Solar Panels

When it comes to creating your passive home, reducing your overall carbon footprint through alternative energies is a big part of accomplishing that.

A solar cluster (or solar garden as it is sometimes known) hosted on your own roof is a great way to replace the energy you use in your home.

While still wired into the utility company, these systems allow for you to generate your own energy. Then when you aren’t generating, your home draws on the grid.

Each system is different and there is a range of ways that they handle the extra energy you generate during peak production periods. Many systems use an inverter that will in a sense, put that extra electricity out in the grid for others to use. Think of it sort of like running your meter backward–you get credit for that energy with the utility company. Other systems have a sophisticated battery cell that will store that extra power for use later.

A home with good sun exposure can replace between 50% and 80% of their electricity use on average. The potential to exceed these estimates is there but depends on how much usable roof you have, the number of panels, and the amount of sun you are getting. To learn more about how to incorporate solar into your new home plans, talk to our team.