FAQs

Price per watt, production estimates, equipment, warranties and financing: what to line up when comparing solar quotes.

Not on their own. Grid-tied solar systems shut off automatically during an outage to protect utility workers.

Most roofs in good condition can support solar panels without reinforcement, since an array adds only about 3 to 4 pounds per square foot.

Most home solar batteries are warrantied for 10 to 15 years and typically last about that long.

Yes. Solar panels work well on flat roofs.

No single person invented the solar panel. Edmond Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic effect in 1839, Charles Fritts built the first selenium solar cell in 1883, and Bell Labs scientists Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller and Gerald Pearson created the first practical silicon solar cell in 1954, the ancestor of today’s panels.

A typical residential solar panel today weighs about 45 to 50 pounds and measures roughly 68 by 45 inches.

Solar panels typically last 25 to 30 years or more.

Often you don’t need to. Rain keeps most panels clean enough.

They’re worth it for convenience, not savings. Solar Christmas lights are great where there’s no outlet or you don’t want extension cords, but plug-in LED lights already cost only pennies per season to run, and weak winter sun can leave solar strands dim or short-lived.