Solar Panel Installation Lakeland FL
Solar panels in Lakeland are averaging a little bit higher than solar panels in other parts of Florida, coming in somewhere between $2.50 and $2.55 per watt. To put that in perspective, an average commercial solar panel usually comes in 250 watt denominations, putting the price of one solar panel at about $625, give or take. How many panels you need depends on what size system youāre trying to install, and if youāre trying to be completely energy self-sufficient or not. If you are, youāre going to need anywhere from 20-28 panels at least, which will put your cost of solar panels somewhere in the $12,500 to $19,000 range. But before you go thinking thatās too much and you canāt afford it, keep in mind that there are numerous incentives, rebates, tax credits, etc that will help offset that cost.
The state of Florida is one of the leading states in the union for encouraging itās residents to go solar. Hereās a few of the
There are different ideas on how much solar panels increase the value of your home, and estimates are all over the place. As a practical matter, solar panels only increase the value of your home by the amount that a buyer is willing to pay for them. However, you can generally expect an increase of something like $10,000 on the low end, though some would say as much as $20,000.
How Much do Solar Panels Cost in Lakeland, Florida?
Net metering is the method by which your solar panels can generate excess energy and feed it back into the grid, thereby earning you credits toward future electric bills. Despite what many people believe, most utilities do not send you a check or make direct cash payments for excess energy generated by homeowners. However, they do quite often issue ācreditsā (which go by different names in different states) towards future electric bills, effectively giving you āfreeā electricity for the life of your solar panels. In other words, in months where your system generates more power than you use, you will accumulate kilowatt hours of credits toward months where you use more power than your system generates. In some cases, depending on a variety of factors such as the size of your system and your energy usage, you may essentially get āfreeā electricity for years, never paying an electric bill at all.
Every user is different, but to be completely energy self sufficient, most people require between 5 and 7 kilowatts of solar panels. Some people may require even more, depending on a vast array of factors. If you have a large family, prefer cooler or warmer temperatures, have a lot of appliances plugged in at all times, size of your home, etc all factor in to how much power you need to generate to be completely self sufficient, but even on the high end most homes will never use more than 8 kw of power in a month. Standard solar panels come in 250 watts, meaning you will need at least 20 solar panels to approach being self sufficient, possibly as many as 32. Not every home has room for that many solar panels of course, so of course youāll need to consult with your solar installer.
The āpaybackā period for solar panels is the estimate on how long it will take for your solar power system to pay for itself, whether thatās through net metering and solar energy credits, savings on energy bills, rebates, etc. In the state of Florida in general, the average payback period is somewhere around 9-10 years. However, depending on a very long list of variables, your payback period could be as fast as 5 years if your solar power system is big enough and you use enough electricity. Either way, whether itās 5 years, 10, or something in between, solar panels last around 25 years, meaning even in the longest payback estimates, your solar panels will have paid for themselves and be effectively āearningā you money for somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 years before they need replacement. This could lead to savings of anywhere between $30-80,000 depending on the size of your system and your home or business energy usage.
What are the benefits of going solar?
Lakeland has the advantage of being kind of in the āmiddleā of Florida (if such a place exists). This means that thereās a very good chance that you can get with a number of solar providers all across the state who would be happy to come do an installation in your area, especially ones from the Orlando or Tampa Bay area who are realistically just a couple of hours away. For the purposes of this article, we are going to concentrate on solar companies in the Lakeland and greater Lakeland area, but let it be known that thereās a good chance you can get companies from all over the state of Florida to come to you.
Company: Polk County Solar
Address: 2199 Ontario Way, Lakeland, FL 33805
How much will the addition of solar panels increase my homeās value?
Years in Business: ??
Website:Ā polksolarpanels.com
Reviews: None
What are the Effects of Net Metering on a Solar System?
Business Quote:Ā āHere at Polk County Solar we operate based on the popular proverb āGive a homeowner a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.ā
The Good: Really nice looking website
The Bad: Very little web presence outside of their own website- In fact, I couldnāt find anything, even on the BBB website
How much solar power do I need to power my home?
Summary: Looks like a good company according to their own website, although most everybody does. Canāt find a lot of information about them out there, even on the BBB website. That being said, they certainly look like a reputable company, and their website shows a lot of their work and customer testimonials, so while I canāt tell you much else about them, theyāre probably a good one to look into.
Company: Powur (Or Solar Sales?)
Address: 1996 Crossroads Blvd, Winter Haven, FL 33881
What is the āPaybackā period for Solar Panels in Lakeland?
Years in Business: ??
Website:Ā solarpowerequity.com
Reviews:Ā 4 / 5 Glassdoor (14 reviews), 4.1 / 5 Solarreviews (4 reviews)
How do I get solar panels installed in Lakeland?
Business Quote: āWe want to be a better energy provider. We want to save you money. We want to help you feel proud of how you power your home. And we want to get you all the best equipment, the best technology to set you up for the future. So those are your two options. And I leave it to you to choose. But I truly and sincerely hope that you go solar with Powur. Let us help you save money and accelerate a sustainable energy future for mankind.ā
The Good: Good website with lots of hard data right up front, good videos explaining things
The Bad: Limited web presence, not a ton of reviews; Confusing name change, canāt find them with the BBB
Final Word:
Summary: So itās kind of hard to tell, but I think this company used to be called āSolar Salesā. The url given as the website for āSolar Salesā however redirects me to https://powur.com/kevin.tison/, which is a little strange because heās not the owner, apparently just a sales rep. The website is nice though, with some good video explanations of what the company offers. Their website says theyāve completed āover 5,000 successful installationsā and that āmoney from every installation goes to preserving millions of acres of Amazon rainforestā, and they claim they are the first solar company to offset ā100% of the emissions from the solar manufacturing processā. So the company sounds great, but once again I canāt find very much about them outside of their own website, so itās hard for me to do a very complete evaluation on them without that.
Company: Solenergy
Address: 4757 Highway 92 East Lakeland, Florida 33801
Years in Business: 13
Website:Ā Ā solenergyus.com
Reviews: None
Business Quote: āEmbracing and driving change are at the core of our company philosophy. So we always strive to be adventurous, creative and open-minded, from our process to our products. We value building open and honest relationshipsāand treating customers and employees with genuine respect and appreciation for their confidence in us.ā
The Good: Great looking website, 13 years in business
The Bad: Phantom company. Canāt find anything about them outside of their own website
Summary: Solenergy is another great looking company with lots of good stuff on their website including an extensive blog with some very interesting articles like āAre Solar Savings Calculators Accurate?ā and āThe Truth About Lakeland Electricā. The website also offers all the regular stuff, all of which looks very nice and is well put together, but just like the other companies Iāve reviewed in this article, I simply canāt find a lot of evidence of this companyās existence outside their own website. So thereās only so much I can tell you about them going off the little bit of information I have- Everything looks good, but do your research!
Company: Orbit Energy & Power
Address: 1512 George Jenkins Blvd, Lakeland, FL 33815
Years in Business: 4
Website:Ā https://www.orbitenergy.us/
Reviews: 3.35 / 5 Better Business Bureau (17 reviews)
Business Quote: āOur Team exists for the purpose of making our world a more environmentally friendly planet through every single renewable energy project that we deploy.ā
The Good: Great looking website, appears to be a very active company
The Bad: LOTS of complaints with the BBB (12)
Summary: This company boasts an excellent website which you can check out at your leisure, with a lot of great information and customer reviews and testimonials, but the real story with this one is with the Better Business Bureau. Normally when doing these reviews, most companies have no complaints at all filed against them, and on the high end a company may have 3. These folks, as a 4 year old company, have 12.Ā In the last 3 years, 7 of those in the last year. As always, this does not mean the company is a bad one- but it is a very worrisome sign. You can view the complaints for yourself at https://www.bbb.org/us/nj/sewell/profile/solar-installation/orbit-energy-power-0221-90190999/complaints, but they cover a variety of topics. This is probably the most Iāve ever seen against one company, but I will also say that they have been diligent about trying to respond to the complaints and satisfy the unsatisfied. So by all means feel free to look into this company, but just be aware there have apparently been a number of issues.
So in the end, Lakeland has numerous solar companies right at home. Yes, you can look outside, because as I said before there are plenty of companies that are willing to travel to do an installation. But by all means, check out some of the companies I reviewed above or any of the others that I didnāt before making a decision. In the end youāre going to need maintenance done, and using a local company will always make that easier.