Here’s a quick trivia question: which city in the United States receives the most sunshine? That’s right: Yuma, Arizona, our own home town. Besides ensuring that we stay warm and dry, that also makes Yuma the best place in the entire country to take advantage of solar heating and cooling. Solar energy is completely free, produces zero pollution and is something we in the Yuma area will never run out of.
So, how can you take advantage of solar heating and cooling at your home? There are several factors that affect your ability to utilize the power of the sun:
- How much sun your roof receives. Most solar panels are installed on roofs, though you can also utilize a ground-based installation if you have the space. In either case, you’ll collect the most solar energy with panels that have an unshaded view to the south. (The sun is always at least a little bit south of directly overhead in Arizona, and a south-facing surface will receive sunlight from sunrise to sunset.)
- The size of your roof. The limiting factor on collecting solar energy is the amount of space you can cover with solar panels. On average, it takes 100 square feet of solar panels to produce 1 kW of electricity.
- Your home’s electrical wiring and the power grid it is connected to. Both have to meet certain standards to handle the production of electricity.
- Incentives and tax credits. Solar systems might seem expensive to install — until you factor in the substantial incentives for “going green,” including federal tax credits and various Arizona incentives.
- Your homeowner’s association. If you have an HOA, there may be restrictions on what you can build, or applications you need to first fill out.
At Hansberger Refrigeration and Electric, we can help. As Yuma’s solar heating and cooling experts, we can evaluate your home to make sure it is ready for solar, and we’ll help make certain you get all of the incentives and tax credits that are available. We would be happy to answer any questions you may have about solar heating and cooling, so contact us today.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information, click here to download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Hansberger Refrigeration & Electric Co services the Yuma area in Arizona. To get started, check out our website.
