Question: What kind of roof do I need to go solar?
Answer: While we most often install solar panels on asphalt shingle roofs we can work with most roof materials including slate, terra cotta tile, flat roof, TPO,  and standing seam and R-panel steel roofs. One material we DO NOT work on are asbestos/concrete tiles.

Question: Is there enough Sun in Louisiana for solar to work?
Answer: YES. Louisiana gets an average of 5 hours a day of sunlight during the hours considered optimal for solar production. For comparison, the two largest solar markets in the world, Japan and Germany, receive less sunlight than Louisiana.

Question: What is the payback period for Solar in Louisiana?
Answer: After factoring in tax credits and incentives a Solar Electric system will pay for itself with electricity savings alone in 7-8 years. A Solar hot water system in 1.5-3 years.

Question: What size system do I need for my home?
Answer: Your homes energy needs are highly dependent on your homes age, insulation, appliances, and usage habits. In most cases the size of your solar system will be limited by your available roof space or budget. No matter what the size of your solar investment the important thing is that you will be saving money on the portion of your energy generated by The Sun.

Question: What happens at night and on cloudy days?
Answer: Our solar panel systems generate electricity “in parallel” with your utility. This means that when your homes electricity demand is higher than what your system is producing the difference comes from the utility. There is never any interruption of service and your homes power quality will be actually be improved.

Question: How will I know if my system is working?
Answer: Solar is a solid-state technology with no moving parts and is silent. Your inverter contains a visual display that will track system parameters and energy production. In addition to the inverter display South Coast Solar offers system monitors that work over the internet, allowing you to keep track of your system status and energy production.

Question: How long will my solar panels last?
Answer: South Coast Solar’s photovoltaic panels feature 25 year power production warranties. Our solar hot water systems are covered for 10 years. With typical payback periods of 7-8 years for PV and 2 years for hot water you can rest assured these systems will pay for themselves multiple times during their warranted lifespan. All of our solar products can be expected to produce well beyond these periods as well for even greater savings.

Question: How long will my system take to install?
Answer: While every installation is different and presents unique challenges a good rule of thumb is about 1 day for each KW for solar electric and 1-3 days for solar hot water. While we may take a bit longer than other companies we use this time to install our leak-proof mounting system and to make sure that all of our wiring and conduit work is completely hidden wherever possible. SCS will cluster inside work to minimize your inconvenience. The end result will be a great looking installation that will last for decades.

Question: How does “Net Metering” work?
Answer: Net Metering allows you to harvest 100% of the energy produced by your solar array without investing in expensive batteries.  A “Net Metered” solar energy system uses no batteries and is operated “in parallel” with your local utility. This means that whenever you need extra power it comes from your utility and when you are producing more than you are using with solar the difference flows out onto the utility grid, earning you a credit that can drawn on for later use.  

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