Whether you’re a penny-pinched homeowner desperate to save money on your electricity bill, or you’re a Bay Area business owner looking to build equity in your building and slash costs, you’re considering the “solar tile route.”

But how much money can you save going solar? How can you quantify the effects of an upgrade?

1. Use online calculators.

Dozens of online calculators can help you calculate the gist of how much you could save, long-term, based on parameters you input. But if you’re in the earlier stages of the research process, these calculations might confuse more than they clarify.

2. Get a rough estimate using national average.

These numbers change, but let’s just say that the average electricity bill in our region, among homeowners like you, is $120 per month. If you install a 3 kilowatt system and obtain usable 7 hours of sunlight every day, you get around 20 kilowatt hours a day. That means you get about 600 kilowatt hours every month. Of course, you need to “hit at” that number, because not every day will be sunny and beautiful, especially in the Bay Area, where the weather gets crazy.

So let’s say that 20% of the days, rain or fog or other inclement weather prevents your system from extracting usable energy. 20% of 600 is 120, so you might end up with only 480 kilowatt hours a month. If your home or business consumes around 1,000 kilowatt hours per month (a pretty fair estimate), that means that you can supply basically half your energy needs every month. Thus, you save around $60 per month.

3. Put that $60 figure (or whatever you came up with) into context.

Dozens, possibly hundreds, of variables can impact your energy efficiency, costs, etc. These factors include:

• Thermal efficiency of your roof
• Your personal energy needs
• Seasonal changes
• Quality of solar tile installation
• Whether you use “smart” controls or not
• Whether you ever need to repair/upgrade/re-install solar tiles
• Whether you add more solar capacity

4. Simplify your quest for better energy by connecting with experts.

The team here at Century Roof & Solar in the Bay Area has an exquisitely adapted system to help homeowners and business owners like you maximize efficiency and costs. Get in touch with us via our website or call us to schedule a free consultation to solve your solar panel needs.