4 Ways to Make Sure Your Home is Solar Ready

Deciding you want to switch to solar energy is just the first step—you also need to know how to prepare your house for installing solar panels. A solar energy system installation service can assess your home and roof to make sure everything is ready for safe and long-lasting installation. But there are a few steps you can take first to maximize your readiness and streamline the entire assessment and installation process.

1. Make Your Home More Energy-Efficient

Solar panels are a great way to reduce your environmental impact and your energy bill. But when you pair it with energy efficiency measures, your solar energy goes even further. Some popular strategies for increasing your home’s energy efficiency are:

Insulate the attic so energy won’t escape.
Seal up drafts around your windows.
Install door guards so air won’t leak out around the edges.
Hang up blackout or energy-efficient curtains to keep heat out of your home during the summer.

These are simple strategies that help whether you want solar panels to reduce your energy bill or to eliminate dependence on the grid entirely. Doing this early in the process means you can document how much energy your home will actually need.

2. Check the Roof and Attic

Not all roofs are ready for the extra weight of solar panels. Also, if you have an older roof, you can save money by patching or replacing it before the panels come on. An experienced solar panel or roofing team can help you gauge which roof maintenance, repair, and augmentation tasks are the right fit for the number of solar panels you want and where you want to place them. They can also check for leaks and signs of potential pests—solving these problems first will protect your solar energy system and give you more peace of mind.

3. Trim Back the Landscaping

There are two reasons why the roof is generally the best place for solar panels: they’re out of the way, and they have access to the greatest amount of sunlight. However, if you have a lot of trees, that can cut down on how much sunlight actually reaches the panels. We recommend trimming back your trees so:

Your panels have the greatest possible exposure to direct sunlight as the sun travels across the sky.
Branches don’t lean over your home and scratch or damage the panels.
Squirrels can’t easily reach the solar panels and use them for shelter.

Trim away branches to both remove hazards and allow for more energy collection.

4. Update Your Electrical Panel

Finally, make sure your home’s electrical panel is up to the challenge. Older panels may be at capacity, without the room or appropriate components for handling the load of solar energy. You can also augment your system with a battery or car charger to maximize what you can do with your future solar panels.