Homeowner guide
Panels, a battery, the control box and a charger make one home system. Scroll to see how each part works before anyone shows you a quote.
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The array
Panels make electricity whenever there is daylight, most of it around midday. How much yours can make depends on roof direction, shade, pitch and the age of the roof under them, so the roof is the first thing worth checking.
The battery
A home battery holds the power your panels made so you can use it after dark or when the grid goes down. Not every home needs one. It matters most where outages are common, or where the utility pays little for the power you send back.
The control center
An inverter turns the panels' direct current into the alternating current your home runs on. A gateway watches the grid and, if the power drops, switches your home to the battery in a blink. Your utility meter still records what goes in and what goes out.
The EV charger
A home charger on a solar system means daytime charging can come from your own panels. If you are planning an electric car, say so before the system is designed. It changes how large the array should be.
The envelope
The smart order is to foam the attic first and watch your energy use drop. Then buy only enough panels for your true consumption: usage minus waste.
Why learn first
A solar proposal is a long-term decision about your roof, your bill and your home's value. The homeowners who do best are the ones who can read the quote. This page gives you the vocabulary.
What's in a quote
Every proposal is a few numbers and a few promises. Know which is which.
Four ways to go solar
Choose a path
What this site is
USA.SOLAR explains. It does not sell you a system. Guides, checks and reports, in plain words.
Homeowner guides → Energy Mike AIYour AI guide on USA.SOLAR. Ask about panels, batteries, bills and proposals, any hour.
Ask Energy Mike AI → Home Energy Intelligence ReportA technician checks your actual home and you get the data, not a pitch.
Book a free energy audit → CommunityHomeowners and techs comparing notes, so nobody signs alone.
Join free →How we judge an option — 01
Three tests any proposal should pass before you compare prices.
Sized after waste is cut, not before. Usage minus waste is the number that matters.
A roof near the end of its life gets fixed before anything goes on it.
Production estimates, rates and escalators written down, so you can compare quotes side by side.
How it works — 02
This page and the homeowner guides. No account needed.
The Solar Readiness Check: ten questions about your roof, bill and goals.
A Home Energy Intelligence Report on your actual home.
Proposals side by side, with Energy Mike AI as a second pair of eyes.
Your move
No pressure and no quote on this page. When you are ready, a free energy review tells you where your home stands.
Get my free energy review →Keep going — good questions, straight answers
Good questions
South-, west- and east-facing slopes with little shade work best; north-facing slopes rarely do. Age matters as much as direction: if the roof needs replacing within a few years, do that first.
Start from your last twelve months of electricity use, subtract what insulation and efficiency will remove, and size to what is left. Bigger is not better if your utility pays little for the power you export.
Only if you want backup during outages, or your utility credits exported power poorly. It is the easiest part to add later if the control box is chosen with that in mind.
Without a battery, a grid-tied system shuts off to protect the line workers. With a battery and a gateway, the home switches to stored power.
Federal, state and utility programs change, and some have ended or been reduced. Ask for the current rules in writing, and never let an incentive you have not verified decide the purchase.
An owned system usually transfers with the house. A loan, lease or power purchase agreement needs the buyer to take it over, or you to pay it off. Read that clause before you sign.
Why USA.SOLAR
“Education and community. That is what we share, and what the people we bring in share.”
USA.SOLAR was created by ÍL·LUKI
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