Solar Blog
Why are you asking me about the age of my roof?
Any reputable solar installer will want to know how many years you have left on your roof. We require homeowners to have at least 10 years of roof life left when installing a solar energy system, and recommend having at least 12 to 15 years of life left. Solar panels
Why does your design have setbacks of the solar panels from the roof line?
Fire setbacks for solar PV systems are required by the IBC (International Building Code) and adopted by some state and local permitting authorities. The intention of the setbacks is to provide firefighters with access to the peak of the roof in order to provide positive ventilation in the event of
What Is Living Off-Grid?
Is Living Off-Grid Right for Me? When people say they want to be living off-grid, sometimes they mean they want solar to cover 100 percent of their electricity needs. Often, solar installers pair a battery storage unit like a Tesla Powerwall to store power from your system to use at
Will Solar Offset All My Electricity Costs?
Solar Offset: What Can I Expect to Save? We find that a lot of people are disappointed to learn that installing solar won’t offset all of their electricity costs. But they shouldn’t be. Only a fraction of people have the needed resources to offset 100 percent. Many of our customers
Thinking About Leasing Your Land? Consider a Solar Farm
Your Property Could be Just Right for A Solar Farm As the costs of renewable energy continues to come down–even passing coal and natural gas in some markets–solar developers are increasingly looking for land to host solar projects. Here are a few helpful tips to find out if your land
10 Things to know about solar battery storage
What You Should Know About Solar Battery Storage NOTE: This information is possibly outdated. Please reference our incentives page for current information. UPDATED: A&R Solar is a Tesla Powerwall Certified Installer in Washington and Oregon. Learn more about Powerwall and battery storage. When the power goes out, will you be ready? The
Solar-Powered Children’s Museum Opens New Location
KidsQuest Children’s Museum’s new downtown Bellevue location opened to the public after more than a year of renovations. A&R Solar installed a solar energy system on the steep-pitched roof of the museum. And our installation team did it decked out in spandex superhero costumes. A&R Solar donated the system–valued at $25,000–to
What is LEED Certification?
LEED stands for “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.” It is a third-party rating system created by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) to verify green buildings and encourage sustainable construction, maintenance, and operation. It’s one of the most prestigious, sought-after, and rigorous certifications in the building industry. A
How to Double Your Revenue by Treating People Right
Conscious Company magazine interviewed A&R Solar CEO Reeves Clippard about the company’s philosophy and growth and his vision for the future. What motivated you to make A&R an employee-owned company? RC: I worked for very small companies where I had zero ownership stake, and I worked for mega-national companies where
Why A&R Solar Became a B Corp
This post by A&R Solar CEO Reeves Clippard ran in the Huffington Post. Sitting on top of a roof one rainy winter day in Seattle, my coworker and I talked about how we would do things differently if we ran our own solar installation company. Andy and I agreed that
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