All posts tagged: home solar

All home solar, all the time with Emily from EnergySage

All home solar, all the time with Emily from EnergySage

Published by skeptic

On today’s solar-powered episode of Quick Charge, we’ve got EnergySage director of insights Emily Walker with a look inside the company’s 22nd industry report, this time featuring home solar, EV charging, and whole home electrification. In addition to some key takeaways from millions of solar customer datapoints across North America, Emily talks us through the changing landscape of hardware availability, what trade restrictions on China could mean for the residential solar market, some of the ways people are choosing to finance their solar panel systems – and why the right choice can help save them big money! You can check out some of the article we referenced in the episode, below, and let us know if you knew that Franklin WH stood for “Whole Home” in the comments. Source Links Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players. Advertisement – scroll for more content New episodes of Quick Charge are (allegedly) recorded several times per week, most weeks. We’ll be posting bonus audio content from …

EV driver shares surprising, real-world home solar data

EV driver shares surprising, real-world home solar data

Published by skeptic

Are you wondering how much it would cost to charge up your EV if you added a home solar system to your roof? One EV owner did just that. After 14,000 miles of driving, he’s sharing his results online — and the real-world data might surprise you! Last week, PeakD user KSteem took to the platform’s Solar Energy forum to share the data he’s collected powering his EV — a 2024 Chevy Blazer RS AWD that he’s put more than 14,000 miles on over the last two years — with electrons generated by his home solar system. “I don’t drive a whole lot of miles compared to some,” writes KSteem, “but the total for the the 2 years is 14,480 miles, or about 7,000 per year. This averaged about 3.4 miles per kWh. I don’t drive softly, or attempt to conserve energy, I like to punch it and feel the acceleration way too much, so you could say these are conservative estimates, lol.” KSteem estimates that driving similar miles in a vehicle that gets 20 …

How long do solar panels last? Probably longer than you think!

How long do solar panels last? Probably longer than you think!

Published by skeptic

Like EVs, solar panels are sold with warranties – but what happens when the warranty runs out? A Swiss university study of solar installations from the 1980s and ’90s found many still generating most of their original power. A team of researchers from the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland led by Ebrar Özkalay recently completed a study that solar panels can last a lot longer than their typical 25-year warranty might suggest. Özkalay’s team looked at six solar systems installed between 1987 and 1993 that have been in continuous operation since, and found most panels still producing more than 80% of their original output after nearly four decades. That’s a critically important number, since (in 2023), more than 70% of the renewable electricity capacity added came from PV, and total installations reached more than 1.6 TWp at the beginning of 2024 and covering 8.3% of global electricity demand. As such, it’s nice to know all those solar installation are going to be providing clean, emissions-free energy for decades to come. Advertisement …

Electric take on winter weather while Tesla’s sales slide continues

Electric take on winter weather while Tesla’s sales slide continues

Published by skeptic

On today’s icy cold episode of Quick Charge, the only thing colder than the air outside most Americans’ homes is the demand for Tesla Cybertrucks – so we’ve got some EV-focused tips on making it through the cold while Elon begins shipping CTs overseas. We’ve got plenty of tips for home solar and backup battery systems today, as well as some links to older posts about vehicle-to-home capable systems and, of course, some cold weather driving tips for EV drivers who may not be used to these chilly conditions. All that, Tesla sales, and some big batteries in North Carolina – enjoy! Source Links Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players. New episodes of Quick Charge are (allegedly) recorded several times per week, most weeks. We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage podcast series. Advertisement – scroll for more content Got news? Let us know!Drop us a …

Home solar in rural America: winter storm warning edition

Home solar in rural America: winter storm warning edition

Published by skeptic

There’s no shortage of advice on how to size a home solar and battery system, but most of it assumes a suburban home with city services and outages measured in hours, not days. Rural homes play by different rules, especially during major winter storms. When ice and snow take down lines and your utility prioritizes restoring power to urban neighborhoods, having a home battery isn’t about convenience — it’s about damage control. Power outages caused by severe winter storms can often last for days, not just hours. Unlike weather events in the summer, snow and ice compound your troubles, making it harder for restoration teams to reach lines and stretching response times 2–4 days or more in some parts of rural America. where crews have farther to travel and utilities have other priorities. To make sure they’re not dependent on the grid, many Americans are turning to rooftop solar systems for their homes and (like my family) their barns – but solar panels alone won’t keep your lights on when the grid goes down. For that, …

how much battery do you need to run a well pump?

how much battery do you need to run a well pump?

Published by skeptic

There’s no shortage of advice on how to size a home solar system, but most of it assumes a suburban house with city water and a long list of optional loads. Rural homes play by different rules, and when your water comes from a well, keeping the lights on is optional — but keeping the well’s pump running isn’t. Here’s what it really takes, in solar and battery terms, to keep your home’s water flowing even when its electrons aren’t. Rooftop solar has become common enough on upscale suburban homes and commercial buildings, but it’s still surprisingly rare in rural America. What’s more, many Americans (rural or otherwise) don’t realize that solar panels alone can’t power a home when the grid is down. For that, you need a home battery system to store the DC energy generated by the panels and convert it into usable AC power for your appliances. I say “surprisingly” because when outages hit, rural areas are often the last to see power restored — making farm and horse-country households ideal candidates …

The 30% solar credit is dead — long live the 30% solar credit!

The 30% solar credit is dead — long live the 30% solar credit!

Published by skeptic

The Trump Administration’s decision to repeal of the 30% home solar tax credit in 2025 looked like the end of the road for subsidized rooftop solar projects, but it looks like the home solar tax credit is still alive — you just have to know where to look for it, and how to claim it. The 30% federal tax credit for homeowners adding rooftop solar (Section 25D) very publicly expired on December 31st, 2025 — but that doesn’t mean you can’t still get 30% off your solar installation. That’s because Section 25D (the one that the Trump Administration killed) only applied to taxpayers with an ownership interest in their PV systems (some financed systems or systems that were purchased outright), but there’s still another option: leasing. That’s right, gang. Just as we’ve seen with electric vehicle tax credits over the years, the rules for leases are a little bit different than those for purchases. What that means here is that, under Section 48E of the Federal tax code, qualified solar companies that own a PV …

It’s time to start recommending some Tesla Powerwall alternatives

It’s time to start recommending some Tesla Powerwall alternatives

Published by skeptic

Image generated using AI. For years, Tesla Powerwall has been the go-to recommendation for “normals” looking for a painless, low-effort experience from their first home solar and battery backup solutions. But with a recent recall on more than 10,000 home batteries over fire safety concerns following a year (or more) of CEO Elon Musk’s political antics, more and more people are beginning to look for alternatives to the trailblazing Tesla tech. The good news: there are plenty of other great home solar battery solutions are there! UPDATE 28DEC2025: a 2026 CES Innovation Award winner makes the list. Electricians and contractors often praise the sleek, energy-dense Tesla Powerwall, for good reasons. But the Powerwall isn’t the only top-shelf home battery on the market, but long wait times, Elon’s antics, and the proliferation of really good integrated alternatives from legacy EV brands might have you shopping for Tesla alternatives already. If that’s you, the next logical step is to re-think the brand’s solar battery offerings as well – here are some of the best options out there. As I was putting …