Residential solar and batteries Sample business
Solar panels and home batteries, sized from your own bills
Oxlip Solar designs and installs solar for houses, with or without a battery. It starts with a visit to your home and a look through a year of your electricity bills.
- A drawing of your system and a fixed price before you sign
- We apply for the permit and the utility connection
- The crew who installs it also shows you how it works
What we install
Solar and batteries for houses: on the roof, on the ground, or added to a system you already have.
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Rooftop solar
Panels on the roof faces that get the most sun, with the wiring run neatly to an inverter near your electrical panel.
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Home batteries
A battery on a garage or outside wall that stores daytime power for the evening and keeps chosen circuits on in a power cut.
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Batteries for an existing system
Already have panels? We check what you have and tell you whether a battery can be added and how it would connect.
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Ground-mounted panels
For a shaded roof or a big yard: a frame on concrete footings, with the cable buried in a trench back to the house.
How a site assessment works
One of our designers visits your home. It takes about 90 minutes and it's free. Sample terms
What we look at
Your roof
Which way each face points, its pitch, its age and condition, and what's up there already: vents, skylights, chimneys.
Shade
Trees, neighbouring buildings and chimneys, and how their shadows move across the roof through the day and the year.
Your electrical panel
Whether it has room for the solar breaker, and where an inverter and a battery could go.
Your electricity use
Your last 12 months of bills, so the system is sized from what you use and when you use it.
Have these ready
- Your electricity bills for the last 12 months, or a login to your utility account
- A way into the attic, if you have one
- Clear access to your electrical panel and meter
- Any rules from your homeowners' association about panels
Within a week you get a drawing of where the panels would go, the equipment by type, and a fixed price in writing.
What decides the size of your system
The system is sized to your electricity use and then fitted to your roof. These are the things that change the answer most.
How much electricity you use
The biggest factor. A year of bills shows the total and how it changes with the seasons.
How much of it you want to cover
Some people want to cover most of their use; others start smaller and add panels later.
Roof direction and pitch
South-facing roofs produce the most. East and west faces produce less, and north faces much less.
Shade
A shaded panel produces less. We may leave a shaded spot empty and use another roof face.
Usable roof space
Fire-code setbacks from edges and ridges, plus vents and skylights, limit how many panels fit.
Rough sizing estimator
Your monthly use is on your bill, shown in kWh.
A rough illustration only. It assumes each kW of panels produces 1,250 kWh a year and uses a 400 W sample panel. Production varies by location and season. It doesn't estimate cost, savings or payback; your design comes from the site assessment.
What a home battery does
Panels make power while the sun is up. A battery stores some of it for the evening and keeps power on in a cut.
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Day to day
During the day the panels supply your home first and charge the battery with what's left. In the evening the house runs from the battery until it reaches the level you set.
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In a power cut
The system disconnects from the grid and runs your backed-up circuits from the battery. On sunny days the panels keep recharging it.
- Fridge and freezer
- Lights and outlets in a few rooms
- Internet router and phone charging
- Well or sump pump, gas furnace fan
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Usually left off backup
Big loads drain a battery fast, so most homes keep them on the grid-only side unless the battery is sized for them.
- Central air conditioning
- Electric ovens and water heaters
- Electric car charging
- Pool pumps and heaters
How long will it last? That depends on the battery's size, what's switched on and whether the sun is out. At the assessment we go through which circuits matter to you and show you what a battery could cover.
From first visit to switch-on
Most of the wait is for permits and the utility. The work on your roof is usually done in a few days. Sample timings
About 90 minutes
Site assessment
We look at the roof, the shade and your electrical panel, and go through a year of your bills with you.
Within a week
Design and written proposal
A drawing of where every panel goes, the equipment by type, and a fixed price. Nothing starts until you sign.
Often 2 to 6 weeks
Permits and utility approval
We apply to your town for the permit and to your utility to connect. Their review times set this step.
1 to 3 days for most homes
Installation
Rails and panels go on first, then the inverter, the battery if you have one, and the wiring to your panel.
After the town inspects
Inspection and switch-on
Your town inspects the work. Then the utility gives permission to switch the system on.
On switch-on day
Handover
We show you the monitoring app, the shut-off switches and what to do in a power cut.
Looking after your system
Panels have no moving parts and need little attention. Here's what owners can do, and when to call us.
Check the app now and then
The monitoring app shows what the system produces each day. A sudden drop on a sunny day is worth a call.
Let the rain do the cleaning
Rain usually keeps panels clean enough. After heavy pollen or dust, rinse them from the ground with a garden hose. No pressure washers and no climbing.
Keep trees trimmed
Branches that grow over the panels cut production and drop debris that collects under them.
Keep the battery area clear
Leave space around the battery and inverter, and don't store anything on top or right in front of them.
Call us if
- The app shows little or no power on sunny days
- A warning light or error code shows on the inverter or battery
- After hail or a storm that brought branches down
- Before any roof work: we take the panels off and put them back
Yearly system check, $149. We test the wiring and connections, check the panels and mounts from the roof, and update the inverter and battery software. Sample price
Questions homeowners ask
Something else? Ask at the assessment, or call (555) 014-7731.
Does my roof need replacing first?
If your roof is near the end of its life, it's cheaper to replace it before the panels go on than to remove and refit them later. We tell you what we see at the assessment.
Do panels work on cloudy days and in winter?
Yes, but they produce less. Shorter days mean less power in winter, and the sizing allows for that over the whole year.
What happens in a power cut if I don't have a battery?
The panels switch off. Solar systems connected to the grid shut down during an outage so they can't send power down lines that utility crews are working on. A battery set up for backup keeps chosen circuits running.
Can I add a battery later?
Usually, yes. If you think you might want one, tell us at the assessment and we'll plan the wiring and leave space for it.
Do you handle the permit and the utility paperwork?
Yes. We apply for the permit, book the inspection and send the connection application to your utility.
Our homeowners' association has rules. Can we still have panels?
Many associations allow panels with conditions on where they go. We give you drawings to send for their review before anything is ordered.
Book a site assessment
Tell us a little about your home and we'll call to arrange a time. This is a demo form, so nothing is sent. Concept
- Service area
- Homes within about 50 miles of our yard Sample
- Yard and office
- 18 Sample Road Sample address
- Hours
- Mon to Fri 8:00 am to 5:30 pm, Sat 9:00 am to 1:00 pm
- Phone
- (555) 014-7731