentially offset your peak hour costs completely, or opt to reduce your tiered pricing costs with a solar power system.

As an example, let’s say that you’re on a time-of-use plan where your peak hours are set to 3PM to 8PM, and you get home from work around 5:30 to 6PM. Your electricity use is going to start in the middle of peak billing hours.

But with a solar system, you’ve been generating electricity throughout the day, which is being returned to the grid. Solar customers gain energy credits that are shown in their monthly net energy metering statements.

Under net energy metering, any electricity your solar power system generates that you aren’t using is sent into the local utility grid, and is credited to your account. On days where your energy use is minimized, but the system is still generating power, the energy credit you’re building up can offset later expenses considerably. Additionally, there are days where you don’t use as much power at home, like if you’re out on vacation. Your solar system will still be generating power, generating energy credits, and helping offset your energy costs later down the line.

Keep in mind that the benefits of going solar will grow as energy rates increase over time.

In 2018, PG&E officially submitted its 2020 General Rate Case to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The utility has asked for a $1.1 billion revenue increase to fund enhancements to gas and electric safety in the face of lengthening wildfire seasons. This translates to an average rate increase of 6.4% for residential customers. PG&E makes such proposals every three years, and it's a safe bet to assume that energy rates will see regular increases over time. The sooner you get solar power for your home, the sooner you can start to get ahead of these rate increases.

Solar power offers great benefits for PG&E customers, and the billing statements can help illustrate just how significant the savings can be. If you’re thinking about getting a solar system installed, but you’re not sure how much you could be saving, take a look at your monthly statements. We can also develop a custom cost-savings estimate for your home. If you’re ready to get your house assessed for a solar power system, contact Capital City Solar today!