New System FAQs

The Renovus service team is here to help. If you need anything regarding your new system, please reach out to us. 

phone: 607-277-1777 ext. 4  

email: service@renovussolar.com 

As soon as your system is done, you can file for property tax exemption with your local assessment department. This exemption can be opted out of, so check with your assessor regarding your particular situation when you submit the form to them. The form and instructions are here; RP487 property tax exemption form

To claim the New York State Tax Credit, you can find the form and instructions here; IT-255 -Claim for Solar Energy System Equipment Credit

To claim your Federal Income Tax Credit, you can find the form and instructions here; Form 5695 -Residential Energy Credit

The purchase agreement that you signed will list the total system cost and cost after NYSERDA or before tax credits. The cost after the NYSERDA incentive is the amount you take the percentages from. If you signed the contract electronically, you can access the document through that service. If you signed it with a pen, then you should have a copy of it. You can contact your sales person if you can’t find it for some reason.

kW stands for kilowatt, this is the measurement of the instantaneous power that your system is putting out. You would say, at noon, my system put out 10kW. kWh stands for kilowatt hour, this is the measurement of power over the period of an hour and is a unit of energy. These are the same units that your utility meter displays. You would say, yesterday my system made 60 kWhs.

Your system is tied directly into your home’s electric panel, so any power that it makes will be used by whatever in your house is using power. If your system is making more power than your house is using, the excess will go back to the grid and your utility meter will record it as a credit. A lot of the systems we install come with an internet-based energy consumption metering component. This allows you to see what your system is producing, what your house is using and what is going to or coming from the grid.

If you are a NYSEG customer, your meter will cycle between displaying what you use (001) and what you export (002). Your bill will show the two readings and the net difference on the details section of your bill. If you are a National Grid customer your meter only displays one reading and it will go up or down depending on if you are using power or exporting it. Your National Grid bill will show the meter readings and if you have a credit it will be shown as a negative number. Both meter types have a small arrow that will blink to the right if you are using power or to the left if you are exporting power.

No. For NYSEG customers it is recommended to send them meter readings on the months that they would otherwise do an estimate. This way each monthly reading accurately represents what you have used and exported. National Grid reads there meters every month, so no need to submit readings to them.

The main component of your system is the inverter(s). If there is a major issue or component error, the RED fault light on your inverter will light up, if you see this light during daylight hours call Renovus and we will take it from there.

Since most of the systems we install come with internet-based monitoring, we will be notified of the error by an email alert. In this case Renovus will contact you to discuss troubleshooting and repair.

An internet connection isn’t required for your system to operate. The utility company has their own meter, so the internet connection isn’t required for you to get credit for exported energy. It is important to get the system reconnected so that you and Renovus are able to have access to all of the benefits of the monitoring system.

In most cases the lost connection is the result of something simple, like a cable or some other device being unplugged. If you notice that your system’s internet connection is lost, please do some basic troubleshooting and if the problem isn’t something obvious, give Renovus a call. Most of the time we can talk you through getting it back online.

For the most part PV systems are maintenance free. The rain keeps the panels clean and as long as your inverter(s) has room to breathe, it doesn’t need anything else. If gunk develops on your panels over the years, it is certainly ok to clean them off, but it’s not worth breaking your neck over.

If you do decide to give them a wash, it is recommended to use a mild soap solution and a non-abrasive cloth or brush, then rinse with low to medium pressure water.

If you have to climb your roof and risk life and limb, it’s not worth trying to get the snow off of your array. If your array is on the ground, then it’s certainly safer to clear the snow off. There are tools called roof rakes that have long handles and plastic heads that make good snow removers. In either case, you’re not losing a ton of energy over the course of the whole year by having your array covered with snow for a day or two.

Your inverter is programmed to stop making power if it senses a grid outage. It will start making power on its own when the grid power returns. Most system also have a rapid shut down mechanism that will stop the power from coming from the panels in the event of a grid failure. This makes it much safer for firefighters to work near the array.

Yes!

Any and all of the warranties associated with your system are transferred in the event that you sell your home. If you remove your equipment and resell the components, they may still be under manufacturer’s warranty, but are no longer under warranty by Renovus. 

Yes, you can. It is best practice to make sure that the generator connection to your electric service is isolated from the solar connection. Feel free to call our service line if you would like to discuss the particulars of your generator set up. 

Everyone feels differently about insurance, but in most cases it’s not a bad idea to contact your homeowner’s insurance agent about adding it to your policy. The annual cost to do this is around $60 and may not even cost anything extra. It’s a good idea to tell your agent what the total system cost was, so they can use that as a replacement value rather than some national average which will likely be higher.