How do you keep your home running while reducing your carbon footprint? For most ecologically-minded homeowners, energy use is a complicated issue. Modern life requires a substantial amount of electricity, with even the smallest of everyday tasks reliant upon electronic devices. Fortunately, there is an unlimited source of infinitely renewable energy shining right above your head each day. Advances in solar panel technology make it a very viable option for green home design, especially in the Northern Territory, which enjoys an average of nine sunny hours each day of the year. Installing and operating solar panels can even pay for themselves over time, through reduced energy costs and a government rebate which pays homeowners who generate their own power back into the grid through solar panels.
What the Darwin Homeowner Should Know About Solar Panels
With so much sunshine and a concrete financial incentive to adopt greener energy, why isn’t everyone hopping on the solar panels bandwagon? Often, it’s due to a fundamental lack of understanding when it comes to how these systems work, and what they entail. Many homeowners are also put off by the idea of maintaining unfamiliar equipment.
It’s also important for homeowners to remember that the installation of solar panels requires a bit more than just equipment and a handy friend. From a legal standpoint, solar panel installations must be signed off by a building certifier in order to be compliant with NT regulations. Because it can be a substantial investment which will take time to pay for itself, homeowners will also want to protect their investment in solar power to the best of their ability.
Protecting Your Investment in Solar Panels
When you have solar panels installed on your property, you want them to be working properly and installed correctly from the outset. While your builder or installation professional will have a vested interest in making sure you’re satisfied with the services they provide, they’re also in the business of making money. This means there can sometimes be the potential for a conflict of interest when it comes to installation and maintenance of solar panels.
The best and most effective option for the vast majority of homeowners is to work with a professional building inspection company. Whether you’re having new panels installed and want them evaluated before your builder signs off on the work, or you’re purchasing a new property with existing panels, a professional building inspector can provide an unbiased report as a neutral third party.
Don’t let the opportunity to save money and generate cleaner energy pass you by; contact a professional building inspector to determine how well-suited your property is to new solar panels or to evaluate existing systems.
Houspect Building Inspections– Buy, Build, Invest and Sell with Confidence
