On-site Solar Resources

Having solar at your home has plenty of perks: low-cost energy, back-up power, and a reduced carbon footprint. Going solar also involves changes to your electric bill and routine care and maintenance for panels. Here are some helpful resources for homeowners with solar.

How to Read Your Electric Bill

Once installed, your solar panels will start generating electricity and savings on your electric bill. How much you save depends on the electricity rates in your area and when your solar panels were installed, among other factors.

For projects installed after 2021, customer electric bills include a Customer Benefit Contribution (CBC) that’s calculated by the utility based on the solar system size. In addition to the CBC charge, your electric bill will show the amount of electricity your panels generated and the amount your home used from the grid.

Through a process called net metering, grid-connected home solar panels can send excess electricity generation into the utility grid to earn kilowatt-hour (kWh) credits on the owner’s electric bill. At the end of the month, if your solar panels produced more electricity than your home consumed from the grid, you’ll receive kWh credits that can be rolled over to future bills. If your home used more electricity from the grid than it produced, you’ll be charged the standard utility rate for the net electricity consumption.

How to Maintain Your Solar Panels

Solar panels are a relatively low-maintenance technology, but there are a few things to keep in mind to support optimal performance over the equipment’s 25+ year lifespan.

Keeping panels clear of debris and snowfall to the extent possible is recommended to maintain solar output. Paying attention to solar output from month-to-month can help detect such issues and inefficiencies.

Since solar panels are usually installed at an angle, they’re often cleared off naturally by rainfall. If conditions have caused significant dust, dirt, or debris to accumulate and you see a drop in generation, cleaning your panels could be beneficial. Checking with your installer about operations and maintenance services, or a recommended contractor, is a useful place to start.

Understanding the contractor and manufacturer warranties is also important for solar panel maintenance. NY-Sun contractors must provide a five-year workmanship warranty covering all components of the home solar system against breakdown or degradation. Working with a NY-Sun contractor also brings a power production warranty that guarantees at least 80% production 25 years after installation.

In case a solar installer goes out of business, take stock of any manufacturer warranties, which may also protect against defective parts and degradation in power output.

Maximizing Your Solar Energy

Don't let solar be the last stop on your clean energy journey. You can maximize the financial, resilience, and environmental benefits of your home solar system when you combine it with other clean energy technologies and all-electric equipment.