Your renewable energy system is a big investment and should perform to your expectations. We begin with a site visit to meet with you and discuss the project. We review your past energy usage and your solar availability to design a system that meets your energy needs, budget, and aesthetic concerns. This is an educational process and takes about an hour. Within a week of our site visit, you will receive an estimate that outlines and explains the system costs, rebates, incentives, expected power production, bill offset, and fixed kilowatt-hour price for your renewable power. Details such as how the panels are configured on the roof, where the inverter is located, the conduit run, and any timing concerns are included in the estimate. Home value increase, energy conservation recommendations, company references, and system warranties are listed in this document as well.

Once you receive the estimate, it is time to review our proposal and ask any questions, clarify any points of confusion, and decide whether or not renewable energy is right for you. We can resize a system, phase the installation, or provide other creative solutions to find the best option for your situation. The next step is a design phase where we prepare the single line and mechanical diagrams sufficient to go to permitting and provide you with a contract, equipment spec sheets, estimated power production, and the necessary system diagrams. Photo renderings of what the system will look like are available upon request.

To get started on the project, we require a signed contract and deposit. The contract is provided with the materials in the design phase for your review. After deposit, we submit your permits, prepare your utility rebate application, and ensure your equipment is in stock. Working with your schedule, we install the necessary racking and equipment. The process takes about 6 weeks from site visit and estimate to system completion and utility connection. The actual installation takes approximately 2 to 3 days depending upon the complexity and size of your system.

Innovative Energy will carry the utility rebate to reduce your up-front system costs. The Federal Tax Credit (30% of the system costs after any rebates) can be used for the tax year the system is commissioned and those credits can be carried forward (see the Incentives page for more information).