Frequently Asked Questions

Grid

Simply put, your electrical system is still tied to the national power grid. A grid-tied system brings in electricity from the national power grid when your solar power system is not producing electricity, i.e. at night. There is no need for batteries unless brownouts in your area are a constant problem. A grid-tied system ensures that you have electricity whenever you need it.

Off Grid

An off-Grid solar power system is entirely separated from the national power grid. You will need batteries to store power generated from your solar panels. This type of system is commonly found in rural and distant areas that have little or no access to the national power grid.

Net metering is a major incentive to encourage homes and businesses to install solar panels. Any excess energy you produce will be fed back into the national power grid. This is measured by a separate power meter within your solar power system.

This power meter keeps track of any excess power that you generate. What does this mean for you? If you produce more energy than you consume, you will be paid for it.

FIT stands for Feed In Tariff.  In a nutshell, you become an independent power provider to the national power grid.  You will be paid a subsidized rate for any energy that you generate and deliver to the national power grid.

To qualify for FIT, you would need a solar power system larger than 100KW.  Also, there are certain terms and conditions that you have to meet.  Read more about FIT.   

When sunlight hits the solar panel’s photovoltaic (PV) cells, it stimulates electrons causing them to flow through a circuit and create an electrical current. However, this electricity is direct current (DC), so it must go through an inverter to become alternating current (AC) electricity, which you use to power most things.

Solar energy has a relatively low environmental impact compared to conventional energy sources. Its systems produce no greenhouse gas emissions or air pollutants during operation, reducing your carbon footprint and improving air quality.

Despite the low environmental effects of solar energy operations, producing and installing solar panels and related equipment involves using energy and non-renewable resources. Still, the overall environmental impact of solar energy is a net positive, especially when viewed in the long run.

To learn more about the different types of solar panels, make sure to check out on our Ultimate Guide to Solar Panel Technology!

Solar panels still produce energy even during a power outage, but whether you can use the electricity depends on whether your system connects to the power grid. Most systems connect to the grid, which is how energy companies measure how much electricity you produce—and how many solar credits you earn.

With a solar battery, you store at least some of the electricity you produce on-site, so you can have no connection to the power grid, which lets you remain unaffected by power outages.

The average solar battery lifespan is between 5 and 25 years, depending on the type. Lithium-ion batteries, which are the most common, have a lifespan of 15 years. This long period pairs well with the storage life of solar energy and the average solar panel lifespan.

Recent developments have seen scientists store solar energy for 18 years, observing that the average lifespan of a solar panel lasts up to 25-30 years. That means you won’t need to constantly replace your solar system’s parts.

The answer to this question depends entirely on how much energy your household consumes. Find out by checking your most recent electricity bill and entering the values into our solar panel calculator.

The price of a solar panel system depends on the number and type you buy. Expect a price tag of around five to seven figures for residential projects. Our solar panel calculator recommends the ideal system size based on your energy consumption, informing you what price to expect.

A typical installation only takes a few hours, but it takes several days or weeks for energy companies to connect them to the grid.

A 10KW system with no solar battery would cost around PHP 800,000, with an average yearly savings of PHP 100,000 to PHP 150,000.