FAQ's

Michigan was rated 15th best in the country for return on investment but 38th for the adoption of solar. Michigan has more sunlight per year than Germany (approximately 8.5% more according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory), yet Germany led the world in solar power produced per capita until 2014. Solar electric panels actually work better when they are cold. Michigan's latitude and climate allow for excellent solar production. Further, the solar laws in Michigan benefit solar owners, enabling solar to make good sense! This allows homeowners to offset most, if not all, of their electrical usage. Larger energy consumers, like businesses and farms, can offset the most expensive electricity they use, with solar. Over 25 years (the production warranty for most solar panels) this can result in savings of tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Solar works GREAT in Michigan...

For solar electric, the best location is one where you have unobstructed southern exposure without any shading. East and West facing roofs are good too, but require a few more panels to create the same amount of power. Michigan Solar Solutions also installs ground-mounted solar arrays. Note: Neighborhood associations often do not allow ground mount arrays or street-facing roof-mounted panels, be sure to check into your community bylaws.

The cost of solar depends on several factors:

• wb_sunny How much electricity do you use? A family of four with all-electric appliances will use more electricity than a family of two with gas appliances
• wb_sunny Are you trying to offset all of your electricity, so as to pay the electric company as little as possible, or just some of your electricity?
• wb_sunny Do you have an area for the solar panels with good sun exposure and no shading? South facing arrays will produce the most electricity, but East/West facing arrays are also good options
• wb_sunny Do you live in an area where you get a lot of lake-effect snow? If yes, more panels may be required to offset your energy usage

Michigan Solar Solutions will provide you with answers, free of charge, to let you know exactly what your investment will be to accomplish your goals.

Contact Us for a free solar analysis.

Yes! Solar is modular: You can start small, and add-on when you can afford it. We suggest you start with at least an eight (8) panel system and add on from there.

Michigan Solar Solutions is happy to discuss financing. We partner with a variety of financial companies that can provide you with multiple options. Depending on your situation, the payments can sometimes be lower than what you are currently paying for your monthly electricity bills.

Leasing is a tool that is used in other states across the U.S. However, the state laws of Michigan and the price of electricity do not make leasing an excellent financial option.

Yes - If you prefer to pay direct and not use our financing options there is a discount.

Most solar arrays are grid-tied, which allows you to function without batteries if you chose. This is because the arrays are connected to the public utility electrical grid. You could say, these arrays use the electric company as their batteries. This works well in Michigan because of the Net Metering Laws (See the next section for info on Net Metering.)

In some situations, solar arrays can be off-grid and use batteries. These types of systems are typically used for remote locations when it is not cost-effective for the electric company to run power lines to a residence. Many customers desire a grid-tied battery backup solution, which is connected to the grid and has batteries in case of power outages.
Michigan Solar Solutions is well versed in solar battery technology: Our staff engineer can advise you on your battery needs for off-grid or hybrid grid-tied battery systems.

Yes! There are inexpensive and straightforward steps you can take to reduce your electrical usage. The less energy you use, the less solar you will need to offset your usage. Energy efficiency is the best investment you can make to reduce your bills.

Michigan Solar Solution’s certified Master Electricians are well versed in ensuring the solar array and your generator work effectively together.

The solar panels convert the photons from sunlight into D.C. current. In a grid-tied system, the D.C. current is converted to A.C. current with an inverter. From the inverter, the current flows into your electric panel.

Click here to watch the short video Solar Power Explained

Yes, they do. Think about the calculator on your desk that has the little solar panel in it. It has never seen the sun but works great. All solar panels need is light. When it is cloudy, the light is diffused, just like household lighting. See the two photos below of Michigan Solar Solutions office in Riverdale, Michigan, and the solar inverter display, on a cloudy day in October. Notice the value under Pac [W] shows the array is still making nearly 500W of power.

Michigan Solar Solutions Riverdale, Michigan office on an overcast cloudy day in October.

Inverter Display on Cloudy Day, proving solar works even when it is overcast.

If you have a grid-tied solar array when the grid goes down, the inverter can no longer switch this D.C. current to grid quality A.C. power. The inverter needs the grid to have a reference to sync the D.C. current with our 60Hz A.C. waveform – 60 times every second the A.C. waveform goes up and down. When the grid is down the inverter cannot operate since it does not have a reference. To make your system work during a grid failure, you need a battery added to it.

Solar panels are all rated to withstand a 50 mile an hour hail strike from a 1” hail ball. SolarWorld far exceeds this. Please watch – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BLT_eAUKQg

Solar Electric panels reflect very, very little light. Any reflected light is wasted power. Over the last several years, one of the technological innovations has been in laminates that pull the light in. If they reflected light they wouldn't be allowed to be at airports (they face up, not down). Denver International has one of the largest in the country.

Crystalline solar panels are non-flammable. If placed in a fire, there are laminate layers on the panel that will melt. All solar installations are coupled with an electrical permit and inspection to ensure the system is installed to code.

No, they do not attract lightning. Lightning is drawn to the highest items in the area. Solar arrays are often that item for the simple fact that many of them are roof installations. Rest assured we are prepared. A lightning rod or lightning arrestor system will mitigate this by placing a grounding rod above the roof surface. In the case that lightning does hit a system, it will damage the system. While this may or may not happen eventually, we have not had a system hit in thirteen years regarding hundreds of systems installed.

Wind makes sense if you are living off-grid in Michigan, and need to keep your battery bank charged on the shortest days of the year (November through February.) Note that building and zoning codes regulate the use of wind turbines. Most municipalities require that the tower be able to drop in any direction without hitting any structure while meeting setback clauses from the municipalities. This involves property of at least 1.5 acres typically. Due to the decrease in the price of solar over the past few years, it has come out as the clear winner when it comes to a return on your investment. Solar has a 25-year production warranty with little to no maintenance requirements, where wind generators normally come with a 3-year warranty and require maintenance every couple of years.

Not as expensive as paying an ever-increasing bill every year for the rest of your life! Solar power pricing has come down significantly in the past few years, while panel efficiency has gone up. With skyrocketing electricity prices and federal incentives, renewable energy has never been cheaper, and electric rates have never been more expensive. Solar has over an 8% annual return on investment.
Basically, there are two choices – Buy your electricity from the utility company, paying more each year as rates go up, or install solar and freeze your bill. Once your solar is paid for, you can retire and never have to pay for your electrical usage again.

The average customer will see a return between 8 and 12 years. Electric rates in Michigan increase an average of 4-6% every year. The EPA is levying penalties to utility companies that use coal. These penalties will be passed along to you. Michigan uses 15% more coal to generate our electricity than the national average, so our rates will increase by 15% more than the national average. The higher the annual rate increase, the shorter the payback period.

While this is possible, it usually does not make financial sense. With the increased monies you receive from selling your home with solar on it you can install a new system on your new home.

Our solar panels have a 25-year power production guarantee, with a life expectancy of 40+ years, it should be the only system you ever buy. If your panel does not produce what it should during the 25 years, then it qualifies for a full replacement (not prorated). The panels are the item that is least likely to fail. They also have a 5-year labor warranty.

The inverter has a 12-year parts and labor warranty. If it fails, we will come out and replace it for free!

The optimizers have a 25-year parts and labor warranty. If one fails, we will come out and replace it for free!

No. For shingled roofs, we used a triple secure method to ensure there are no leaks. Our system exceeds industry standards. In the ten years, we have installed solar arrays on roofs, we have never had a roof leak. For metal roofs, we do not penetrate the roof, so the warranty is not impacted.

Homeowners are encouraged to notify their insurance company that they added the panels. Often insurance companies will ask how much it costs to replace a panel. Their concern is hail (see the question regarding hail above) or a neighbor kid with a rock/ball. We will replace a broken panel for one of our customers for roughly $400.

If a composite shingle roof is over 10 years old, we recommend it be inspected first. If it is more than 12 years old, we recommend customers replace the roof plane that will have panels on it. The whole roof does not need to be replaced. The roof planes that are in the best sun will age quicker than the sections that are not.
A home rarely needs its roof reinforced. Out of about 300 home installations done by Michigan Solar Solutions, only one needed reinforcing. A house built in the last 50 years, using trusses, will not need additional reinforcement.

However, each home is unique, and each local building inspector can set their own criteria. Most solar arrays weigh less than 3 lbs. per square foot. Snow loads and wind loads need to be taken into consideration and change depending on the geographic location of the project.

Examples include severe wind loads in hurricane-prone areas and extreme snow loads in the Rocky Mountains. In situations where the local building inspector is concerned about reinforcing roof structures, Michigan Solar Solutions works with a structural engineer to ensure all specifications are detailed and met.

There is a 26% federal tax credit (not a deduction!). The USDA Rural Development Division has 25% grants and federally backed loan guarantees. Michigan has a true Net Metering Law (check out the FAQ “Net Metering: Can I sell my extra power to the utility company?”)

A tax credit is a credit that can be applied to taxes that are owed. When the tax year is done you prepare your taxes; where it states taxes due (this is before where it asks how much you have prepaid through payroll deduction). Your tax credit will be applied to this figure. If you have prepaid your taxes through payroll deduction, then you will receive back whatever portion your credit allows.

A refundable tax credit is one that you will receive back regardless of whether you owe taxes or not. This is like the Earned Income Tax Credit – The solar credit is NOT a refundable credit. You must have a tax obligation to receive a credit against it.

A tax deduction is used to decrease your income. Once all deductions are taken, you now have your adjusted gross income.

It depends on how much electricity you use and if you have enough space for the required solar panels. Given enough space, the average home can create all of their power.

Michigan Solar Solutions uses Solar Edge or Enphase inverters on grid-tied solar arrays or Outback inverters on our off-grid arrays. Both have a web portal that enables the customer and us to monitor their array. These applications are free to our customers. Click Here to view the SolarEdge Homeowners Brochure.

There are benefits to installing panels in early spring or at the end of the year, depending on which of the following is more relevant to you. The quickest return on investment are systems commissioned in early spring. The result is that you will see an immediate drop in your electric bill. End of the year installations allows you to take the 26% Federal Tax Credit quicker. However, there will be a partial electric bill until spring, when the system starts generating at peak capacity.

Once a person decides to “Go Solar” customers should expect a 5-6 week period for full installation and utility company connection. The majority of the wait time is due to local electrical and building permits to be issued and the utility company approvals. The actual installation will take just a few days.

Contact Michigan Solar Solutions and send a copy of your electric bill. For DTE and Consumers Energy, including the entire first page, showing the graph that summarizes the past 13 months. For other energy providers, we need to know the EXACT average of the past 12 months of electrical usage, in kilowatt-hours (kWh.)

Solar panels require zero maintenance. You can wash them or remove the snow if you want, but this cannot be considered maintenance since if you do not do it, your panels will be just fine.

The solar panels should not be washed in the middle of hot days. The thermal shock could put micro-cracks in the crystalline wafers. These cracks will go unnoticed for years but will substantially reduce the production over time. It is best to use water without any solvents. We also suggest buying a patio broom, or a squeegee, that is solely used for this function. Wet the panels, brush lightly with the broom and respray the panels – repeat as necessary.

To remove snow, people will typically brush the snow off with the same patio broom they used to wash them. You do not have to get all the snow off. Getting the snow off that is in front of the panel and most of the snow off the panels work fine. When the sun hits the panels, and they warm up they will shed the rest of the snow – so removing it from the roof or ground in front of the panels allows the snow a place to shed.

Do you have a question that wasn't answered here? You can call and speak with us at (248) 923-3456 , or fill out the form on this page and a member of our team will reach out to you soon.