The moment that sunlight hits a solar panel, electricity is created and a direct current (DC) travels through the wires to an inverter. The inverter takes that direct current and generates alternating current (AC) for use in your business. When you generate more power than you are using, your meter actually runs backwards as excess energy flows back to the grid! With most electric utility companies, this will count as a credit to be used later when you consume more energy than your panels produce.

Our Solar Energy Consultants can quickly identify if your business is right for solar using advanced shade analysis tools. We can pull up your building to see what roof faces would be appropriate and any shading impact on the production. Then, using your consumption history can determine the right size system based on the space available. If it is a new building, a square footage calculations may be used to predict the amount of power needed.

There are Federal and Statewide incentive programs to help urge business owners to install solar energy on their properties as well as implement suggested efficiency improvements from an energy audit.

There is a Federal Tax Credit for commercial property owners that install solar pv systems that cover 30% of your total costs with no maximum credit. The taxpayer may claim this credit of qualified expenditures for a system that serves the taxpayer’s property.

Low-Income Communities – The ITC is eligible for an additional 10%-20% boost for projects in eligible low-income communities. The ITC’s may be transferred or sold to other taxpayers.   

In addition, different statewide programs and utility company rebates may be in place at the time you are looking to install so ask us today if you qualify for any other incentive!

The average residential system is around 6kW which takes up about 450 square feet of roof or ground space.

As a Trade Ally Partner of Ameren, we can review your previous electric usage with your account number and determine what size solar system would be right for you. If your utility provider is not Ameren, we are able to use a simple calculation to determine the appropriate system size if you provide us with either the amount of an average monthly electric bill you are currently paying or how much electrical usage (kWh) your property uses monthly.

A properly installed solar power system should require little to no maintenance and will include detailed monitoring to ensure the system is running optimally. However, any dust or debris that settles on the modules is usually removed by normal rainfall. Sometimes larger obstructions such as leaves or bird droppings can cause production losses, but this is typically minimal and would not require your intervention. A quality installation partner like EFS Energy will be there to monitor and troubleshoot any issues as well as work with manufacturers on anything that falls under their warranty scope.

Our recommended panels come with 25 year production warranties and inverters come with 12-25 year warranties so you can rest easy knowing you will be benefiting from reliable solar energy well into the future. Many early solar panels are still running efficiently after 30+ years. It is very likely that the lifespan of your panels will exceed their warranty.

Just like any other investment, solar is a long term investment that will pay for itself over time. However, with the current incentives: 30% Federal ITC, local rebates, depreciation, and monthly energy savings from the utility (many of which are when demand charges and peak-hours are high), the first 5 year savings average from 50-100%. Our detailed financial analysis will show you exactly what to expect.

The amount of power your solar system generates is directly proportional to the amount of sunlight available so it will produce less energy when the weather is cloudy and no energy at nighttime. However, our estimates are based on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s information and account for the climate based on the location of your property. Unless specified by the customer we design all of our systems to remain tied to the grid so our customers can take advantage of net metering. This way you can bank credits for the excess energy produced during the day to offset cloudy days and energy consumed at night.