Expert Advice On Improving Your Home
Expert Advice On Improving Your Home
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Written By David Cusick
Last Updated February 2024
Year after year, more Oxford homeowners install rooftop solar panels to provide a dependable source of power and lower their carbon footprint. Switching to solar energy can lower your monthly energy expenses and decrease your carbon output. Before you get started, you want to make sure you find a trustworthy installer. Luckily, we've reviewed the options and assembled a guide to the best and most trustworthy solar installation providers in Oxford.
Reliable customer support
Free quotes
Clear pricing policy
Informative resources
Services Offered
Clear pricing policy
Free quotes
Services Offered
Reliable customer support
Clear pricing policy
Free quotes
Services Offered
Today's Homeowner looks at dozens of datapoints on solar companies to come up with our data-driven rankings. It's not possible for a company to pay for preferential treatment in our rankings. We look at the following key factors in determining who should top our list:
Putting solar panels on your roof could reduce your electricity payments while helping the environment by reducing your carbon footprint through renewable energy use. Key considerations when looking at local solar installers are as follows.
Verify that your solar installer is properly licensed. This ensures that the work is done correctly using the most up-to-date installation methods. Alabama licenses solar contractors with similar requirements to electricians. They must have at least 4 years of relevant experience and apply with the state's Electrical Contractors Board.
Check TrustPilot, the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Google Reviews, and other review sites to see what past customers are saying about local solar companies. Detailed reviews on these platforms can help you assess a provider's trustworthiness and customer service. Be wary of providers with few or mainly poor reviews.
Contact 3–5 solar companies for free, detailed quotes. Quotes should clearly outline all costs and specify the exact solar components included. By comparing multiple quotes, you can identify the best value based on your budget.
Quality solar installations should come with comprehensive workmanship and performance warranties. The workmanship warranty covers any installation issues such as cracks in the panels, poor wiring, or poor alignment. The performance warranty ensures a specific energy output level. Strong guarantees indicate that a solar installer trusts its installations.
Switching to solar power can help reduce your energy expenses. Be sure to consider these aspects when judging the cost and value of solar panels.
In Oxford, solar panels cost an average of $3,490 per kilowatt, with an average system size of 9.1 kilowatts. The typical Oxford homeowner spends $22,347 on their solar array after federal tax refunds. An estimate from a local provider will consider additional information based on your desired system's panel type, size, required preliminary work, and capacity. In some cases, homeowners may prefer leasing solar panels to reduce upfront costs.
Incentive Type: Personal Tax Deduction
Incentive Amount:
100%
A solar photovoltaic (PV) array can generate power to run any electric appliance or system in your home. If you don't want to use solar power for your entire home, you can install a solar water heating system.
With home solar PV, you can save money on your energy bill, lower your property's emissions, and be better prepared if there's an outage to the local grid.
Yes, you can use home solar energy alongside conventional power sources. In most parts of the country, solar panels are designed to supplement your existing energy sources, so you can reap the savings and environmental benefits that come from using solar energy without having to completely switch over.
Your installer can give you an estimate of what your energy bills will look like after you install solar panels. Generally, your energy bills will decrease significantly because you'll be using energy from the sun for free, instead of buying energy from the utility company. The average annual savings in Oxford amount to $2,048.
Your payback period is the time to earn a net profit from your solar panels. It will vary based on the average sunlight in your area, the rate your utility charges per kilowatt of power, and their rated capacity. Oxford has extremely high daily sunlight levels, so you could recoup your investment in as little as 10.9 years per 5 kW of rated capacity.
The specific types of maintenance you need will depend on the type of panels you're using. Regardless of type, you should clean your panels regularly and inspect them for damage. A majority of solar contractors in the Oxford area offer comprehensive maintenance plans to help you keep your panels healthy and make the most of your system.
Net metering is a power purchasing policy that allows solar energy system owners to receive compensation for the amount of energy they put back into the grid. It's available in most states and is a great way to reduce energy costs.
Of course. Solar panels are independent of the Oxford grid and will continue to generate power even if the grid is having problems. Keep in mind, however, that a solar system won't take you through a nighttime outage if you don't have a storage system. Your contractor can discuss some economical options to keep your home's power access reliable through the worst conditions, including battery backups or an emergency generator.
