Turning Dreams Into Realities Every month, when opening your electric bill, have you ever dreamed of seeing a bill for about five dollars, for service charges only? This dream is currently a reality for thousands of families who have signed up to produce their own power with solar electric and sell it back to their power company under new “net metering laws.” In most cases, these systems actually run the meter backwards whenever an excess amount of power is being produced! Can I Really Sell My Power Back? Currently, 29 states have approved net metering laws and seven more have laws pending. These laws require your electric utility company to purchase power from you (run your meter backwards) at the full retail rate that they sell it for. This means that if you can produce all the power that you use, you will be immune from power bills and rate increases, for ever!

How does it work? For more and more people, selling solar electricity to their electric utility is an simple, affordable way to generate their own power. If excess power is produced during a month, a power credit is carried forward to be used during a month when more power is used than produced. With a net metering system, the system uses the power company like a battery, “storing” excess power with 100% efficiency, unlike ordinary batteries that lose power during charging, storage, and discharge. In addition, the inverters used with these systems employ “maximum power point tracking (MPPT) technology, a new more efficient mode of operation that allows the solar modules to operate at their “maximum power point,” allowing far more of the power that is produced to be used or sold to the power company. Because of increased efficiency, net metering systems allow the solar array to deliver more power with less modules, substantially reducing system cost. Elimination of the battery bank also results in substantial savings, as well as reduced maintenance and replacement costs. The systems are modular and can be easily expanded in the future.

Simple Systems Mean Less Hastle Our Grid-Tie Systems are the essence of simplicity. There are only four parts: the solar array, the mounting structures, the DC disconnects, and the inverter(s). No batteries or controllers are required. After mounting the panels and connecting them to the inverter, only a simple AC disconnect (depending on your power company) is required and you are ready to sell your excess power back to your electric utility. Here's What We Offer We have 14 easily expandable systems to meet your needs (see table below). All include Kyocera KC-120 or Schott-165 photovoltaic modules, Sunny Boy 2500 or 1800 watt inverters, DC disconnect(s) and UniRac flush roof mounting hardware. We will be happy to design a system for you using other sizes and brands of PV modules and/or inverters if desired. Optional mounting hardware such as ground or pole mounts or trackers is additional.

Who's going to install this? While Sierra Solar Systems' pre-packaged on-grid photovoltaic power systems are incredibly simple to install, we recommend installation be performed by a licensed electrician or someone experienced with high voltage wiring. If you are within an hour distance of Grass Valley, California, one of our licensed installers would be very happy to perform your installation. If you are beyond that distance, we will be happy to help you find an installer in your area.

NEW LOWER PRICES!! >download a PDF file of the Grid-Tie systems prices (400KB)

Please call us to speak with one of our technicians about which system would be best for your home or business or to design a custom system built around your particular needs.