Frequently Asked Questions

Cost varies based on your usage and the chemistry and quality of your battery. Solar Plus’s holistic energy solutions start with improving energy efficiency within your home and then working to minimize your electric bill.  In some cases, Solar Plus will recommend changes in lighting or hot water heating.  Next might be energy savings made possible by smart home automation.  Finally, your solar system will be the right size and cost because all effort has been made to shrink the energy budget of your home or building.

Time of Use rates are almost the inevitable next step of the local utility and are currently offered as a pilot program.  Time of Use rates, however,  are also minimized by clever use of the battery when rates are high.  By incorporating best energy practices in your home,  the Solar Plus energy solution will be more affordable, more custom,  and overall better investment.

YES! Solar PV still has a 65% tax credit! (35% State tax credit and 30% Federal tax credit). Don't miss out on these worthwhile tax credits that will not be around for long.

Yes, IRA extended the existing investment tax credit ("ITC") for solar until 2032. More info on Residential Tax Credits and Commercial Tax Credits.

The answer is yes, but it depends on your location.

Dust and dirt are the enemies of your solar production efficiency.  In dry areas with lots of dust, the solar PV panels can lose 3 to 10% of their production.  In these areas, panel cleaning may be required as often as twice a year to maintain optimum energy production.  How does the current climate of grid saturation on Kauai affect you?

Grid saturation means there is too much residential solar for the utility to comfortably continue to allow customers to add rooftop solar to their home or business. The utility on Kauai no longer wants to trade energy and has taken steps to limit the amount of solar PV that a customer can connect. Customers can no longer size their home PV systems to over-generate energy to the grid, create credit, and achieve a zero bill.  On Kauai, you may install about 40% of your historical load and if you want to install more grid-connected solar PV it will need to be curtailed with its own dedicated smart meter. Any solar power running through a curtailment meter is subject to KIUC control at any time. With the price of electricity hovering around $0.39 per kWh and the trade-in value of the Q-schedule at $0.16 per kWh, net metering is not the deal it used to be.

Homeowners can now install Solar PV systems designed for self-supply, which means the system does not export electricity to the utility grid or receive compensation for excess energy. Instead, the utility grid acts as a backup generator for the household. While this self-supply approach has traditionally been used in commercial applications, it is now gaining popularity in residential settings as part of smart home and microgrid solutions.

Rather than relying on net metering to earn credits for excess solar energy, these systems use automation to limit energy exports and store surplus energy. This stored energy can then supply 80% to 100% of a household's needs, making it possible to achieve a zero utility bill without depending on net metering.

For example, during the day, when rooftop solar panels generate energy while most people are away from home, the electricity is stored in a battery system. In the evening, when energy demand typically peaks between 6 and 10 PM, the stored energy is released to power the home. This "microgrid" approach ensures efficient use of solar energy and maximizes the return on investment for rooftop solar systems.

Additionally, in the event of a utility outage, homeowners benefit from energy independence and backup power, further enhancing the value of a self-supply Solar PV system with energy storage.