Welcome to Solar Home Challenge

Solar Home Challenge is a free online tool that lets you design your own solar system, and easily determine your personal solar potential.

Simply enter some information about your home, and we'll determine your exact savings potential and give you a detailed purchase estimate. Financing and leasing options are also available upon request.

You'll be able to share your report with others, and if you’re interested in trying solar for real, we can recommend a great local installation partner.

Ready for Your Results?

Your N-Power Report summarizes a purchase option for the solar system you’ve designed.

Financing and leasing options are also available, including:

Simply click the ‘Learn More’ button once you’ve reviewed your N-Power Report to learn more about the financing, leasing and purchase options available. A representative will contact you as soon as possible.

About Solar Home Challenge

Solar Home Challenge allows homeowners to explore their personal solar savings potential, based on their specific utility plan and energy use. Solar Home Challenge is free to use and provides an invaluable resource for consumers across the US. Within minutes the platform gives you access to highly accurate information which is personalized to you, through a simple interface.

Designing an optimized solar system requires a host of information specific to your property. To date, this has meant time-consuming on-site evaluations and intrusive sales calls. Solar Home Challenge takes the guesswork out of going solar, and provides a quick, accurate and social way to evaluate your home’s solar potential and share the results with friends.

First, simply sign up and locate your home using the satellite imagery feature of the App. Next, design up to five unique solar arrays wherever you would like to place them on your property. Finally, tell us as much about your energy use as you can, and the App does the rest!

The Solar Home Challenge App crunches the numbers to determine which solar arrays are optimal for your property and whether solar is right for you, presenting you with your own personal N-Power Report. You can even share your report with friends using email, Facebook or Twitter to see how your solar potential compares.

Whether you’re motivated by investment returns, protection from rising utility rates, energy independence or protecting the environment, solar is the ideal solution to your personal energy goals. Solar Home Challenge creates a comfortable environment for consumers to explore going solar privately, accurately and effectively, and empowers online communities to go solar together.

So what are you waiting for? Try Solar Home Challenge™ today and gain control of your energy future.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Questions about Solar as an Investment

• “Why should I buy a solar system for my home?” Whether you’re motivated by long term bill savings, protection from rising utility rates, energy independence or protecting the environment from harmful fossil fuel emissions, solar is the ideal solution for meeting your personal energy goals.
• “What types of incentives and tax credits exist for solar systems?” Incentives vary depending on which state and electric service area you live in. Most electricity providers offer an up-front incentive, while the federal government currently provides a 30% income tax credit.
• “What type of financing is available?” We offer several lease options. A prepaid lease with zero payments over time helps lower the up-front cash requirement for potential buyers, while reducing the time to breakeven on your investment. There is also a monthly lease available with different escalator options, which allows homeowners to undercut their current electricity rates.
• “Is the financing assignable if I choose to sell my home?” Yes, your lease is assignable should you chose to sell your home.
• “How will a solar system affect my home value?” A 2011 study conducted by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that homes sold with a solar system commanded a premium price over comparable non-solar homes, in addition to the ongoing benefit of decreased electricity costs. The average premium paid was roughly 20 times the annual savings due to solar (e.g. $1,000 in annual savings due to solar would be expected to increase your home value by $20,000).
• “Is now the best time for a change, or should I wait?” With pressure from State and Federal government to increase our reliance on renewable sources, this is an excellent time to install a solar system. Given the current technological enhancements and competitive market pricing, why wait to begin your electricity savings?

Technical Questions about Home Solar Systems

• “How exactly does the system work?” Solar panels are installed on the rooftop of your home. These panels are connected to an inverter which modifies the electrical current to be compatible with your home and the electrical grid. Electricity travels from this inverter to your main circuit breaker, where it is interconnected between your home and a new bi-directional utility meter. This new meter measures the electricity generated by the solar system, and spins backwards as solar electricity is produced, accumulating credit that you can use to offset bills from your electricity company.
• “How does my electricity provider measure the output of my solar system?” Electricity companies participate in a process called ‘Net-Metering’, where your electric meter measures the electricity generated by the solar system, and the meter literally spins backwards as solar electricity is produced, accumulating credit you can use to offset bills from your electricity provider for traditional electricity consumed during the month. You are only billed for your net usage at the end of each month.
  Solar Home Challenge also ensures that web-based monitoring is installed with your solar system. This enables you to view your savings in real-time online, and share with friends.
• “How long is the installation process, and what is involved?” System installation only takes a day or two on average – it’s the administrative process that tends to take more time! From contract signing, it typically takes 2-4 months to get all the administrative approvals and get your system installed. You can call Solar Home Challenge at (480) 663-3937 to check your installation scheduling options.
• “What if I generate more electricity than I use?” Each electricity provider sets its own policies for the purchase of excess electricity generation. A special meter may be required to sell energy back to your provider. Options of monthly settlement, annual settlement, or no settlement are offered by various electricity providers. Our experienced solar consultants can guide you through your electricity provider’s rules.
• “What on-going maintenance issues are expected?” Very little maintenance is required for your solar system. Spraying the system down with water to remove dirt and debris once or twice a year, as well as trimming any trees that might be shading your roof is all that is needed.
• “Who is responsible if my system breaks?” Our installation partners offer a ten year workmanship warranty to all our customers.
• “What information do I need to share with my electricity provider about this change?” Interconnection coordination will be handled by your installation team. Upon scheduling your installation, we will notify your local electricity provider, and schedule the necessary inspections.
• “What happens if I need a roof repair?” If your roof is older than 15 years and in poor condition it is advisable to reroof prior to installing your solar system. The useful life of a solar system is generally between 25 and 40 years.
• “What happens when the sun is not shining?” Your solar system will be connected directly to your current electricity provider’s meter and grid. Should your system decrease the amount of solar energy being generated, your home needs will be supplemented by power provided from your electricity provider. This generally happens at night or during extremely cloudy days.

Questions about Home Solar System Design

• “Is it important which solar panels are installed on my house?” Absolutely. We only partner with solar panel manufacturers who can demonstrate the long term performance of their technologies. Furthermore, with the recent bankruptcies of several large solar panel manufacturers, it is vital to identify the highest quality and creditworthy manufacturers with strong balance sheets.
• “What number of panels should I use and in what direction do they need to face?” The Solar Home Challenge tool gives users the option to determine the impact of different panel configurations online. However, our experienced solar consultants will confirm your system design prior to installation, based on your specific needs.
• “What is the “ideal” solar system design?” An ideal system will be tilted toward the sun at an angle equal to the latitude of the location (for example, in Phoenix, Arizona the latitude is 33.5 degrees, so the ideal tilt is 33.5 degrees as well). In the northern hemisphere, the solar array should face south to absorb as much sunlight as possible. Most home solar systems have a roof pitch in the range of 10-30 degrees, and are often slightly offset from south.
• “Why has Solar Home Challenge limited the size of my solar system?” To get you the most ‘bang for your buck’, we ensure that your system size cannot be greater than what is required to offset your current energy use, as electricity providers typically compensate customers at far lower rates when they become net producers of energy.
• “Are there any types of homes that should not install solar panels?” Homes without sufficient roof size or exposure to sun generally are not good candidates for a solar energy generating system. Shared rooftops or members of a homeowners association may need to check prior to signing a system contract.

Questions about Solar Home Challenge

• “What experience do you have in the solar industry?” Solar Home Challenge was started by the founders of Natural Power and Energy, LLC. Natural Power and Energy is a leading Community Solar Provider, serving homeowners, companies and institutions with installation of turnkey solar systems and consulting services. Natural Power and Energy has worked with homeowners, school districts, non-profits and corporations alike on over 25 million watts of solar installations to date (equivalent to over 3,000 average homes).
  
  For more information about Natural Power and Energy, please visit http://www.naturalpowerandenergy.com/
• “Who are your installation partners?” Solar Home Challenge has a number of installation partners. We select only the most experienced, longstanding partners, with leading reputations and strong balance sheets. Please call Solar Home Challenge at (480) 663-3937 to request information about our installation partners servicing your area.
• “How reliable is your N-Power Report and the savings estimates?” Our N-Power Report is powered by a highly-accurate solar estimation engine. In order to maximize the accuracy of your N-Power Report, please ensure that the size and tilt of your roof, the amount of shading expected, and your current energy use are all input correctly. Experienced solar consultants are available to provide a more detailed quotation - simply call Solar Home Challenge at (480) 663-3937.
• “What does the ‘Code’ feature of the App do?” Solar Home Challenge partners with communities and organizations who want to offer solar to their members, employees or customers. The ‘Code’ feature allows us to assign a custom Community Purchasing Code to members of those communities, and if enough community members all go solar together, we offer each of them significant savings on their solar purchase. If you are interested in setting up your own Community Purchasing Code, please call Solar Home Challenge at (480) 663-3937.

Terms of Service

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Learn More About Your Solar Options

Are you ready to learn more about how you can increase your energy independence and start saving on your monthly energy bill? Simply provide us with your telephone number and an experienced solar consultant will contact you to discuss the design, financing and installation options that best fit your individual needs.

Please provide us with some information to help us serve you best:

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Alternatively, you can call Solar Home Challenge at your convenience at (480) 663-3937 or email [email protected]