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Should I Mount My Solar Panels Landscape or Portrait Orientation

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You might notice that some solar panels are mounted in landscape (horizontal) and some are mounted in portrait (vertical). Why is that, and how should you mount yours? The answer might surprise you, and it’s actually quite important. We see a lot of contractors mounting solar panels in landscape orientation because rectangular panels just fit better on a triangular or …

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Enphase 5P Battery Released

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As part of the Enphase IQ family of products, the company has released its Enphase IQ Battery 5P. This battery offers some improvements for select clients in Southwest Florida, all at a similar price to the existing 3T and 10T batteries (for equal storage capacity). The Enphase 5P battery has just half of the battery capacity of the existing 10 and …

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Enphase Encharge Battery Backup System

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We are the local leader in solar energy systems installed with Enphase microinverters. You can add battery backup to your grid-interactive solar panel system to provide seamless power to your home. We can provide solutions that backup only critical loads or your whole home including air conditioning! Watch our promotional video below to see the components of an Enphase Encharge …

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How To Install A Generator With Existing Solar Panels

In Education, Solar Design 151 Comments

This article is intended for our colleagues who install whole-home generators in Southwest Florida. Licensed electricians often don’t realize they are creating a hazardous situation that could severely damage equipment. Warranties for generators or solar inverters can be voided by failing to take into account important factors. We have seen this time and time again, so we wanted to point …

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Using Drones to Create 3D Solar Panel Layouts

In 3D Interactive, Education, Photography, Solar Design Leave a Comment

We’re leading the way in the industry with our use of drones in solar contracting and with 3D computer modeling. While our competitors are stuck in the dark ages of creating a chicken scratch drawing of solar panels layouts or flat aerial images at best, we are utilizing sophisticated tools to create rich sales presentations, construction drawings, and marketing collateral. …

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March 2017 Solar Panel Design Layouts

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Here are some recent solar panel layout we have done for clients. These three dimensional computer models are produced to accurately size and depict solar panels on roofs using aerial imagery and a proprietary process that we developed that results in a high level of accuracy. Solar Panel 3D Computer Renderings Using two dimensional aerial imagery is not adequate, as skewed …

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Naples Home Gets Solar Pool Heater

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A family of four recently contacted us about solar pool heating for their Naples, FL swimming pool. Their home’s orientation on the lot wasn’t ideal for solar energy, and the two story house to the east casts morning shade on their most suitable tile roof surface. However, we were still able to make it work. In difficult situations like this, …

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Solar Photovoltaic System Design Layouts – November 2015

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Here is a video showing some recent solar photovoltaic (electric) system designs completed in November 2015. We use a proprietary process and templates to design solar energy system presentations for prospective clients. These design renderings provide homeowners the opportunity to see where solar panels can be mounted on their roofs and put a solar energy installation into perspective. By selecting …

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SanCap Solar Connect Photovoltaic System Designs

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Here are images of Florida Solar Design Group’s latest photovoltaic (solar electric) system designs for the SanCap Solar Connect Program. If you live on Sanibel or Captiva Islands, sign up today for a free home evaluation and find out more about the program offering discounted solar panels to the community at: http://wepowr.com/sancapsolar    

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Fort Myers, FL Home with Roof Vents Wants Solar Panels

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Solar Energy System Design by Florida Solar Design Group   LOCATION Fort Myers, FL 33919 PRODUCT(S) Solar Pool Heating Panels BRANDS FAFCO Sunsaver™ ST NOTES This Fort Myers, FL home has several roof vents and other obstructions making solar pool heating difficult to arrange. However, by placing gaps between panels we are able to fit a suitably sized system to get the …

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Solar Electric and Water Heating System for New Home in Naples, FL 34109

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Solar Energy System Design by Florida Solar Design Group   LOCATION Naples, FL 34109 PRODUCT(S) Solar Photovoltaic (Electric) System BRANDS Hyundai, Unirac SolarMount, Enphase, SunEarth NOTES This planned home in Naples, FL is slated for a solar electric system, solar water heating, and possobly solar pool heating for a large family with several children. Because people are as big a factor …

Solar Electric System in Naples, FL 34110

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Solar Energy System Design by Florida Solar Design Group LOCATION Naples, FL 34110 PRODUCT(S) Solar Photovoltaic (Electric) System BRANDS Hyundai, Unirac SolarMount, Enphase NOTES This home in Naples, FL needs around 10 kilowatts of solar energy to cover needs, but can only fit about 6 kilowatts on the ideal roof surfaces. The remaining roof surfaces are north facing (which is not …

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Solar Pool Heating Panels in Naples, FL

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Solar Energy System Design by Florida Solar Design Group   LOCATION Naples, FL 34109 PRODUCT(S) Solar Pool Heater BRANDS FAFCO Sunsaver NOTES This home in Naples, FL has a great west roof, but the owner wants maximum performance, so we maximized the south roof on the front of the house first, then placed additional panels on the west to get adequate …

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Solar Pool Heater Design in Naples, FL

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Solar Energy System Design by Florida Solar Design Group LOCATION Naples, FL 34109 PRODUCT(S) Solar Pool Heater BRANDS FAFCO Sunsaver NOTES This home in Naples, FL has a huge roof, but only on the east or west side. The decision about where to put panels usually comes down to pool equipment location, aesthetic concerns, or whether the owner is looking …

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Solar Electric System in Cape Coral, 33993

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Solar Energy System Design by Florida Solar Design Group LOCATION Cape Coral, FL 33993 PRODUCT(S) Solar Electric (Photovoltaic) BRANDS Hyundai, Enphase NOTES Sometimes one side of the home is off-limits due to homeowner concerns about looks, so on this Cape Coral, FLhome we met the customer’s solar energy needs with solar photovoltaic panels on the east and west roofs. In …