Solar roofing can cut energy costs and contribute to a more sustainable lifestyle. If you are considering solar power installation, you may be wondering how bad weather will impact the effectiveness of your solar panels. The Bay Area experiences its fair share of foggy and gloomy days; those of us who live here often are forced to field endless questions from our friends and relatives who live elsewhere about our cloudy weather. So what happens to solar power roofing during cloudy or rainy days?

Solar companies have measured the effectiveness of their products in bad weather and have come to peculiar conclusions. While sunny Southern California might seem like the ideal place to set up solar roofing, solar panels actually work better in cooler weather. In fact, San Francisco solar power roofing generates only 1% less energy than Sacramento.

This does not mean bad weather does not have any impact on solar panel efficiency. A light fog causes 8%–15% less electricity output; whereas a heavy fog might decrease efficiency by around 15%–20%. But while cloudy or rainy days impact the amount of energy solar panels produce, you can still make use of the renewable resource of our sun and generate solar powered energy.

Bay Area Roofing Contractors

Century Roof and Solar is a leading solar solution installer and roofing contractor; we can help you cut down on energy cost, protect the planet and improve the value of your home or business property. Are you ready to make the leap to solar energy? Contact us for a solar roofing quote today: 888-233-7548.

Have you been considering installing solar power roofing on your home, but you aren’t sure whether it’s right for you? Here are 10 reasons why it (probably!) is:

1. Simplicity. A quality solar roofing provider will manage all paperwork and answer any questions you have to make the transition as easy as possible.

2. Lower energy bills. With solar energy, monthly electricity bills will be significantly less expensive.

3. Reduced carbon footprint. By reducing or eliminating the use of fossil fuels, your home’s impact on the environment will become negligible.

4. Extra income. Many communities purchase surplus energy generated by private solar power systems.

5. Customization. Whatever your budget, local requirements, or home design, solar solutions exist to meet your needs.

6. Predictability. Not only will your energy bills be lower each month; they will remain consistent throughout the year.

7. Long-term investment. Solar panels aren’t simply a passing fad; expect them to become more popular over the next several years.

8. Affordability. Although going solar used to seem prohibitively expensive, tax breaks, grants, and financing options now make it accessible to more homeowners than ever.

9. Durability. Solar panels are strong and hold up to the elements over time, presenting little to no maintenance or repair costs.

10. Fixed cost. While electricity costs go up over time, the payments on your solar system will remain the same until paid in full.

Hire the Right Solar Roofing Company

To learn more about how a sun-powered system can improve your life, contact Century Roof and Solar – a Bay Area solar company you can trust.

©2014 Century Roof and Solar

Have you been investigating integrated photovoltaics and solar power roofing? If so, you’ve been learning why solar solutions are a big deal. Here are some facts about solar power and the sun that will blow you away:

• The sun is about 1 million times bigger than the Earth; it’s located approximately 93 million miles away. Although the sun is relatively large for a star, it is dwarfed by other more gigantic species of stars. The largest types of stars would stretch all the way to the orbit of Saturn;
• The sun itself is utterly minuscule in comparison with the Milky Way. If the sun were shrunk into a small grain of sand, the Milky Way galaxy (where the sun resides) would be the size of the entire planet Earth.
• In less than an hour and a half, the sun bathes the Earth with enough energy to fuel the entire human race’s energy needs for a full year.
• The sun gets bigger and hotter as it consumes its fuel.
• If you install a 10 kilowatt solar panel, you can generate 17,000 kilowatt hours every year — the equivalent of burning over 27 barrels of oil.
• Integrated photovoltaics have a lot of applications in technology; they’re used in hot water heaters, PV panels, and concentrated solar power apps (for large scale tasks);
• It costs about $4 per watt of capacity to install a solar panel;
• Most panels are not ideally efficient – a common PV panel converts just 15% of the sun’s energy to usable electricity.
• PV applications have led to booming advances in semiconductor material sciences.

Contact the Team at Century Roof and Solar for More About Solar Power

For help creating highly productive solar solutions for your family or building, contact the team at Century Roof & Solar for a free estimate. We can help you with any and all of your solar roofing questions.

Many customers call our Bay Area roofing contractors, eager to install solar tiles on their homes. They want to start saving money on energy and mindfully increase the resale value of their homes or businesses.

But not everyone rushes to start the solar roofing installation process. Some people are naturally cautious about doing home improvement projects. Others may just need (or want) to watch their budgets. But there are several good reasons to move quickly on your solar project.

Summer is the best season to have functioning solar panels. Energy costs rise rapidly in the summer, thanks to A/C costs. By investing in solar now, you can leverage alternative energy to keep cool come July and August instead of relying on expensive grid energy.

Solar companies offer many payment plans that can help you defer the upfront investment costs and get the infrastructure up and running.

If you defer the project now, you may never come back and complete it. There’s never a “perfect time” to make a major home improvement. Life always seems to “get in the way.” If you don’t take action to install solar now, you’ll be more likely to defer it again and again. You could wind up wasting months or years stuck in your current, ineffective home heating and lighting paradigm, tied to the grid, and spending way more than you should on your energy costs.

Learn More About the Exciting New Advances In Solar Technology

The team here at Century Roof and Solar can introduce you to exciting new technology designed to help homeowners save more, extract more useful energy from the sun, and reduce maintenance costs and worries. Contact us today at for a free estimate on solar power roofing for your home.

© 2014 Century Roof & Solar

The solar revolution is upon us. More and more homeowners and business-owners are exploring the exciting, energy-saving, earth-saving benefits of solar roofing solutions. You might be excited to “go green,” too, and cut the dependency you have on the grid.

But what, exactly, do you need to know?

First, explore roofing contractors and solar companies thoroughly. Make sure that your installers have the certifications, insurance, and reputation to do the job right. (Learn more about the Century Roof & Solar team here at our website).

Next, determine what incentives you may be able to get. Your installer can alert you to possible tax benefits and rebates. You can also talk to the CA Department of Energy, which funds a great website about California solar incentives.

Next, figure out how you will pay for your system. Obviously, if you purchase the system upfront, you can generate higher savings over time. But you don’t necessarily have to invest tens of thousands of dollars upfront. You can get a loan and benefit from solar power without having to own the equipment outright. Investigate whether to get a lease or something called a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).

[See Also: How to Pay for Your Solar Installation]

Contact Our East Bay Roofing Contractors Today

The team at Century Roof & Solar would be happy to explain the pros and cons of these various payment options based on your needs and preferences. Connect with us today to explore exciting and cost-effective solar solutions! Give us a call at (888) 233-7548 or fill out our online contact form here on our website to discuss your solar options.