Learn from the experts. Solar Guys of Oklahoma offers solar panel sales, installation and repair in Oklahoma City.

Solar panels are a great way of cutting your electricity bills – find out whether your home is suitable and how solar panels work. We all want to live a self-sustainable lifestyle, or at least reduce the carbon footprint of our home, and solar panels make that dream possible. But it’s not that simple. Solar panels can be expensive at first, and may not always be suitable. Read on to see if solar panels are right for you and your home.

What are solar panels?

Solar panels are made of photovoltaic (pv) cells, which turn sunlight into electricity. This electricity can then be fed into your home’s mains electricity supply. The technology behind solar is relatively old, despite their futuristic appeal, but while the basics are the same the efficiency of solar panels has improved greatly in recent years.

How do solar panels work?

Solar panels are an environmentally friendly way of producing electricity for your home. As mentioned above, the technology relies on photovoltaic (pv) cells to turn sunlight into electricity. Panels are made of photovoltaic (pv) cells, which turn sunlight into electricity. The electricity produced by your solar panels will be used to power any appliances currently in use within your home. Any electricity which is not used will be sent to the grid. So, in essence, solar panels work by producing extra energy which either gets used by you, or gets sent to the grid. Any electricity you consume which is in excess of what your panels are producing will be sourced from the grid.

Will the quality of my electricity suffer?

No. You won’t notice any difference. If the panels aren’t producing much electricity, you’ll just use electricity from the grid instead. Solar panels don’t replace the energy you currently use, they simply supplement them with power from a greener source when possible. Conversely, if you generate too much solar power you can sell the energy back to your utility company at an agreed rate through the feed-in tariff scheme.

Do I have to switch the panels on each day?

No. They are always on.

How long do solar panels last for?

Solar panels usually have a 25-year manufacturers’ performance guarantee and you should get another 10 to 15 years of use beyond this. The inverter – the piece of equipment that converts the direct current produced by the panels to alternating current on which the grid runs – needs replacing after about 12 to 15 years for string inverters. But Solar Guys of Oklahoma offers no replacement solution. Solar Guys of Oklahoma offers 25 years warranty for our inverters.

How can I be sure I’m using solar energy?

You won’t notice the difference between using your free electricity and using electricity from the grid, and you won’t even notice the transition. If your panels are correctly installed your system should automatically switch over when solar power is available to you.

How can I make the most of the free electricity from my solar panels?

To make sure you use as much of the free electricity from your solar panels as possible you need to try and use more electricity during the day, when your panels are producing electricity. You could try:

• Putting the washing machine, tumble dryer and dishwasher on during the day.
• Charging mobile phones, laptops and other gadgets during the day and using their battery power at night.
• Using an electric slow cooker to cook your food during the day.
• Also you can install solar hot water system to minimize your bill even more.

How will a solar panel system work with my existing gas and electricity supplier?

Nothing will change with your gas company if you have one. For those in electric coop, you have no choice but to stay with them. We strongly suggest you to switch to your retail electric provider.