The Overall Process for Solar Installation Services: What You Need to Know

You’re looking forward to getting high-quality solar installation services for your Iowa City home or business but you aren’t sure exactly what this process entails. You are not alone! Many of our customers are baffled by the overall steps in this process and need help knowing what to expect. The following is what you can anticipate if you decide to work with us or other types of solar installation professionals.

Careful Inspection By Solar Professionals

People who expect that solar installation services will take no more than an afternoon will be disappointed to find that it may take over a month or two for this service to finish. Most of this time wait is neither the fault of the solar professionals nor your own: it’s just that you need to make sure that the site is properly inspected and the proper permits are given out by the right legal authorities.

The first step is for solar experts to come to your home and check out the house and its many unique aspects. For example, they will look at where the sun best hits your home, examine the shape and landscaping of your yard, watch for any trees or other obstructions, and sit down with planning professionals on their team to come up with a solar design that works for your needs as a buyer.

Most of the time, this type of plan is going to take a minimum of one week to finish, though it may take longer if the solar professionals are very busy. Don’t be too disappointed about this wait, though. It is designed to ensure that the engineers take into account every aspect of your solar system and your home, ensuring that you get the best possible experience for your money and your time.

Handling the Legal Steps

Here comes the longest-lasting and most frustrating part of solar installation services: working with the local government. Typically, your solar experts will handle this part of the process for you to ensure that you don’t get bogged down in excessive paperwork. You will have to sign papers, of course, and get the licensing in your name. However, your contractor will ensure things go smoothly for you.

For example, they will get you the proper paperwork, walk you through what everything means, help you better understand what you’re getting into as a person, provide a better look at the different licensing elements that affect your investment, give you an idea of what inspectors want, and give you a plan for achieving this level of high-quality licensing in your facility or your home building.

The length of time spent on this process will vary according to your experts. Some may be able to get your permits done in as little as two weeks. If things go well, this means you may be ready for installation as soon as three weeks after you started. But complications may stretch this out to eight weeks, meaning you could be waiting over two months for your installation. The wait is worth it!

Installing the Panels

Once your solar installation services have properly licensed every element of your solar project, they can begin installing your solar panels. The nice thing about this step is that it shouldn’t take that long for most professionals to handle. There’s a good chance that some experts may be able to finish in as little as one day, as long as your project is small enough and you don’t have any complications.

You’ll have to not only order all of the parts during this segment of the installation process but also get the mounting equipment and other items delivered there. Sometimes, this step takes up most of the first day and may force workers to come back again. In some cases, they may be able to finish in as little as another 2-6 days, with longer and larger jobs usually taking more time and work power.

Here comes another frustrating element of this process: your system is ready to go into action and could be activated right now. However! The government requires one last inspection of all solar power systems to ensure that they are properly installed and executed. This factor may drive you into fits of pique but is very understandable and doesn’t take as long as you might think it would.

Final Approval

Finally, your solar installation services are on the last step of the process. At this point, your professional solar experts will reach out to a government inspector and get them to come to your home and check out the system. This process checks every element of the grid to make sure that it is properly installed, safe, and that you can use it without any complications on the day you turn it on properly.

This type of inspection should take no more than a few hours or an afternoon, as the inspector may also want to install a new net meter, check various other wiring elements, and do basic maintenance to keep it working properly. However, you may be waiting 2-3 weeks for this professional to come to your home, a wait that is often very frustrating and upsetting for many home and business owners.

That said, once you have been approved to activate your solar power system, you can turn it on right then and there. With a flip of the switch, your system will begin operating, collecting UV rays, converting them to power, and producing a great extra power source for your home. This step is a great option for those who want the best overall look and feel for their home and business’ power needs.

Need to Know More?

If you believe that Iowa City home or business needs solar installation services such as these and you want someone all of Iowa can trust, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at Rabe Hardware right away to learn more. Our professionals have years of experience in this field and will do whatever it takes to ensure that you get the best experience for your overall home or business needs.

The Benefits of Geothermal Service and How It Keeps a Building More Efficient

Over the years, you have heard friends and others in your industry talk about getting geothermal service in Iowa City and they’ve acclaimed this option as one of the best choices they’ve ever made. If you aren’t sure of what these services offer, it is crucial to read on to learn more.

An excellent geothermal provider can do a lot to not only improve your home or business’ overall energy efficiency but create a high-quality decrease in your carbon emissions, creating a safer and healthier environment not only for you but for your family and friends in a home or co-workers, employees, and customers in a business.

Understanding This Service

A geothermal service consists of a unique heating and cooling system installed on a building that provides many different benefits. They are designed to draw cool and warm air from the ground, utilizing a heating pump system to provide HVAC benefits in many different situations.

Typically, they are intended as a supplemental system for a home or a business building and can add extra cool or hot air to a home, giving them a better efficiency level that is often hard to top.

When properly installed and utilized, a good pump of this type is as much as 500 percent more efficient than other heating and cooling systems. That’s because they use the natural temperature of the ground itself to change the interior air of a home, rather than having to heat or cool air independently.

And when hooked up to the home properly, they can also be used to heat the water, creating an even more efficient level of temperature control that extends beyond the simple improved air temperature efficiency benefits that they typically provide.

Even better, an excellent geothermal service does not rely on gas or other types of items to produce heating and cooling changes. Instead, it relies 100 percent on electricity.

This benefit not only decreases your carbon emissions but also helps eliminate the risk of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, or other dangerous gasses. For industrial or commercial facilities that suffer from these elements, an excellent geothermal pump can protect them from this danger and provide them with a safer environment that ensures that workers and customers do not get sick from this type of work situation.

Installing a Geothermal Pump

Geothermal service starts by examining your home or business’s needs and deciding what type of equipment needs to be used. For instance, some specialized equipment may be necessary to break through the difficult ground and access more challenging areas to work with properly.

Clay-rich soils often require intensive drilling and various technological equipment items that can perform this simple operation and provide a business or home with the geothermal pump that they need.

It is also vital to create a geothermal ground loop that pulls air up from the ground and into the house. The size of this loop will vary depending on the needs of the home or the business. Substantial buildings will need a large loop and will have to pay more to create it.

Just as importantly, it is essential to find a way to integrate this type of system into a standard heating and cooling unit – remember, most services of this type are designed more for supplemental use. However, they may be a singular unit in some small buildings.

As a result, it is critical to find a geothermal service professional who can handle the sometimes challenging process that this type of situation can create. Home or business owners who want this type of unit do not have the specialized skills needed to install a unit without making severe mistakes.

Instead, professionals can ensure that you not only get the best possible system for your needs but install the system in a way that decreases your financial costs. Even better, they can help you better understand the tax credits that go along with these systems.

Discounts are Available

Many people balk at the sometimes high prices of many geothermal service options. However, these systems often come with tax credits that cut down on your investment. That’s just one reason why you can expect this system to pay for itself in a decade or less. Tax credits are available because you’re cutting back on your carbon footprint and taking increasing steps to protect the environment.

Sometimes, you may be able to get back all or even part of your system installation’s total cost. Just as significantly, the system will increase your efficiency to the point where you’ll be saving money on every energy bill each month. As a result, it is hard to imagine not getting one of these systems if you care about the environment and want to save yourself money on heating and cooling costs, too.

Reach Out to Us for Help

As you can see, the best geothermal service in Iowa City provides your home or business with a myriad of benefits that are hard to get in any other way. If you are interested in this type of service and want to cut back on your carbon footprint and even get tax credits for it, please don’t hesitate to contact us as soon as possible at Rabe Hardware to learn more about our options.

Our professionals have years of experience working with geothermal equipment. They can not only install new pumps into your building but maintain and repair any damage that may occur to your older pumps. We’ll work on pumps that we didn’t install, as well, to give you the best chance of protecting the environment and making your living environment a better and healthier place to be for everyone.