The sun rises every day. Thats why solar power is a completely renewable, reliable and clean energy source. It reduces our reliance on dirty sources of power such as oil, coal and natural gas, which produce harmful emissions affecting our health and environment. Sunrun pioneered the "solar-as-a-service" model in 2007. Since then, we have been delivering on a vision to create a planet run by the sun and provide Americans with affordable, reliable and clean energy. Residential solar energy systems represent an investment in the future of the planet, conserving non-renewable energy sources and protecting the environment. In addition, solar panels and home batteries are becoming more affordable, accessible, resilient and efficient. They provide peace of mind and energy security for households when the power goes out or the next storm strikes. Unlike those from your utility, Sunrun customers pay predictable, affordable rates for 20 to 25 years. With home solar, you get to control your energy future.
A lot of things affect how well-suited your home is for solar, including where your home is, the angle of your roof, how much shade it gets throughout the day, and how old your home is. Our solar advisors can help you determine if your home is a good fit for solar at the moment. They’ll run a custom analysis of your home with our proprietary solar design technology, BrightPath,™ and they’ll get a sense for your energy needs.
Every household is different. When determining the number of solar panels your home needs, consider the following questions: How much power do I need? Check your electric bills to see how many kilowatt hours (kWhs) you use throughout the year. We’ll go over this with you in detail during your free solar consultation to figure out just how much power your panels will need to produce. What’s your climate like? The number of panels you need depends on how much sun reaches the ground where you are. How much direct sun hits your roof? Shading, which direction your roof faces, and any aesthetic preferences you have can impact how big your system needs to be. At Sunrun, we have proprietary solar design technology called BrightPath™ to help us create a customized system that maximizes energy production better and faster than if we did it by hand.
Your historical electricity usage allows us to design a custom solar system that is the right size for your home. Electricity usage varies from person to person and from season to season. That’s why we request a full year of your electricity bills so we can build a system that’s right for you. Your sales consultant is trained to review a year’s worth of usage data so we can get the full picture. Energy usage can change with the seasons so we look at 12-months of data to best understand your home’s usage patterns and needs.
We customize your home solar system by taking into account your past usage, the available roof space and your design preferences to make sure the system will work for you and your home. We start with your historical usage and design a solar system that will provide you with the right amount of power based on how much you normally use. Then we look at your roof via satellite imagery to see how many panels can fit on each roof plane, keeping in mind that south-facing roofs are the best for solar. We verify our measurements and system design with a site survey,a visit to your home to check the roof and your main electrical panel. Finally, we reconfirm our final design with you so you know exactly what it will look like and how much electricity you'll receive from solar. If you want to learn about the efficiency of your panels or review what the equipment will look like for your specific home, talk to your sales consultant.