One of the most common misconceptions when purchasing a solar system is that it’s going to be expensive. In reality, over 96% of our customers experience Zero Out Of Pocket costs. While financing the cost of a system up front is the best way to realize all the savings that solar offers, SUNation offers low and no-interest loans that make going solar one of the most affordable decisions you’ll ever make.

Solar PV (photo-voltaic) systems are designed based on your last twelve months of household electrical usage. If your home has enough roof space for us to install panels that can offset up to 110% of your past year’s electrical consumption, we can completely eliminate your electric bill (with the exception of the $0.36 per day connection charge from PSEG).

The optimal direction that your roof should face is South. However, we can effectively use the East, West and sometimes even the North side of your roof if the pitch allows. More important than your roof’s direction is the amount of shade that your roof might get from trees and other tall obstructions like chimneys.

SUNation is a family-owned and operated solar design and installation company that has helped over 1,800 Long Island homeowners go solar over the past thirteen years. Our customer satisfaction is unsurpassed. We never subcontract, and follow strict design requirements based on local town codes and the utility companies’ requirements.

Yes, but only if you own your solar power system. Many studies show installing an owned solar system on a home increases that home value by between $3 and $4 per watt installed. The same cannot be said for leased systems, which may be regarded as legal “encumbrances” that can interfere with a home sale.

• A 30% Federal Tax CREDIT for homeowners who have purchased solar systems.
• A 25% NY State Tax CREDIT for homeowners who go solar with maximum credit at $5,000.
• In Con Ed territory, the NYSERDA solar rebate is now $0.60 per watt installed. However, this rebate level is limited, and will be reduced when the present tranche is filled.

Don’t worry. Our solar specialists do all of the calculating for you and can show you all of the savings in a simple worksheet

The NYSERDA rebate is assigned to SUNation as your solar contractor but the funds are payable to you. This arrangement is similar to that of your health insurance provider, which does the paperwork, processes your payment, and waits for reimbursement on your behalf. SUNation handles all rebate processing and paperwork so you don’t have to. The NYSERDA rebate is paid once SUNation provides certification from an independent electrical inspector that verifies your system is installed to code and fully operational.

We don’t like surprises, and neither should you. For 96% of SUNation’s customers, there are currently no out-of-pocket expenses. There are no additional fees that are not disclosed in a SUNation proposal.

Net metering allows residential and commercial customers who generate their own electricity from solar power to feed unused electricity back into the grid. Excess production is credited to your account each month and “stored” in an energy bank associated with your utility bill. If after 12 months your total energy production exceeds the total consumed, you’ll get a check from the utility company. Because the amount you’ll get is calculated at the “wholesale” rate, it’s important to design your system so that you use as much of the power you produce as possible over the year to maximize your revenue.

A high-quality solar power system can last a long time.  The high-efficiency, premium-quality solar panels and inverters that are used by SUNation for residential applications have a 10-25 year performance warranty, dependent on the particular system installed.

SUNation uses calculators provided by NYSERDA and your local utility to determine exactly how much power your custom-designed solar system will provide for your home. This calculation is done for annual production and takes into consideration rainy days and days when your solar panels may be covered in snow. While no one can predict the weather, the premium products we offer have a guaranteed performance over time allowing us to usually predict (+/-) five to seven percent of average annual solar production.

There is a cost of $0.36 per day to stay connected to PSEGLI regardless of whether you power your home with SUNation solar panels or not. Con Edison’s basic service charge is around $16.00 per month. We can custom design a solar system for you that produces up to 110% of your previous year’s annual electrical consumption. If your system overproduces and you apply those credits to that basic service charge, yes, your final annual bill can absolutely be negative. And yes, PSEGLI or Con Ed may, in fact, send you a check in the end.

See above.  Yes, many of our customers receive checks from PSEGLI.

While most of our purchased solar systems do not require any out-of-pocket payments to get started for credit-worthy customers, there is a monthly payment made to a bank that REPLACES your current electric bill. SUNation customers generally start saving on their electric bills in the first month after their systems are installed. Most customers lock in their solar payments for a term of about fifteen years, protecting them from the increase in the utility rates that their neighbors who didn’t go solar must pay. The electricity their solar systems produce from year sixteen and beyond – up to about forty years – is free.

SUNation offers only high-efficiency, premium-quality solar panels with expert workmanship and installation. For the most part, solar systems of this quality require little maintenance over their lifespan, if any at all. The components we install come with 10-25 year warranties, dependent on the particular system installed, that protect you in the event of the slightest malfunction. SUNation installs monitoring hardware on every system that allows us and our homeowners to know when anything is wrong.  SUNation also provides a 10 year parts & labor warranty.

NYSERDA (the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) states, “Solar can work well in New York. During winter, systems produce less energy overall, given the shorter daylight hours, but will still produce plenty of electric energy. Solar power requires daylight, but not necessarily direct sunlight. In addition, solar electric is actually more efficient at lower temperatures.” The solar experts at SUNation custom design systems for our customers that take weather and seasonal length of days into account when calculating every system’s projected production.

When your panels are covered with snow they will not generate electricity. As soon as the sun comes out and the snow starts to melt, you’ll start making power again. No one should ever attempt to remove snow or ice from rooftop solar panels as it can be dangerous to you and harmful to the panels. SUNation takes weather into account when we project your annual solar energy production.

No. SUNation solar systems work in conjunction with the electrical grid, not as a replacement. The ability to send electricity back to the grid for storage at a later date (net metering) is a great way to use electricity you produced but didn’t use at the very moment it was made.

Those considering selling a home in the near future should absolutely consider going solar. Numerous reputable research organizations have published data showing that owned solar power systems improve home values, including the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the FHA, the Appraiser’s Institute and NY Sun Shot. For most customers, there is no out-of-pocket investment and an immediate increase in home value as an owned solar system becomes an asset. More importantly, for the remainder of the time that you spend in your home, a SUNation solar system lets you lock in your monthly electric bill, keeping you safe against utility rate increases.

Generally, yes, but at a level proportionately reduced to the diminished sunlight levels.

Solar-powered homes are still “grid-tied,” meaning they must send power back to the utility’s grid. In the case of a power outage, UL Code requires that inverters shut down and not produce power for the safety of utility workers. Going solar will not interfere with homeowners who have or wish to install a generator.

SUNation has a live answering service that will immediately get a message to our service department whenever a customer calls in. These customers are contacted shortly thereafter. SUNation’s main telephone number is (631)750-9454.

As part of our site inspection process, the SUNation engineering team will let customers know whether the condition of their roof is suitable for a solar installation. If a homeowner does require a new roof, SUNation will work with them to include a roof in their project before the system is installed. Many of our customers love the idea and take advantage of the opportunity to do both. When you work with SUNation’s experts, we leave nothing to chance.

No way. At SUNation, our panels are rated for up to 130 mph winds and are installed to the highest-quality manufacturer’s standards. We helped a lot of our Long Island neighbors after Hurricane Sandy – not because they lost any panels but because there was so much water in their homes from the storm that their electrical systems needed inspection and repair.

Each insurance company has different policies. We have seen some companies not increase a policy premium for a solar installation and others that have raised rates by less than $200 per year. The savings on your annual electric charges will usually offset any such insurance premium increases.

Your solar panels should produce plenty of power for 30 to 40 years. After that, there will be a minor decrease in production annually but that number is less than half a percent per year.

SUNation offers a full warranty on every installation. Having installed over 1,800 solar systems on Long Island, we’re the experts and our roofs don’t leak. In the event there is the slightest problem, our installation warranty has you covered!

The installation of a rooftop solar system has been proven to help extend the life of your roof as it prevents direct exposure to sun, wind and weather. Additionally, homes with our rooftop solar systems installed are often cooler inside because the panels – not your roof – will be the target of the sun’s energy.

Depending on your annual electrical consumption, we will custom design a system comprised of as many panels as you need to produce your own clean, renewable electricity from the sun.  We take into account the direction your roof planes face, the pitch of your roof, and your zip code (for weather data).

Provided that you have enough roof space for this scenario, here is a sample calculation:

A 9,810 watt system consisting of thirty 327 watt panels may generate up to as much as 12,000 kWh of power annually for your home.  Very simply, 30 x 327 watts equals 9,810 watts of power.  Once we calculate the pitch of your roof and its orientation, we can accurately predict how much electricity this system will generate on an annual basis.  Your Solar Specialist is highly trained and will design a system exactly matching your roof.  Again, the amount of roof space you have — along with the roof pitch and orientation — are factors used in determining the best plan.

Should your home use 6,000 kWh or less annually, a smaller system will be designed for you.

Absolutely! That’s one of the greatest things about using the best available solar panels. All of our panels offer a full 25-year performance warranty. Additionally, you can choose panels with an additional 25-year product warranty that covers the solar panel, testing, and shipping and labor (in case we need to replace one at any time during the first 25 years you have them).

Each and every one of the systems we currently install comes with inverters that are warrantied for 25 FULL years (unless customers opt out of SolarEdge Inverters and Optimizers as part of their recommended solar design).

Each system we install has an Internet-connected monitoring system. You can go online and see what every solar panel is producing in real time. You can also view historical data showing how much power you’ve made over time. You can even download a free smartphone app so you can check your solar on the go!

Yes, you can add to your system at a later date if your energy needs increase.

No, SUNation solar systems generate electricity – not heat — for your home.

In cases of a pitched roof, the North side is usually not an area that the sun shines on for an extended length of time. So installing solar components on this surface will have very minimal benefits.

Absolutely! The best reason to install a SUNation solar system is the huge savings that producing your own power from a high-efficiency, premium quality system will generate over time. Whatever percentage of your electric bill that can be replaced by the electricity you produce with your SUNation solar system is savings to you over the next 30 to 40 years.

The high-efficiency, premium quality solar systems that we install are based on simple, established Solar Photovoltaic principles. Sure, ten years from now the panels may produce slightly more power, but let’s look at the power you could have produced – and the savings you could have generated – in that ten-year time frame. For example, if ten years from now a new system can generate $200 worth of additional power annually — but you missed out on saving $2,500 per year for that ten years while you were waiting ($25,000 you didn’t pay to the utility) — you’d lose out.

If a SUNation solar system can generate all of the energy you use in your home (and we’ll show you how to implement energy efficiency measures to lower your consumption from what it is now), you’re powering your home for free. Free doesn’t get any more free!

We design custom solar systems using the best equipment on the market.  SUNation proudly uses SunPower, LG, Panasonic, and Silfab panels; SolarEdge and SMA inverters, and SnapNRack racking.