Grape Solar home solar kits right at your local Costco!

Looking for a convenient place to buy solar panel kits and home solar power systems?  Why not at your local Costco Wholesale store?

This week, Grape Solar announced that has entered into a business arrangement with Costco to sell home solar panels in its self-service warehouse facilities and online at www.costco.com.  You can find the solar panel kits on the page entitled, “Hardware – Generators & Backup Power.”

The Eugene, Oregon-based solar manufacturer is looking to expand its customer reach.  President of Grape Solar, Ocean Yuan, enthused about the new business arrangement and the possibility of making it easier for property owners to switch to solar power:

“For the first time, a leading retailer with numerous locations, quality recognition and tens of millions of loyal customers has made it possible for end users to buy high-quality solar products at great prices and have the products delivered directly to their homes in a matter of days .”

Originally, Grape Solar and Costco tested sales markets in Costco Warehouses located in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.  Recently, the program expanded to Texas, Alabama and Florida, and many more markets will soon open up to offer quality, affordable solar panels for homeowners.

If you are a member of Costco, you can choose between a variety of solar power systems at reduced members-only prices: 880W, 2300W, 3680W or 5060W.  Grape Solar products are ready-to-install solar panel kits.

The Home Solar Power kits available at Costco are easy to install, grid-tied systems that include Grape Solar panels, inverters, and racking systems. If you find you need more solar power, you can add on additional panels to increase the size of your system very easily.  With the grid-tied solar systems, consumers can use net metering to sell back excess solar electricity to the utility and get credit for the times that they need to draw on the grid for power.

Grape Solar panels come with a 25-year warranty on power output and a 10-year warranty on materials and workmanship. The inverters have a 10-year warranty and so do the racking systems.  Be sure to save your receipts too because the home solar power kits are eligible for federal, state and local rebate and incentive programs.

Consider energy costs and potential savings before getting a residential solar quote

You’ve been thinking about home solar power, but you don’t know where to start.  Fortunately, its pretty easy to get quotes for residential solar panels.  Before you pick up the phone or the computer mouse, however, gather the following information, which will impact the cost of solar panels:

1.  Pull your last three months of electricity bills – you’re looking at not only the cost, but the average kilowatt-hours (kWh) you use.

2.  Walk around your home and consider the angle and position of the sun.  Do you have good exposure during daylight hours?  Are there branches overhanging your roof that you can trim to avoid shading?  Here in the Northern Hemisphere, solar panels are usually installed on the south facing side of the roof to maximize exposure to sunlight.

3.  Consider whether you can take any additional energy saving measures, whether installing LED or CFL lights or Energy-Star rated appliances.

4.  Think about whether you will be selling your home within the next decade, and consider the potential increase in property value when you install solar panels: for every $1 in annual electricity costs saved, your home appreciates $20 (save $1000 annually, and that’s a $20,000 jump in property value!)

5.  Find out if any neighbors or other people in your area are also thinking about going solar.  Its possible to negotiate a group discount either on your own, or using a service like One Block Off the Grid.

Time to go solar at your home?

So, how do you get quotes for residential solar panels?

Now that you are armed with the information listed above, there are a number of web sites that can help you find solar panels for sale.  Choose from any (or all) of these sites:

• Get Solar
• Solar Quote
• Clean Energy Quotes
• Solar Panel Info
• Buyer Zone
• Residential Solar 101
• Sungevity

You can also pull your local phone book and shop local.  Several things to keep in mind before you decide to buy solar panels from a particular company, however:

1.  Is the quoted price inclusive of installation and maintenance?

2. What type of warranty is offered?

3. Will they help you maximize local, state and federal tax credits and incentives?  Some will actually even fill out the paperwork for their customers!

4.  Is there an incentive to you if you send additional customers their way?

Get a residential solar panel quote today

You’ll find most solar panel companies excited to help and willing to work with you.

Best of luck with your home solar power project!

The Sunforce 37010 60 Watt Crystalline Solar Panel is designed for RVs, homes, boats, back-up and remote power use, 12-volt battery charging, and solar power stations. Built with high efficiency crystalline cells, this weatherproof panel is easy to install and comes equipped with wiring, brackets and screws. And for more power, you can easily connect multiple panels. This panel has a maximum output of 60 watts and 4 amps.

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Buy solar panels for your construction or remodeling project

Ever wonder where to buy solar panels, if you’ve been thinking about remodeling or taking advantage of tax incentives and rebates for renewable energy?  Although some of you have asked if I run a company that sells solar panels, that’s not the case (but I’m starting to think it might be worth looking into!)  Regardless, you don’t need to look very hard these days for both solar panels and the equipment necessary to set up your own home solar energy system.  I’m going to give you the resources right here so you can purchase solar panels for your project.

The first, most logical choice for you to visit to buy solar panels is a home improvement store or warehouse, like Lowe’s, Home Depot or Costco.  There, you’ll find knowledgeable people and discount rates on new solar panels.  You may even be able to get a deal on installation if you contract with one of these outfits.

Next on the list may be a shocker.  Some oil and gas companies, like BP and Shell Oil, have actually gotten into the solar panel business.  I guess they realize that people are not going to keep paying ridiculously high gas prices for heating their home, and they don’t want to miss the bandwagon.  Count in the Gulf Region too.  They are literally pumping the profits from selling to Big Oil straight back into renewable energy projects, and R&D.

There are many local, regional, national and international solar panel manufacturers and distributors that you can find, as well.  Some will only contract on a wholesale, bulk volume basis.  Others have divisions for sales and installation.  You may even get help with your tax rebate forms from some companies.

For example, in my hometown of Bend, Oregon, Sunlight Solar Energy specializes in grid-tied solar electric systems for homes and businesses.  It prides itself on being a “turn-key” solar installer.  You will not need to worry about a thing, except paying your bill.

A famous, start-up company that is backed by Google’s co-founders and has gotten much positive press over the past couple of years is Nanosolar.  Reportedly, they sell solar panels at a lower-than usual cost.  But since so much of their revenues are pumped into research and development of its innovative panels, one cannot say that the bargains will last forever.

Watch this!

Before you buy solar panels, check out a number of options and comparison shop

No matter who you choose to go with, before you buy solar panels, you should check out the manufacturer (and/or installer) with the Better Business Bureau.  You don’t want to get burned when making this important investment.

There are many reputable companies from SolarWorld to SunTech.  I am not a spokesperson for any of them, so I get nothing from passing on their names for you to Google and make your own decision.

One final word of caution – you generally do get what you pay for.  Buy seeking out the cheapest product or installation, you may ultimately have to pay more to fix it in the future.  Ask around and see what people’s experiences have been with the company you are considering.

Best of luck with your solar panel project!