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Solar panels are a great way to harness the energy from the sun and lower your energy bills at the same time. In order to be able to go solar, you will need a significant portion of your roof to face the south with minimal tree coverage. To find out whether your home would benefit from solar panels, you should contact one of several solar energy companies in Seattle for a quote. And yes, Seattle, which receives 70% of the sun Los Angeles receives, gets enough sunshine to make solar a worthwhile investment! The cost to go solar does come with an initial setup investment. Solar panels are expensive, but there is a significant return on that investment and with a 20-25 year warranty that comes with most panels, it is a pretty sound financial investment. It is also worthwhile to do some research into the federal and state incentives for installing solar panels on your residence as this can save you a huge portion of the cost. Why go solar? With only the investment of installing the solar panels, you will be able to utilize the energy provided by the sun, turning it into usable electricity, with no pollution byproduct. You can pair solar energy with the gas or electric already provided to your home, so that you never have to be without the comforts of a temperate home, yet at the same time greatly reduce your need for the higher cost energy provided by your local power company. By installing solar panels you will be paying for your electricity up front in the cost of the panels, and are therefore protected from any rate increases in electricity in the future. So if reducing your carbon footprint and saving money is important to you, solar is a great way to go. How does solar work? The first step in creating solar energy for your home is to install solar panels. The size of your roof greatly impacts the number of panels you are able to install, but in general, the more panels you install, the more electricity you can generate. These panels are wired to an inverter. The photovoltaic cells in the solar panels create alternating current (AC) energy. Your home uses direct current (DC) energy, so the inverter converts the solar energy from DC to AC. You will also have a new electric meter that will log the amount of energy your new solar panels create. This will all be logged on your current electric bill so that you can see exactly how much energy you are creating with your solar panels, how much energy you are using in your home, and what the difference is. While there are some systems that can collect the energy created in batteries, if you are connected to the local electric company, the electricity you generate goes to the power company instead of into a battery. So the sun shines on your panels, creating AC energy; that energy travels to the inverter, is converted to DC energy and enters your home. Any extra energy generated and not needed for your current energy usage goes on to the electric company and is logged by your new meter. At the end of the month, if your solar panels generated more electricity than you used in your house, you have what is called a negative energy bill. Depending on your electric company, you may be paid for that excess energy that you did not use. It is important to choose a company that has good reviews to ensure that your solar panel installation is done properly. Shop around to different solar energy companies in Seattle in order to find the best choice for your specific needs.
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