Unlocking the Power of the Sun: The Ultimate Guide to Residential Solar Panels in Washington State

As the world shifts towards more sustainable living practices, solar energy emerges as a crucial player in the renewable energy revolution. In Washington State, where the natural landscape meets innovative technology, homeowners have a unique opportunity to harness the power of the sun. Solar energy isn’t just eco-friendly—it’s also economically beneficial, making it a perfect choice for residential properties. Let’s explore why solar panels are a wise investment for your home.

Why Solar? Benefits for Washington Homeowners

Cost Savings Over Time: Solar panels significantly reduce your monthly electricity bills. With solar, you’re generating your own power, which means less reliance on the grid and lower utility costs.

Environmental Impact and Sustainability: By choosing solar energy, you’re reducing your carbon footprint. Solar panels produce clean, green energy that contributes to a healthier environment.

Boost in Property Value: Numerous studies indicate that homes with solar installations often experience a rise in property value. For instance, Zillow revealed that homes with solar sold for an average of 4.1% more compared to similar homes lacking solar. Buyers are increasingly drawn to properties offering energy efficiency and reduced utility expenses.

Understanding Solar Technology

Essential Components: A residential solar system comprises solar modules (also known as solar panels), inverters, a racking system, and optionally, battery storage. Solar panels harness sunlight to generate electricity, inverters convert this into usable power for your home, and batteries store surplus energy for future use.

How Solar Panels Work: Solar panels collect solar radiation and convert it into electricity through photovoltaic cells. Washington’s latitude and weather patterns actually make it an excellent location for solar power, despite the common cloudy weather.

Washington State

Solar Incentives

26% Federal Tax Credit

100% Sales Tax Exemption

Net Metering

Accelerated Depreciation

State-Specific Advantages

Incentives and Rebates: Currently, homeowners can benefit from a 30% federal tax credit, while Washington State provides full net metering and exempts solar installations from sales tax. These incentives make solar a financially savvy investment for most homeowners.

Installation Process

Consultation to Completion: At MAD Energy NW, our process starts with a personal consultation to assess your home’s solar potential. We handle all aspects of permitting, design, and installation, ensuring a seamless transition to solar energy.

Certified Installers: Our team consists of experienced and certified professionals committed to providing the highest quality service. We ensure that your installation meets all local regulations and standards.

Solar Systems

What we offer

solar panels on house rooftop e1610755627921

Roof System

This is the most cost-effective application, which in turn provides the best return on your investment.

solar panels of a photovoltaic system

Ground system

Ground mount systems are the best solution for large applications and utility scale generation plants.

We are the premier commercial, residential, and new construction solar company in Washington State.

Cost and Financing

Cost Estimate: The upfront expenses for solar installation fluctuate based on system size and your home’s layout but can be mitigated by savings and rebates. With the 30% federal tax credit considered, the average installation cost usually falls between $18,500 and $25,000. However, this figure varies significantly depending on installation complexity, available roof space, and system size tailored to your electricity consumption.

Financing Options: We’ve teamed up with Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union (PSCCU) to offer solar loans tailored to your needs. With flexible terms, a no-money-down option, and a 90-day payment-free period, their solar loans make going solar hassle-free. Plus, our customers enjoy competitive rates that beat the market average.

Customer Testimonials and Case Studies

We’ve assisted countless Washington residents in making the switch to solar energy. Take Dave Gianninotti, for example. We recently installed a 20kWh solar panel system for him, ensuring a sustainable and cost-effective energy solution for his home.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Install

What's Included

solar panels

Panels

Solar panels, also known as modules within the industry, convert sunlight into electricity using the photovoltaic effect.

Single phase inverter

Inverters

Solar Inverters convert the direct current power produced by the modules, into an alternating current to be used.

Racking

racking

Solar racking is the mounting system that supports and secures the panels to the roof or ground structure.

Next Steps: Getting Started with MAD Energy NW

Ready to explore solar options for your home? Contact us for a free consultation. We’ll discuss your energy needs, evaluate your property’s solar potential, and outline the best plan for your solar journey.

Solar energy offers a blend of economic and environmental benefits that are hard to match. With state-specific advantages and a committed partner like MAD Energy NW, transitioning to solar is easier than ever. Take your first step towards a sustainable future by reaching out to us today.

Work You Can Believe In

The Mad Energy Solar Warranty

25-30 Year Solar Panel Production Warranty

12-25 Year Inverter and Optimizer Warranty

25 Year Racking Warranty

10 Year Workmanship Warranty

a workman carrying a large solar panel at a green house construction site

The Roof System

The best place for solar panels is on your home or businesses roof.  This is the most cost-effective application, which in turn provides the best return on your investment.  Rooftop systems utilize un-used roof area, and the building’s roof structure provides the needed support for mounting to meet local building codes and worst-case scenario weather events.  In addition, electrical service is already in place at your building so the connection costs are minimal adding a new breaker and disconnect by your existing breaker panel.  The best solar orientation is south, however east and west work great as well.  We avoid north facing orientations in our region.  For sloped roofs, it is best to mount the panels flush with the roof line.  This integrates well with your roof and building providing a low profile, built in look.  We recommend symmetrical and uniform arrays to match your roof areas, whenever possible with good access setbacks to clean and maintain your system as well as gutters, skylights and other roof elements.  Tilted panels on a sloped roof creates a sail effect that exceeds the structural capacity of a standard rafter and has visual concerns.   For flat membrane roofs we recommend single rows at a ten-degree tilt.  This offers the greatest power density by minimizing inter row shading space and maximizing the number of panels you can fit in any given roof area to maximize the system rating and annual production.

Ground System

Ground mount systems are the best solution for large applications and utility scale generation plants.  With these large systems the scale makes up for additional costs developing and securing a piece of land for a solar array.  Additional ground mount costs are installing new structure for the solar panels, and trenching underground electrical feeders back to the nearest utility service.  Small residential and commercial size ground mount systems cost more than rooftop applications but many home and business owners prefer to locate their solar arrays on poles or ground racks in a vacant field or un-used yard.  If choosing to install ground mount solar panels we recommend thinking about maintenance, including mowing around, or under your array, weed control and protection from people and animals by fencing or elevating the array on poles.

Solar Panels

Solar panels, also known as modules within the industry, convert sunlight into electricity using the photovoltaic effect.  PV, short for Photovoltaic, is solar electricity.  Solar panels today come in two general sizes, 60 cell, 5-1/2’ x 3-1/2’ most often for residential and 72 cell, 6-1/2’ x 3-1/2’ most often for commercial but they are widely used interchangeably.  There are many varieties and unique options, but these are the traditional, most widely used panel types.  Solar panels come with black or silver frames for aesthetic purposes and there are countless manufacturers.  We lead with only the best available panels on the market today to ensure our customers have the most bankable, long-term, reliable and proven options for your solar investment.  Your design consultant will discuss these options with you and recommend the panel that best meets your project goals and preferences.

Solar Inverters

Solar Inverters convert the DC, direct current solar power produced by the solar modules, into AC, alternating current that can be used by your home or business.  Inverters are matched with your service voltage.  Most homes are 240volt, while business can be 208volt or 480volt.  Inverters are like the brains of the system with data logging capabilities and internet connections to feed data to an online account where you can login to monitor and view system performance and production.  Current codes require module level shutdown for rooftop systems so todays inverters control every solar panel on the roof with a safety function called rapid shutdown.  Module level control also provides shading and string sizing benefits eliminating reduced production from intermittent shade and string design challenges of the past.  Due to rapid shutdown String Inverters with DC optimizers and Microinverters have become the industry standard for rooftop solar arrays.

Solar Racking

Solar racking is the mounting system that supports and secures the solar panels to the roof or ground structure.  Racking must be UL listed for its intended purpose while providing an electrical grounding path.  Most racking rails are anodized aluminum for light-weight strength and corrosion resistance.  Racking systems are designed to safely and structurally mount solar panels to any structure.  They are engineered to meet local codes just like the building and roof structure itself.  They are engineered to withstand the worst-case scenario weather events for the location and jurisdiction where they will be permitted and installed.