Getting Started: The Steps to Solar Electricity
Learn • Reduce • Assess • Schedule • Install • Commission
Follow these steps and soon you’ll be producing
cleanpower, saving money, and watching your electric meter spin backward!
Step 1 Learn
More About 
Solar Electricity (Photovoltaic or PV)
If solar energy is new to you, you can get up to speed quickly
by reading our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
page where Solar Works will answer
most of your questions about PV installations. For residential installations, take a look at our Solar Electricity for Homes brochure; for non-residential installations, read our Solar is Strategic brochure. Then attend
one of our Free
Going Solar Workshops, or just call us at 707-829-8282 and we'll be glad to answer your questions. For additional solar information, go our our solar resources page.
Step 2 Reduce
Your Electricity Needs
Even before installing a solar electric system, you can reduce costs and make your home or business more comfortable by investing in energy-efficient
technologies, such as Energy Star appliances and compact fluorescent
lights, and by practicing energy conservation. 
By reducing your need
for electricity, you’ll decrease the size and cost of the solar electric
system you’ll need. Reducing demand is nearly always more cost
effective than installing more solar electric panels. Learn more about energy
efficiency on the Resources page.
Step 3 Let Solar Works Assess Your Electricity Needs And Solar Potential
To determine the size of your solar electric system, we’ll need to know
how much electricity you use and what your site's solar potential is.
We can calculate your average yearly consumption (measured in kilowatt hours – kWh) by looking at your last 12
months of your electric bills. Use our Assess Your Solar Needs form (MS Word or PDF version) to help you gather your last 12 months of electric data. Or, if you don't have your old electric bills, just call us and we'll do a conference call with PG&E to get your data.
After we have your electrical data, we'll briefly discuss your goals for going solar and then set up a Professional Site Visit to determine your site's solar potential. During the site visit, we'll take some measurements and answer any additional questions you may have. After consulting with you, we'll finalize the system design and present you with a proposal. At this point, you'll have all the information you need to make your decision to go solar.
Step 4 Schedule Your Solar Installation
When you accept our proposal, Solar Works will sit down with you to go over all of the paperwork. Solar Works does all the detail work: we get your building permit, file for your rebate, and apply for your net metering interconnection. We will collect a deposit at this time and initiate the installation process. (For a flowchart of the process, download a PDF of our We Take Care of Everything sheet.)
Step 5 Install Your Solar System
Once Solar Works receives all
equipment and obtains a building permit, we schedule a time to install
your solar electric system. Generally, the installation takes up to three days
for a roof-mounted system, and from three to five days for a ground-mounted
system; larger systems may take longer. When the work is
complete, we check to ensure safety and building code compliance before
system start-up.
Step 6 Commission Your Solar System and Celebrate!
Solar
Works meets with the building inspector and PG&E inspector
to sign off your system and approve the installation. In addition, Solar Works provides you with an orientation to your new solar electric system and a comprehensive owner’s
manual. Then, it’s time to celebrate – and watch your meter
spin backward!
Please mail, email or
fax the completed Assess Your Solar Needs form (MS Word or PDF version) to:
Mail: Solar Works, PO Box 1938, Sebastopol, CA
95473
Email to: info@solarworksca.com
Fax: (707) 829-8283
