Solar is becoming common place when designing a new home as well as adding to an existing. In the past few years, the cost has gone down considerably and with the addition of leasing programs it has become very affordable. Modern technology can harness this energy for a variety of uses, including generating electricity, providing light or a comfortable interior environment, and heating water for domestic, commercial, or industrial use.

Although we have designed and implemented many green building techniques, solar is one that we use in all of our projects. Even if one does not want a solar system right away, we design the electrical for a project with the components that will make it easy to add in the future.

Marc Soloway’s personal house had solar added to it in 2012. As a year has passed, the expectations provided by the installer have been surpassed as he has not had an electric bill all year (except the standard fees of less than $10 per month). The break even point on the system is estimated to be around 5 years which is incredible. As we design for larger projects, the main question one has to ask is “do you care about the amount of time it will take to break even on your investment?” This is an important avenue to discuss as it will help the designers devise a system that is right for you.