Frequently Asked Questions about Solar

Solar panel systems (or solar energy systems) use Photovoltaic (PV) cells to convert sunlight into direct current (DC) electricity. Solar panel cells are made from silicon and were originally developed to power spacecraft and space stations. The cells are wired together in panels that typically measure about 4 feet by 2 ft by 1.5 inches deep. A group of solar panels mounted on a frame is called a solar panel array. 

To provide electricity reliably and safely, solar panel system components typically include an inverter, wiring and optional battery storage and charge controller. Most solar panel systems convert the DC electricity that is produced by the solar panels into the common household form of electricity, alternating current (AC), by using an inverter. AC electricity can then be used to power your appliances directly, or feedback to an electric utility's grid. The DC electricity can also be stored directly in batteries for later use. In this case, to prevent overcharging or discharging of the batteries, a charge controller is used. 

• Reduce your utility bill

Solar panel systems can significantly reduce your utility bill. Any energy produced for free by the sun and your solar panel system is energy that you don't have to purchase from your utility. This translates into direct savings on your monthly utility bill. In addition to the direct savings, the solar panel arrays also act as a sunshade for your roof, reflecting heat from the sun that would otherwise be absorbed by your house. A shaded roof area can reduce the air temperature of your house, reducing the energy required by your air-conditioner to keep a comfortable temperature in your home.

• Increase the resale value of your home

According to a report produced by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory entitled "A New Market Paradigm for Zero-Energy Homes: December 2006 The Comparative San Diego Case Study", Solar panels can increase the value of your home.

• Healthy Environment

By using a renewable power source, you're helping reduce the impact of global warming and climate change. You will avoid producing hundreds of tons of greenhouse gases during the solar panel system lifetime.

• Energy Independence

You will also decrease your use of foreign oil and minimize utility company price increases.

Going solar in NJ is a simple as 1-2-3. 

1. Solar Evaluation of your Home. Schedule your phone or in person appointment through our website. Our Solar Site Assessment specialists will ask you a few simple questions and survey your home (via satellite roof evaluation) – to evaluate your home’s solar potential. Based on your Solar Site Assessment and your financial goals our team will determine which solar financing options and esign make the most sense for you.
2. Solar Design, Permitting and Solar Installation. Once you feel comfortable with the solar program designed for you, we'll handle all of the permitting to install the solar panel system – typically installing your system in just one day!
3. Utility Approval (PTO) and Activation. Once permission to operate is received from your utility provider, your solar energy system can be turned on to power your home – saving your family money while saving the environment.

The actual cost of solar panels will depend on equipment options, solar installation costs, and the solar panel manufacturer. Please click on Get an Estimate for details on how much "going solar" can save you.  Read More

Going solar is more than a home upgrade—it’s a financial investment. The right financing strategy can maximize savings and even generate income. Here’s how to decide the best option for you:

1. Understand Your Solar Investment

Your solar system's financial benefits come from:
✅ Solar Income – Selling Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) for 15 years.
✅ Energy Savings – Lowering your electric bill by offsetting utility costs.
✅ Solar Costs – The total price after incentives and financing terms.

2. Define Your Investment Goals

🔹 Maximize ROI – Pay upfront or with a short-term loan for faster payback (4–8 years).
🔹 Positive Cash Flow – Use financing with low monthly payments to start profiting immediately.
🔹 Simple Savings – Leasing is an option but offers lower savings than ownership.

3. Choose the Best Financing Option

💰 Pay Cash – Best long-term profit, no interest, fastest break-even.
🏡 Home Equity Loan – Uses home equity for lower rates.
🔄 Solar Loans – $99 down, fixed monthly payments, multiple term options (5–20 years).
📜 Solar Leasing – No upfront cost, but lower savings and no ownership benefits. Leasing companies keep incentives, and rates may increase over time.

Lease vs. Buy?

Leasing provides no upfront cost but limits long-term savings and incentives. Buying (cash or financing) delivers the best return.

💡 Bottom Line: Choose financing based on your budget and goals. Whether you want immediate savings or long-term profits, we have options to fit your needs.

Typically, homeowners will be required by the utility company to provide proof of insurance coverage for their system. However, most standard homeowner insurance policies provide adequate insurance protection and meet the minimum requirements stated in your utility interconnection agreement. 

Yes, according to a report produced by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory entitled "A New Market Paradigm for Zero-Energy Homes: December 2006 The Comparative San Diego Case Study", Solar panels can increase the value of your home.

"The greatest single gain in value was $446,410 for a home in the SheaHomes communities with a PV system owned for 26.9 months (a 79% increase in value). In comparison, the single largest gain for a home in the comparison community was $378,769 for a home owned for 40.2 months (a 61% increase)." 

When you lease your system, things are going to be different. "FannieMae, B2-3-04: Special Property Eligibility Considerations (12/16/2014)", indicates that: If the solar panels are leased from or owned by a third party under a power purchase agreement or other similar arrangement, the following are some of the requirements that apply: The solar panels may not be included in the appraised value of the property. The lease payment must be included in the debt-to-income (DTI) ratio calculation. This requirement does not apply in the case of a power purchase agreement if the payment goes entirely to pay for the energy. Any portion of the payment that does not go toward the purchase of the energy must be included in the DTI ratio. 

There are currently five solar incentives available to businesses in New Jersey. The first solar incentive is the investment tax credit (ITC), which currently allows you to deduct 30 percent of the cost of your solar energy system from your taxes. The second incentive is Modified Accelerated Cost-Recovery System (MACRS), followed by the Solar renewable Energy Certificate-II (SREC-II) program, sales tax exemption and property tax exemption.

There are currently four solar incentives available to homeowners in New Jersey. The first solar incentive is the investment tax credit (ITC), which currently allows you to deduct 30 percent of the cost of your solar energy system from your taxes. The second incentive is the Solar renewable Energy Certificate-II (SREC-II) program, followed by sales tax exemption and property tax exemption. Read More

According to the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA), A tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in the income taxes that a person or company claiming the credit would otherwise pay the federal government. The ITC is based on the amount of investment in solar property.

A taxpayer may claim a credit for qualified expenditures for a system that serves a dwelling unit located in the United States that is owned and used as a residence by the taxpayer. Expenditures with respect to the equipment are treated as made when the solar panel installation is completed. If the solar installation is at a new home, the "placed in service" date is the date of occupancy by the homeowner. Expenditures include labor costs for on-site preparation, assembly or original solar panel installation, and for piping or wiring to interconnect a system to the home. If the federal tax credit exceeds tax liability, the excess amount may be carried forward to the succeeding taxable year. Read More

If a roof replacement is required to support your solar panel system, the portion of roofing costs directly related to the solar installation may qualify for the Federal Tax Credit. Typically, only the roofing material beneath the solar array, not the entire roof, is eligible. It's important to consult a tax professional for guidance specific to your situation and ensure proper documentation is maintained for eligibility.

The instructions for Tax Form 5695 state the following: Qualified solar electric property costs. Qualified solar electric property costs are costs for property that uses solar energy to generate electricity for use in your home located in the United States. No costs relating to a solar panel or other property installed as a roof (or portion thereof) will fail to qualify solely because the property constitutes a structural component of the structure on which it is installed. Some solar roofing tiles and solar roofing shingles serve the function of both traditional roofing and solar electric collectors, and thus serve functions of both solar electric generation and structural support. These solar roofing tiles and solar roofing shingles can qualify for the credit. This is in contrast to structural components such as a roof's decking or rafters that serve only a roofing or structural function and thus do not qualify for the credit. The home doesn't have to be your main home.

Check with your licensed tax professional to be sure that you qualify. 

The On Wednesday, July 28th, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) unanimously approved the highly anticipated Successor Solar Incentive Program (“SuSI Program”). The SuSI Program will support the development of 3,750 megawatts (MW) of new solar generation by 2026, effectively doubling the state’s current solar capacity and driving solar to become approximately 10 percent of the state’s total electricity supply. As a homeowner installing a residential system, you will earn $85 for each SREC-II your system generates.  Read More

After going solar, it is important that you know the basics of the Net Metering billing structure to ensure you are reading your utility bills correctly.  Click here for instructions on how to read your new electric bill.

Yes. The energy that is produced by a solar panel system will first serve a home's electrical load. Then, if the solar panel system produces more electricity than the home needs at any given time, your utility credits the excess electricity at the same price you would pay for electricity from the utility - in effect turning the electrical meter backwards. This is called "Net Metering," and the credit will appear on the monthly utility bill. Should the home need more energy than the solar panel system is producing at any given time, the customer can be assured that the utility will provide the electricity that the home needs. Often, homeowners find that they receive credits during expensive peak daytime hours, and then use more utility power during less expensive evening hours. 

Net Metering is the policy that allows you to sell excess electricity back to the grid at the retail rate. This is great because the retail rate of NJ net metering is significantly higher than the wholesale rate that large power plants receive for the electricity they sell to the utility. Additionally, the ability to both buy and sell electricity from the grid allows you to balance your consumption and production, instead of letting any excess electricity you produce go to waste.

According to NJCEP, all electric utility companies regulated by the NJBPU (PSE&G, JCP&L, Atlantic City Electric, and Rockland Electric) and electric suppliers or providers must offer net metering to retail customers that generate electricity through renewable systems. To be eligible for net metering, the generating capacity of a system cannot exceed the customer's annual electric needs. The interconnection rules are intended primarily for customer-generators that are eligible to net meter. The rules include three levels of review process dependent upon the size of the generator and other criteria.

Check out the top utility net metering programs in New Jersey:

• Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L)
• Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G)
• Atlantic City Electric (ACE)

Your anniversary date is the date your system received approval to operate from the electric utility.  If you have solar credits at your anniversary date, the electric utility will pay you a price specified by them (typically wholesale rates). At that point, your energy credits reset to zero.

Yes.  Your utility company will allow a one-time change to your anniversary date.  Remember, if you have solar credits banked, this is when the utility company will pay you for the excess generation. If you have excess generation during the summer months, you want to be able to carry those credits into the fall and winter months to help offset your bills when your solar system is producing less energy. In general, we suggest that you set your anniversary date to the end of March. If you have electric heat or non-typical usage, your electric utility may recommend a different month.

Our clients are faced with a wide variety of choices from the size of the panels (watts), to efficiency ratings, to the material they are made from (Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline or Thin Film), to their warranty, to where the solar panels are made.  We currently only use Monocrystalline silicon panels for residential solar panel installations because of their even coloring and uniform appearance. This high-purity silicon is made of single-crystal wafer cells cut from cylindrical crystal slabs. The deep blue color of the panels is because they are made from a single continuous ingot. While they cost more than other types of silicon, they are also the most efficient, producing more power per square foot than other types.

We work with each of our client's to determine the best solar panels for their application.  Many factors impact this decision including: your current energy usage, the amount of energy you want from solar, the size of your roof, the angle and pitch of your roof, the amount of irradiation your roof receives from the Sun. your warranty preferences, and your budget.  Read More

Solar panel systems last a long time depending on the amount of active use, or the amount of sunshine converted into electricity by the solar panels. Most systems are only in use for 6 to 8 hours per day. Manufacturers will usually provide from 10 to 20 year materials warranties (and 25 year production warranties) for the solar panels, and a 5 to 10-year warranty on the balance of system components. EnPhase provides a 25 year warranty on their micro-inverters. Solar panels have been reported to last 30 to 40 years. 

According to the ACT (C.45:22A-48.2) approved August 21, 2007, an association cannot restrict you from installing solar on your roof, so long as you own and are responsible for maintaining the roof. Please e-mail us at info@greensunnj.com to request a copy of this ACT. 

As a general rule of thumb, studies indicate that the typical New Jersey home using solar power has an environmental impact of removing two cars from the road. Over 25 years, you will have avoided producing more than 500 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Using solar electricity to power a million homes would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 4.3 million tons per year, the equivalent of removing 850,000 cars from the road (Source: EPA). 

Solar panels have received attention from researchers, businesses and homeowners because, unlike traditional power generation sources, these technologies produce electricity using a renewable source, the sun, without creating noise, emitting pollutants that cause climate change such as greenhouse gases, smog, acid rain, or water resource pollution. Even when the emissions related to solar cell manufacturing are counted, solar panels produce less than 15% of the carbon dioxide from a conventional coal-fired power plant. 

Solar panel systems serve as either stand-alone or grid-connected solutions, with distinct roles and designs. Stand-alone systems, independent of utilities, generate and store electricity, often for remote areas, using batteries to ensure power availability during non-sunny periods. Conversely, grid-connected systems are integrated with the utility grid, typically covering at least 50% of a home’s electricity needs, balancing upfront costs with energy savings. These systems enable homeowners to benefit from renewable energy while maintaining a reliable power supply through the grid.

Solar panel systems won't power your home during a power outage unless paired with a battery backup. Grid-tied systems shut down during blackouts for two reasons: technical and safety. They rely on grid power to regulate voltage and current for optimal performance. For safety, utility regulations mandate automatic system shutdowns during outages to prevent solar energy from energizing grid lines and endangering repair crews. Systems use detectors to sense grid power, ensuring they deactivate when the grid is offline.

For backup power only, a standby generator is generally more reliable in New Jersey because it can run continuously during multi-day outages as long as fuel is available, while solar + battery depends on stored energy and weather conditions. To learn more, check out our Blog Post.  

Minimal maintenance is needed for your solar system, and Green Sun Energy Services takes care of it all! We handle tasks like cleaning your panels to remove debris such as leaves and pollen, ensuring maximum efficiency and performance year-round.

Solar panels generate power using both direct and indirect sunlight. While they perform best under direct sunlight, they can still produce electricity when sunlight is reflected or partially blocked by clouds, ensuring continued energy production even during overcast or rainy conditions.

You may have seen ads claiming, "free solar panels" or "New Jersey will pay you to install solar." These are often lead-generation tactics to sell your information to solar leasing companies. The truth? Solar panels aren't free—you pay for the electricity they generate, typically through a 20- to 25-year solar lease or power purchase agreement (PPA). Always research carefully and understand the terms before committing. .  Read More

Owning your solar system can boost your home's value. According to The Appraisal Journal, energy improvements may increase property value by $20 for every $1 saved annually on energy costs. When selling, the solar installation is typically included with the property. Outstanding loans, like a Home Equity Line of Credit, will be settled during closing. Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) often transfer to the buyer but can be negotiated to retain ownership through an assignment agreement.

Even if your house doesn't qualify for a solar system, there are still a lot of things that you can do to reduce your energy bill. For starters, please visit our Energy Saving Tips page for an extensive list of energy savings ideas that really work. 

Choosing the right solar installer is critical to your solar investment. Look for companies with strong customer reviews, proven experience, and industry certifications. Compare solar panel and equipment specifications, financing options, and warranties. A reputable installer should provide transparent pricing, detailed proposals, and clear answers to your questions. Verify reviews and seek recommendations to ensure the company meets your expectations. For more insights, Read More.