The late 70s and early 80s saw Riverside solar power along with the rest of the country experiencing a boom as a result of the 1970s energy crisis.  The solar boom was driven by combined Federal and state tax credits of up to 70 percent of the cost of installation with a camp of $10,000.  This intended to help Americans gain energy independence.  But when the credits disappeared, so did the solar heating business.

One of the factors back then facing the Oakland solar panel installation crews was the “ugly” factor.  People weren’t pleased with the look of tiled-up roof panels.  When they re-roofed, there was a chance the panels would not be put back because the owner didn’t know if the solar equipment was still operational or worth the clutter on the roof.

Although the energy savings were there, it’s estimated that the utility bill savings of 60-70 percent really did come from systems designed with the F-chart – solar fraction calculation.  Included in this is allowance for energy costs doubling within 20 years.  One estimate is that two-panel systems would have yielded $20,000 if the savings from fuel bills had been invested and grown.

Sacramento solar panels knows that the outlook for them and other solar panel companies is bright these days. For one thing people know that the tax credits are not suddenly going to disappear again.  There is a 30 percent federal tax credit with no dollar through 2016 and that’s long enough to market a system and get it installed.

There are additional incentives added to the tax credits such as REA rebates, city grants and loans, stimulus packages and more.

 There is better installation today than there was back then when chemicals were out-gassing from the installation clouded the glazing and the panels had to be removed and cleaned. Today there are also better manifold connections along with the heater transfer glycols which are designed for higher temperatures.

The Internet makes consumers savvier shoppers, although a know-it-all consumer can be difficult to work with, a knowledgeable one is more likely to screen out the nonprofessionals and thus keeping quality of the industry higher.