Evoke Solar

First, the panels collect sunlight where a layer of silicon cells creates Direct Current (DC) electricity. This direct current travels to an inverter that will convert the power into Alternating Current (AC) electricity that can be used by the house. Solar energy now travels to your electric panel and powers your house. The generated electricity that is not used passes through your meter and back out to the energy grid, meeting power needs at other nearby buildings and getting you credit on your utility bill. Solar is a clean and renewable energy source that could power your home entirely, save you money, add value to your home, benefit the environment, and help supply energy to others.

A good candidate for solar is a property owner – a home or a business – with an ideal location for an installation. An ideal location has adequate space and limited shade, a structurally sound roof in good condition with southern exposure, OR enough clear property space for a ground mount. Financially speaking, the investment is most profitable for those with the highest utility costs, but anyone paying for electricity will save with solar. If you think you match these criteria, don’t hesitate to talk with one of our consultants to see if you are indeed a good candidate. If you're not, we’ll tell you!

Orientation: Your roof should have good southern exposure. Due south is considered 180 degrees, and thus your roof should be pointing somewhere between 40 degrees in either direction (approx. 140 – 200 degrees). Solar can be installed on roofs facing due east or west and still function reasonably well, but at a lower than ideal efficiency. Shading: Your roof should have minimal shading. Do trees or other buildings cast a shadow on your roof? What about sections where a chimney or another structure casts a shadow? This will impact your panels’ efficiency and energy production. Space: Your roof needs to have enough space to fit the array. We can work around most obstacles such as windows, chimneys, or other exhaust exits, but space is one more factor to consider. Condition: Ideally, your roof should be in good condition (we recommend less than 12 years old) and structurally sound. One of…

The best way to see if solar could work for you is to request a quote. The price range of a solar install varies greatly depending on size, energy needs, and the type of panels you choose. To give you the most accurate and personalized quote, here are the pieces of information we like to receive from you and why: 1. Your address : we can take a look at your property on Google Maps to determine sun exposure and shading. This gives us an idea if solar panels would produce enough energy to be a worthwhile investment for you. 2. Your annual energy use : take a look at your utility bill and see how much energy you use in a year (kWh). This determines what size system you need. 3. Your current utility rate: While you’re at it, we’ll figure out with you about how much your utility charges per kWh, and this will help in calculations that determine your return on investment. The easiest thing to…

In short, the answer is yes! We have experience doing residential, commercial, and agricultural installations, meaning we can do work at your home, business, farm, barn, garage, or any other structure you’ve got. This means we also have experience installing solar on a variety of surfaces, and we have the solutions you need. We do both roof mounts and ground mounts according to your needs. The majority of our installations are grid-tied, but we are one of the few companies in our area with experience providing battery backups, and we’ve also done installations completely off-the-grid. You can be confident that we have enough experience to find the right solutions for you. And if we don’t, we’ll bring in the expertise to get the job done well.

Yes! Most of the time you’ll hear these terms we are referring to the size of your system and how much it produces. The size of a panel is referred to by its watts (W), which is a measurement of how much power it can produce. When we talk about a SunPower 360 panel, we’re talking about a panel that is 360 watts. The size of a system is generally referred to in kilowatts (kW), a term meaning 1,000 watts. For example, if you had 20 SunPower 360 panels on your roof, 20 x 360 = 7,200 watts, or 7.2 kilowatts. So we talk about the size of your system being 7.2 kW. (More specifically, this means it is able to produce 7.2 kW of DC power.) As a frame of reference, most small residential systems come in between 5 and 10 kW. As we talk with customers we use watts primarily as a way to talk about the size of a system. In addition, pricing is often discussed on a per watt basis as a way to…

Because solar is a significant investment, it's worth making sure you've found the right people who will do the work well. There is more to consider than price. Here are some questions we'd encourage you to ask if you are looking around, and while we're at it we'll give you the short versions of our own answers. What brands do you use? When we are not installing SunPower, the brands we prefer to use include LG, SolarWorld, Silfab, and Canadian Solar. Other brands are possible. What warranties will come with the installation? With SunPower, you get the full 25 year workmanship guarantee and the 25 year performance guarantee at 87% production. We guarantee our own work (roof and anything else we touch) for 5 years. What does your work and price include? Our prices are turn-key, meaning we take care of everything from start to finish: designs, permitting, utility interconnection, SREC…

When someone asks us this question, they’re most often looking for a quick ballpark number. The problem is that the answer depends on so many factors and the price can vary greatly according to the situation. The most important answer is this: if you’ve got a good location for solar, the cost of a solar system will always be much less expensive than what you are paying your utility company over time. Many of the quotes we provide show that homeowners would be saving $70,000 to $120,000 in utility costs over the life of the system. We are committed to making sure this is a good investment that works for our customers, so we give you the most accurate estimates we can to help you make a decision. The cost of a project depends on its size, your energy needs, and the equipment we choose according to your preferences and budget. We offer reliable standard efficiency panels as well as the…

Over time, your solar installation will definitely be cheaper than your utility! Once your solar is installed, your panels will provide for your energy needs. You will no longer be dependent on the utility company’s power and subject to their steadily increasing rates. Let’s use a recent customer example to compare the cost. These are numbers from an actual quote we sent: - A $40,000 installation costs $28,000 after the current federal tax credit. - This customer’s installation will cover the home’s full energy needs producing 12,500 kWh per year. - At that usage rate, we estimate this person would pay more than $89,000 over 30 years to the utility! You decide: paying $28,000 to produce your own energy with solar OR paying the utility $89,000 for theirs. This customer chose to go solar! Their net savings will be $61,000 over 30 years. There are some customers who save even more than…

Even though you’re producing your own energy with solar, the utility company still serves a purpose. The majority of installations are “grid-tied” meaning you are still connected to the utility’s network and your power is tracked through “net-metering.” In the evenings when your panels are not producing power, you’ll use electricity from the utility, and your meter will count your use normally. But on a sunny day, you’ll produce even more than you’re using. This power will be fed to the utility’s grid, you will receive credits for the power that is being shared with others, and your meter will start spinning backwards! (Well, meters are digital these days, so that's actually become a figurative expression...) This is called net-metering because you will then pay for your net-use, the balance of what you’ve used minus what you’ve produced. As long as you aren’t using more than you’re…

Yes. Most utilities will pay you for the excess energy your system produced but that your home did not consume, and this typically happens after a year of use. Each month, your excess energy is giving you a credit going toward your use in following months. If you still end up with a credit at the end of a year, you are then paid for that excess energy that you supplied to the grid. During the year the energy you produce is worth exactly what you pay for it, but when your utility pays for the annual excess, they pay you based on a lower wholesale rate. You could equate this to the generation charge on your bill. Be aware then, that you are paid a smaller amount for this excess, and it is usually not a worthwhile investment to install extra panels just to make extra money. These policies vary among utility companies, so consider verifying the arrangements with yours for a more specific…

If you purchase your system, this "payback time" depends entirely on the size and cost of your system and the amount of your utility rates. In New Jersey and New York, average payback times we see are between 5 and 6 years. In Pennsylvania, average payback times are between 7 and 12 years. Considering the average life of a solar installation is 30 years, these payback times mean you’ll have 20 to 25 years of paying $0 for your electricity. When we estimate these payback times, total savings, and return on investment, we take into consideration a 3% annual increase of utility rates over the next 30 years, because historic figures have actually been higher, showing a 5% increase over time. Contact us to see what payback time could look like for you.