News: Local Roofer Goes Solar, Workshop on Nov 9 & System Performance 1, 5, 10 Years down the Road

November 2016 Newsletter

Solar Spotlight: Professional Roofing Contractors


	Last month LightWave Solar installed 50kW at Pro Roofing Contractors.

Business owner, Larry Price, President of Professional Roofing Contractors in Shelbyville, TN, talked to us about his company and why he decided to invest in a 50 kilowatt solar system.

Tell us a little bit about Professional Roofing Contract ors.

LP: Professional Roofing Contractors, Inc. has been in business for over 20 years. We specialize in commercial and residential roofing (80% large commercial roofing and 20% residential and commercial shingles). We primarily do single ply membrane, metal and shingle roofing.

Why did Pro Roofing Contractors decide to invest in solar?

LP: We recognize that solar has now become more feasible and the tax credits are very attractive. We also are always promoting energy saving features like white roofs and green roofs. We wanted to test a system on our own building before promoting it on roofs that we do for our clients. We also want to promote non carbon based energy systems to help our environment.

What would you tell other business owners who are thinking about investing in solar?

LP: Our solar investment is one of the few things that is making money every day without our effort. If you have a need for tax shelter it makes a lot of sense, plus it is making a good return on our investment in just the savings in energy.

LightWave Solar commissioned the system with Shelbyville Power on September 29, and it is the local utility's first solar interconnection.

Solar Workshop in Murfreesboro

Join us at our last solar workshop of the year. Our presentation will cover everything you want to know about going solar. We will explain how solar works, the financial incentives (up to 60% of commercial solar costs recouped with tax benefits), financing options and more!

Commercial Solar Workshop in Murfreesboro

Wednesday, Nov. 9 from 10:00am-11:30am

Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce

3050 Medical Center Pkwy

System Performance: 1, 5 & 10 Years down the Road

When you buy a solar electric system, you are actually buying over 25 years' worth of solar electric production. Thus, accurate production estimates are one of the most important components of a solar project proposal. To calculate solar production, we insert project variables into the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) tool, PV Watts. Following industry best practices, we aim for estimates that are not too conservative nor too aggressive.


	Our installers at Caldwell Travel in 2007.

Since we installed our first system in 2006, we have paid close attention to estimated production versus actual production. We consistently meet our estimated production numbers and routinely outperform our estimates, even for our oldest systems.

For example, in 2007 we installed a 12kW roof mount system for Caldwell Travel, now Direct Travel, Inc. in Brentwood, TN. Nearly 10 years later, the system has generated 104% of what we estimated! This includes a solar panel degradation rate of 1/2 of one percent (.005) per year, a fairly conservative assumption that accounts for a decrease in panel efficiency over time.

Read more about system performance on our blog.

Customer Tip: Inverter Fan Cleaning

The change from cooling season to heating season is a good time to check your furnace and air conditioning filters. The same goes for your solar inverter. Your inverter may have one or more cooling fans with screens or filters to check and clean. Inverter manufacturers typically recommend cleaning fans once a year. If you are unsure whether or not your unit uses fans for cooling, look in your owner's manual. There you can also get specific instructions on how to access the areas you need and any instructions on how to do this cleaning properly. If you have any questions, please give us a call at 615-641-4050 x105.

Where we've been installing...