Most recent questions

• Meet up to 100% of your home’s electricity needs, virtually eliminating your electric bill
• Reduce your carbon footprint and gain energy independence
• Take advantage of federal, state and local tax incentives
• Protect against utility rate hikes

SunPower designs, manufactures, and delivers the highest performing solar systems worldwide.

• SunPower® high-efficiency solar panels generate up to 50 percent more power than conventional panels.
• Our panels have an attractive appearance and blend naturally into the design of your home.
• Because we have the highest efficiency panels, our panels produce more energy per square foot, which means that you can maximize the surface area of your roof, which is great for constrained roof space due to shading or other factors.

Installed system pricing is highly site specific. Some of the factors that determine price include:

• Size of electric bill (and amount you want to offset)
• Location of your home
• Shape and height of roof
• Roof accessibility
• State and local incentives that may apply, in addition to the 30% federal investment tax credit

In general, the cost is about $8000 - $10,000 per kilowatt (kW). So a 2500 sq. ft. home with moderate electricity usage (an electric bill of about $150 per month) could require a 4kW system. This would cost about $30,000 to $40,000 before state and federal rebates – and $15,000 to $20,000 after rebates.

• One-time incentive ($/Watt) based on a system's estimated future performance. EPBB incentives will be based on the CEC-AC system rating and a design factor that will consider factors such as location, orientation and shading.
• EPBB incentives are currently at $1.90/Watt and decline based on kilowatts installed.

As of January 1st 2009, the cap on the current Federal Tax Credit has been removed, so that it is now a true 30% tax credit. There has never been a better time to go solar.

For a comprehensive list of state rebates and incentives available for renewable energy projects, please visit the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (www.dsireusa.org). Your SunPower® Dealer will also be able to present all of the available rebates and incentives during your solar consultation.

But why wait? See how much you could save right now with our solar estimator.

Permitting and liability issues typically prevent tenant solar installations.

You might be. You will need to own the roof and have your own electric meter. It is best to check with your homeowners association (HOA) or building jurisdiction to get this information.

A program representative will contact you within two business days for a quick solar pre-qualification. We will refer you to a SunPower Dealer, who will then contact you within five business days to schedule an evaluation.

A SunPower Dealer is a retailer/installer of SunPower residential systems that meets SunPower’s stringent qualification standards. These standards include comprehensive training, number of systems installed, high scoring on random system inspections and top-level ratings on customer satisfaction surveys.

Net Metering is the regulatory ability to get credit for the electricity you generate with your solar system and send backwards through your utility meter. Exact provisions vary with each state, but the effect is to allow you to generate excess power during the day to use at night.

Net metering will only cover the electricity portion of your utility bill.

Each California public utility will have different rules on net metering and power buy-back. The larger utilities (PG&E, SCE, SDG&E) will credit your account for any excess electricity generated by your system to be used within a calendar year, but will not pay you for electricity generation. Please check with your specific utility to see what type of net metering program is in place.

SunPower only provides residential solar solutions installed by our trained network of dealers.

Yes, your dealer will present a solution on installing a SunPower system onto tile roofs in a seamless fashion. Please schedule a consultation with a SunPower Dealer to find out more.

In certain situations, a non-roof installation such as a ground-mount system can be designed. Please discuss this with your dealer during the initial solar assessment phase.

Your dealer will handle all permitting issues related to installing a solar system on your property.

From start to finish, the solar installation process will take anywhere from 3 to 6 months. The actual on-site installation, however, only takes a couple of days and will not inconvenience your lifestyle. The rest of this time is spent on waiting for state incentives and permitting to be approved. Our dealers are expertly trained at navigating the administration process to minimize the amount of delays.

With a very few moving parts, a solar system is relatively maintenance free. An occasional cleaning of panels will ensure optimal performance.

No. While the panels are made of tempered glass, they’re quite strong. They pass hail tests, and they are tested against extreme weather conditions.

SunPower solar panels have a 25-year performance warranty – longer than almost anything else you can buy. The rest of the system has a 10-year warranty in most areas. Inverters can have warranties up to 10 years.

Energy conservation and renewable generation is likely to add value to a home. Surveys have shown that for every $1000 saved per year, $20,000 may be added to a home's value. Solar energy can be one of the best home improvement investments you make.

When certain semiconducting materials, such as certain kinds of silicon, are exposed to sunlight, they release small amounts of electricity. This process is known as the photoelectric effect. The photoelectric effect refers to the emission, or ejection, of electrons from the surface of a metal in response to light. It is the basic physical process in which a solar electric or photovoltaic (PV) cell converts sunlight to electricity. (All SunPower solar systems are PV-based.)

Sunlight is made up of photons, or particles of solar energy. Photons contain various amounts of energy, corresponding to the different wavelengths of the solar spectrum. When photons strike a PV cell, they may be reflected or absorbed, or they may pass right through. Only the absorbed photons generate electricity. When this happens, the energy of the photon is transferred to an electron in an atom of the PV cell (which is actually a semiconductor).

With its newfound energy, the electron escapes from its normal position in an atom of the semiconductor material and becomes part of the current in an electrical circuit. By leaving its position, the electron causes a hole to form. Special electrical properties of the PV cell—a built-in electric field—provide the voltage needed to drive the current through an external load (such as a light bulb).

SunPower uses monocrystalline silicon in its solar cells and panels.

Please fill out a form on the Contact Us page or call our customer service at 1.800.SUNPOWER (1.800.786.7693).

Report this and our system will automatically re-generate one and send it to you. You can re-set it once you’ve successfully logged back in.

Yes, but it should only take a few minutes. You can begin here.

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