Winters in New England may be steadily warming due to climate change, but reliable home heating is still a must.  This doesn’t mean you have to burn fossil fuels to keep your home warm, though.  Electric heat pumps, running on solar power, can keep your house toasty warm even on the coldest winter days.  And...

Solaflect Energy is in the home energy management business.  By linking our patented backyard Solar Trackers with the latest advances in cloud-based software, wireless communications and app-based controls, we make complex energy decisions simple.  Our Solar Trackers are fully integrated to run home electrical devices and heat pumps, fuel electric vehicles, charge home batteries, and...

Three key factors provide solar trackers with an overall advantage over fixed-mount arrays; solar trackers produce more energy — typically around 40 percent. Solar Trackers follow the sun all day long During the summer half of the year—from the day after the spring equinox to the day before the autumn equinox—the sun is rising out...

A Solar Tracker Works If You Have Room Your home is suitable for a solar tracker if you have an open field or yard with decent solar exposure to the south, east and west, and the room for “a mature apple tree” (16 feet tall at its highest, and 20 feet wide)… which is roughly...

We’ll do a free site analysis to determine what your solar exposure is at several locations in your yard or field so you can compare and select a spot for a solar Tracker that works best, both to generate the most power and maximize your investment, and what works best aesthetically on your property. Learn...

Take a ride on the Solar Coaster!  The solar power production of a solar Tracker varies greatly from month to month. Days in December (in New England) are much shorter than in June. In December, each day lasts only about 9 hours. In June, each day lasts more than 15¼ hours, 70 percent longer than...

To explain the difference between kW and kWh, let’s start with the terminology. A kilowatt (abbreviated as kW) is the same as 1,000 watts (or W). A kilowatt-hour (abbreviated as kWh) is the same as 1,000 watt-hours (or Wh). A watt is a measure of the amount of power flowing at one moment in time....

Yes, Solaflect’s installations allow you to monitor the solar power production of your solar tracker in real time. We use several different brands of inverters for our solar Trackers. Inverters are internet connected, and come with free web portals that allow give you a window into your solar production, which is updated continuously. You can...

Your Utility Bill Keeping a close eye on your home energy usage makes good sense. The easiest way to determine your average energy use is to take a look at your utility bill.  Most utilities will show your consumption history over the previous months and this will give you an idea of how much energy...

If you are considering solar, the odds are good that you are also interested in being energy efficient in general. The most efficient way to heat a home is using an electric heat pump (aka “mini-split”), and the most efficient way to heat hot water is with a heat pump water heater.*  Heating your home...

Yes, there’s enough sunlight in New England to go solar. While the grass is always greener on the other side, and the sun always shines brighter in retirement states, New England has no trouble sustaining healthy yards and pastures, and we easily get enough sunshine for solar to be a sensible (and less expensive than...

While switching to an electric vehicle will save on gas, an eV will increase your power bill. But driving an electric vehicle is an efficient way to get around, both in terms of energy and money. DriveElectricVT estimates that the cost to drive an electric vehicle—either all-electric or plug-in hybrid—is equivalent to driving a gasoline...

Many people looking to go solar want to take full advantage of solar as a source of clean, low-cost energy. This includes “electrifying” their lives by switching from gas to electric clothes dryers, or electric stoves and ovens. It’s only natural to be concerned about how much a switch to electric appliances will increase your...

Do you own an electric vehicle (EV) or are thinking of purchasing one?  If so, you’re in good company.  One in five Americans now say an EV is in their future, and all of the major automakers are racing to roll out new models. Our Solar Trackers are the perfect way to help you replace...

Net metering works by allowing the grid to act as a giant battery for your solar power system. When the sun shines, the electricity produced will be used to power your home, and your electric meter will not spin. When you produce more than you use, the excess electricity will flow back to the grid,...

We Know About Snow As a Vermont-based company, we know snow, and we know that solar panels covered with snow don’t do anyone much good. Solar on rooftops or on fixed panels on the ground may continue to produce some power with a coating of snow, but they may lose up to 15 percent of...

Many homeowners wonder what will happen to their home’s property value and property taxes if they add solar panels. A number of studies have looked at the question of solar and property value over time. The largest and most thorough to date was published by the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in 2015. It looked at...

Yes, you can mow under the solar panels mounted on your Solaflect Solar Tracker. Available head and working space beneath the solar Tracker will depend on the time of day and day of year. That’s because the solar panels are tilted to face directly at the sun, and as the sun travels the tilt of...