Section 3 is a decision process, not a sales funnel. A good clean-power choice starts with the post-efficiency electric load, real site or renter constraints, official utility rules, and a clear goal. It ends with commissioning, monitoring, and a review of what the system or subscription actually delivered.
Why this section comes third
Clean the electricity that remains after efficiency.
Section 2 reduces waste and establishes a household baseline. Section 3 uses that smaller, better-understood load to compare rooftop solar, community solar, or a credible utility clean-power option. This helps avoid oversizing, weak savings assumptions, and contracts built around the wrong usage level.
Stage 1 of 3 • Five tasks
First Wins: define the clean-power decision.
No purchase is required at this stage. Build the information a trustworthy comparison needs.
Use the 12-month post-efficiency electricity baseline and include likely future loads such as a heat pump or electric vehicle.
Record roof age, shade, orientation, electrical constraints, ownership, or the reason a non-roof option is needed.
Check rooftop solar, community solar, and credible utility options instead of assuming one path fits every home.
Record current incentives, export or net-metering rules, interconnection requirements, fees, and deadlines from official sources.
Decide whether the priority is emissions, bills, resilience, outage backup, or a combination.
These five planning tasks prepare a clean-power decision without requiring a purchase.
Work on Stage 1Stage 2 of 3 • Five tasks
Household Systems: compare offers on the same terms.
Sales presentations are not comparisons. Put each option on the same annual-use, price, production, and contract basis.
Get at least three rooftop quotes or multiple community or utility offers using the same load baseline.
Review cash price, financing, escalation, ownership, cancellation, transfer, tax assumptions, and lifetime cost.
Compare annual kWh, shade losses, degradation, equipment, layout, and the assumptions behind each estimate.
Check licenses, insurance, references, workmanship, warranties, permits, interconnection, and service responsibilities.
Choose battery now, battery-ready, or no battery based on critical loads, outage needs, safety, cost, and grid rules.
Use the Companion to keep the same baseline, terms, and checks in view while comparing options.
Work on Stage 2Stage 3 of 3 • Five tasks
Bigger and Verified Action: complete and monitor the switch.
Installation or enrollment is the beginning of verification, not the end of the project.
Install an approved system or enroll in a verified community-solar or utility option with clear terms.
Confirm permits, inspection, interconnection or enrollment, system operation, monitoring access, and the start date.
Schedule appropriate charging, laundry, dishwashing, or water heating around on-site output or cleaner grid periods.
Save warranties and contacts, document maintenance, and write the safe outage or backup procedure.
Compare actual generation, bills, outages, and contract results with the proposal and record the lesson.
Track installation or enrollment, commissioning, monitoring, and the first full performance review in the Companion.
Work on Stage 3Readiness check
Answer the basic questions before requesting proposals.
Know annual kWh, highest-use months, rate structure, and likely future electric loads. Keep a bill copy for every provider.
Check roof age, direction, slope, tree shade, nearby buildings, usable area, and whether roof work should happen first.
Renters, condos, shared meters, shaded properties, and short expected stays may need a community or utility path.
Separate ordinary bill or emissions goals from outage resilience. A grid-tied solar system does not automatically power a home during an outage.
Clean-power options
Choose the path that fits the home.
Availability and rules vary. Confirm current terms locally and do not treat marketing language as proof of savings or impact.
| Option | Often fits | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Rooftop solar | Owners with a suitable roof and longer-term plans. | Roof, shade, annual production, price, equipment, permits, interconnection, warranties, service. |
| Community solar | Renters, condos, shaded homes, or properties not ready for panels. | Subscription, bill credits, savings assumptions, term, cancellation, transfer, and project status. |
| Utility clean-power plan | People who cannot install or subscribe to a local project. | What is actually purchased, source quality, certificates, price, term, and cancellation. |
| Battery backup | Homes with defined outage needs or a plan for using stored solar. | Critical loads, usable capacity, power, safety, controls, warranty, installation, and replacement assumptions. |
Proposal and contract questions
Slow down when the answers are vague.
What system size and annual kWh are proposed? What shade, weather, orientation, degradation, and utility assumptions were used?
What is the cash price? Are there dealer fees, interest, escalators, prepayment rules, liens, transfer terms, or tax-credit assumptions?
Which panels, inverters, racking, battery, monitoring, and controls are included? Who handles labor and service if something fails?
Who handles design, permits, inspection, interconnection, activation, training, monitoring access, and closeout documents?
Never sign under pressure. Keep the complete proposal and contract, compare total cost rather than only the monthly payment, and independently confirm official incentives and utility rules.
Commission and verify
Make sure clean power exists in practice, not only on paper.
Confirm the system or enrollment is active, monitoring works, the utility account reflects the correct arrangement, and the household understands safe operation. Review monthly data, but use a full year for a fairer comparison with the proposal. Record outages, service issues, unexpected fees, and actual clean-power coverage.
Official tools and further reading
Check the site, contract, and current local rules.
- U.S. Department of Energy: Homeowner's Guide to SolarA starting point for roof suitability, ownership and financing choices, provider research, and alternatives to rooftop solar.
- U.S. Department of Energy: Community Solar BasicsHow shared projects, subscriptions, bill credits, access, and consumer protections can work for renters and homes without suitable roofs.
- NREL PVWatts CalculatorAn independent estimate of grid-connected photovoltaic production that can be compared with proposal assumptions. It is an estimate, not a performance guarantee.
- U.S. Department of Energy: Solar Resources for ConsumersA collection of federal consumer guidance for choosing, installing, financing, and understanding solar.
- Federal Trade Commission: Avoid Solar ScamsConsumer-protection guidance on pressure sales, false government claims, advance fees, written terms, warranties, cancellation, and hidden costs.
Incentives, export compensation, interconnection rules, electricity rates, approved equipment, and consumer protections vary by location and can change. Verify every current term with the utility and relevant government agencies before signing.