If you are like many people today, you may be looking at alternative forms of energy for your home. One of the most popular is solar energy, which can help get you off the grid while also being very good for the environment. However, making the conversion to solar will have you making the decision to DIY the project or use commercial plans and installation. To understand which would be best for you, here are some things you should keep in mind.
Kits May Not Include Everything
If you plan to make your solar panel installation a DIY project, keep in mind that many kits you may buy probably won’t include everything you need. In many cases, the kits will not contain all the necessary wiring, conduit, and disconnect switches. When this happens, you will be spending much of your time going to stores to find the rest of what you need.
Warranty Coverage
If you purchase a residential solar panel installation, it may not come with the full warranty coverage that is usually offered by commercial solar companies. This can be very important since it can be very easy to make mistakes during a DIY project. Remember, solar panels must be handled with extreme care and properly installed without being damaged. If you try it yourself and damage the panels or other parts, it could be a very expensive mistake.
Obtaining Permits
When you decide to install solar panels on your home, it will be necessary for you to obtain various permits from your town or city. Along with this, the plans for your solar project will need to be reviewed by officials to make sure they are in compliance with all zoning and building regulations. If for any reason your plans are rejected, you will need to get them revised and then resubmit them for approval. Before you know it, what you thought was going to be an easy weekend DIY project has become far more time-consuming and expensive than you expected.
Experienced Installers
Since there are usually many more details associated with solar panel installation than most people realize, there is much to be said for hiring professional installers to complete the job. To begin with, they can almost always complete the job in one or two days with little if any difficulty. Also, they know exactly which permits will be needed, and can answer any questions you may have about the project.
If you enjoy large DIY projects, installing solar panels on your home is by no means an impossible task. However, since numerous things can go wrong, you may want to leave it to the pros.
