Category Archives: Buyer’s Guide

Articles about solar products and companies to help consumers understand more about solar equipment/companies and best compare their quotes and options.

decotech solar roof review

DecoTech Roof-Integrated Solar System: a solar roof from GAF, America’s largest roofing manufacturer

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Reading Time: 6 minutes

Homeowners across the country have their eye on Elon Musk’s Tesla Solar Roof, a much-heralded innovation for the solar energy industry. However, Tesla is just one company offering a roof-integrated solar option for homeowners and businesses. Roofing company GAF’s solar tile solution, DecoTech, hit the market in early 2017 and promises to be “the beautiful affordable alternative to typical rack-mounted solar systems.” Here is EnergySage’s complete review of everything you need to know about DecoTech solar, from performance to price to warranties.

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solar panels and rain and flooding

Solar panels, rain, and flooding: are your panels made to last?

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Reading Time: 3 minutes

Floods and heavy rains can knock out utility poles and other electrical infrastructure, often causing power outages for long periods of time. As an expanding provider of resilient energy, it is important to understand if and how solar panels and solar energy systems hold up in floods and heavy rains.

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environmentally friendly solar scorecard

5 solar shopping tips for environmentalists

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Reading Time: 5 minutes

Generating electricity with your own rooftop solar panel system is one of the most effective ways to reduce your personal carbon footprint. In fact, the average solar panel system can help offset three to four tons of carbon emissions annually–for perspective, the impact of those carbon reductions is similar to planting more than 100 trees each year!

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solar panel installation

Solar panel installation guide: installing solar panels in 5 steps

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Reading Time: 6 minutes

More than a million homes have already gone solar in the U.S., and many more homeowners are considering installing solar. If you’re in the market for solar, you probably want to know what actually happens during a solar panel installation, or even how to install solar panels yourself. There are five big steps that need to happen after you sign your solar contract before the solar panels on your roof can actually power your home, and a lot of it is behind the scenes. To show you what you can expect, we’ve outlined a simple five-step guide for the typical solar installation process.

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RGS Energy now installing Dow POWERHOUSE solar shingles

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Reading Time: 5 minutes

NOTE: As of 2020, RGS Energy has filed for bankruptcy, and Dow has stopped producing POWERHOUSE shingles.

Solar is more popular than ever, but some homeowners can be concerned about the look of a solar panel installation on the roof of their home. Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), and more specifically, solar shingle and tile technology, are intended to fix that “aesthetic” problem for solar shoppers who are sitting on the fence. RGS Energy is the latest company to enter into the solar shingle business.

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cheap solar panels

Cheap solar panels: how to get the lowest price per watt on the market

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Reading Time: 5 minutes

You may be looking for cheap solar panels available in order to really cash in on solar power. And sure, when you install solar on your home or business, you can save thousands on your electricity bills. But going solar isn’t automatically cheap: buying solar panels to install on your roof typically costs thousands of dollars. It’s no wonder that the cost of solar is among the most important considerations for today’s homeowners. If you’re thinking about going solar and worried about prices, you’re probably wondering: what are the best value solar panels and will solar get even cheaper?

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