Yeehaw! A few lucky Sunrunners spent the weekend spreading solar bliss at the three-day Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Indio, CA.

Sunrun sponsored Stagecoach alongside other well-known brands like Budweiser and Toyota. We had to make a big impression, so we pulled out all the stops!

As soon as we had our tent set up and the AC blowing, all kinds of folks began arriving to cool off and learn more about solar for their home. By the end of the weekend it was easy to spot folks looking good in their sky blue “power forward” sunglasses and sharing pictures with their friends using the #sunrunhome tag on Instagram.

We even kicked it up a notch by offering $100 to one winner every day for sharing the sunniest photo on Instagram. Congratulations again to Coley, Tiffany and Allicia, our three winners! Thanks for your shining contributions.

Thousands of folks at Stagecoach and beyond now know more about solar and are able to consider it as an option for their home. Mission accomplished!

If you’ve prepaid your system and are keeping your Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs), you may be wondering how to register them. On that note, the process can vary from state to state.

Sunrun customers in new Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Massachusetts all use the same SREC registration service, called PJM-GATS, to register their SRECs. Each state tracks SREC generation in a uniform way, producing one SREC for every 1,000 kWhs of solar power produced.

Registering SRECs in New Jersey

New Jersey solar homeowners can sell SRECs for the first 15 years of their system’s life. In order to get started with your SRECs, you will need to create an account and register your system with PJM-GATS.

You will receive documentation providing your SREC certification number 4-6 weeks after your system is turned on. Don’t worry about missing out on your first 4-6 weeks of power produced – New Jersey allows homeowners to register up to a year after the system begins to produce electricity. All power generated during that time can still be counted toward your SRECs.

Keep in mind that SREC prices are volatile, and can’t be guaranteed by anyone. Trading SRECs is just like investing in the stock market.

Registering SRECs in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania solar homeowners can sell SRECs for the first 20 years of their system’s life. You won’t need to worry about registering your SRECs yourself in Pennsylvania because Sunrun or the partner you are working with will set up your account for you.

Pennsylvania SRECs are not credited retroactively, so Sunrun or our installer partner will register you quickly so that you can be sure you get the most SREC credit you can. After you are registered, you will need to enter production data manually in order to get continuing credit towards your SRECs.

Registering SRECs in Maryland

Maryland solar homeowners can sell SRECs for the first 15 years of their system’s life. After installing your solar system, your installer will register your system with PJM-GATS.

SRECs in Maryland begin to amass on the first day of the month after you turn your solar system on, and must be entered manually in order to be counted.

To learn all about the solar process from the beginning, check out:

Step 1: Qualifying your Home

Step 2: Contacting Sunrun

Step 3: Meeting Your Installer Partner

Step 4: Starting Your Solar Installation

Step 5: Net Energy Metering

Step 6: Utility Billing Changes

Sunrun revealed survey results today showing a vast majority of Americans are concerned about rising home energy costs. Ninety-five percent of Americans cite rising utility rates as a concern, yet homeowners are paralyzed by misconceptions about the cost of installing solar.

In fact, 97 percent of Americans overestimate the cost of installing solar, with 59 percent of respondents thinking that getting started requires more than $20,000 in upfront costs.

The truth is that installing solar can cost as little as zero dollars upfront thanks to solar power service. Sunrun invented this business model in 2007 and today we remain the market leader. We own, insure, monitor and maintain more than 20,000 solar systems across ten states, helping make solar power service the preferred way for homeowners to go solar in the nation’s leading solar markets.

Below you will find an infographic summarizing how Sunrun works. You can click the image for a bigger version if you like.

Sunrun unveiled survey results today showing 97 percent of Americans overestimate the cost of installing a home solar system. While only three percent of respondents put the cost of solar at less than $1,000 upfront, 6 out of 10 Americans polled (59%) think it requires more than $20,000 in upfront cost.

In reality, installing a home solar system can cost as little as zero dollars upfront thanks to solar power service. If cost were not a factor, nearly 8 in 10 Americans say they would install solar. Four in 10 respondents would go solar within the next year if cost were not a factor.

Below you will find an infographic summarizing the survey results. You can click the image for a bigger version if you like.

On April 5 Sunrun’s President and co-founder Lynn Jurich joined other startup leaders supporting President Obama in signing the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act into law. Obama called the act a “game changer” for startups seeking funding and Americans willing to invest.

The overarching goal of the JOBS Act is to give startups and small businesses more access to capital investments over the Internet and to encourage more companies to go public.

In doing so, the act opens new businesses up to a slew of Americans willing to invest their money in someone’s bright idea.

Lynn’s soft spot for startup companies comes from years of personal experience. She joined the Startup America Partnership’s founding board in 2011 in an effort to help more Americans succeed in business, eventually creating the next round of jobs that will make up America’s economy.

“I’m honored to serve on the board of an organization that exists to help other entrepreneurs succeed,” says Lynn. “Innovation and entrepreneurship are two things America does well, and we can use them to create jobs and improve the economy.”

Your solar system is interconnected and you’ve just received permission from your utility to flip the switch. You’re generating solar power! Now that you are your own power producer, the process of net metering may change how you pay your utility for any power you still use from them.

If you live in a state or utility territory that simply charges a flat kWh rate for the power you use, you’ll soon notice a drop in what you pay your utility. In this case, that’s all you need to look out for.

If you’ve gone solar in California or another state with tiered utility rates, your utility billing may change a bit. Utilities like SCE and PG&E charge more for power the more power you use. Your solar system is designed to cut from the top, meaning that we replace your costlier power with solar electricity and allow you to continue taking advantage of your utility’s cheaper electricity. Since this kind of process requires more tracking, you may be switched to an annual billing plan with your utility.

If your utility switches you to an annual billing plan will begin receiving what is called a net energy metering statement. This statement will bill you a small amount for connectivity fees but will not bill you for electricity used for the month. Instead your monthly charges will accumulate over the year so that your utility can also track your solar production. Learn more about how to read your post-solar utility bill.

At the end of the year (based on when your system turned on) you will receive your cumulative utility bill. To determine your true monthly cost of power, divide this bill by twelve. This will tell you about how much you were charged for power per month.

If you’d like to learn more about how your utility billing may change with solar, ask your sales representative. If you are already a Sunrun customer, you can call your utility billing department or Sunrun’s customer care team at 1-855-478-6786 x2 to learn more.

To learn all about the solar process from the beginning, check out:

Step 1: Qualifying your Home

Step 2: Contacting Sunrun

Step 3: Meeting Your Installer Partner

Step 4: Starting Your Solar Installation

Step 5: Net Energy Metering

Step 6: Utility Billing Changes

Step 7: Managing SRECs

In our last blog we discussed what you can expect during your solar installation, and left off on interconnection. Interconnection is the process of linking your solar system with your utility so that you as a homeowner can take advantage of a practice called net energy metering.

Net energy metering means that your utility tracks both power you use and power you produce. Your new utility bill will be the net difference between the two. If you produce 300 kWhs in March and use 500 kWhs total, your March utility bill will show a charge for 200 kWhs. Because Sunrun solar systems are not installed with a battery backup, net energy metering is an integral part of how you can expect to save with Sunrun.

Net energy metering allows your utility to act like a battery. When you produce excess power (defined as producing more than what is consumed at the time it is produced) that power is banked with your utility as a credit. Any time you draw from utility power – such as during the nighttime – you will draw on your banked credits before drawing on billable utility power.

With net energy metering, you can be sure that you are getting the most out of your solar system and only drawing from your utility to fill in the gaps.

Before this practice can occur, permission must be granted by your utility. After your solar system is installed, Sunrun will not turn your system on until permission has been given. If your system is turned on before permission is given, it will be hard to recognize the full benefit of solar because you won’t receive credit for any excess power you generate.

When net energy metering takes effect, you will notice a change in how your utility bills you for power. Next week we’ll discuss what kind of changes you can expect.

To learn all about the solar process from the beginning, check out:

Step 1: Qualifying your Home

Step 2: Contacting Sunrun

Step 3: Meeting Your Installer Partner

Step 4: Starting Your Solar Installation

Step 5: Net Energy Metering

Step 6: Utility Billing Changes

Step 7: Managing SRECs

You’ve done great so far. When you last spoke with your Sunrun solar installer, you were pumping your fist in the air. It’s time for your installation!

Sure enough, the solar installation crew arrives at your home in a couple of days, looking fresh and ready to get to work. Your crew’s arrival will have been planned with you beforehand to give you ample preparation time, so you give them the go ahead to step up on the roof.

Overall your solar installation should take 2-4 days, depending on weather and the size of the system. The first thing you will see them do is install the racking. Racking is attached directly to the eaves of your roof to ensure that your panels will not come loose. Each point of connection is then waterproofed to prevent any leaks from occurring do to installation.

On the following day your installation crew will arrive ready to install the solar panels themselves. Your panels will be hoisted onto the roof by a pulley system and attached to the racking that was installed earlier. Once your panels are fully installed, it will be time to wire the system and installed the Sunrun meter and inverter.

Your Sunrun meter keeps track of your solar system’s power generation, and will be attached to your home alongside your utility meter.

Your inverter is an integral part of your solar system. It converts the power your solar system generates (direct current power) into power that can be used by your home (alternating current power).

Once your solar installation is complete, your installer will send documentation to your electric utility requesting interconnection. Interconnection is required because your solar system will be connected with your utility. How the connection works will be explained in our next post  Step 5: Connecting with your utility.

If you’d like to learn about the solar process from the very beginning, check out:

Step 1: Qualifying your Home

Step 2: Contacting Sunrun

Step 3: Meeting Your Installer Partner

Step 4: Starting Your Solar Installation

Step 5: Net Energy Metering

Step 6: Utility Billing Changes

Step 7: Managing SRECs

Tim and Carol in Philadelphia, PA will be the first to admit that it’s hard switching to solar when you don’t know much about the industry, but they’ve also proven that the more you learn, the more confident you can be.

Tim and Carol had retained an interest in solar in Philadelphia for a while, but with two kids already in college, they were hesitant to purchase a system themselves. They found out more about the cost of solar by talking with a neighbor who had purchased their panels, and had a conversation with their neighbor’s installer. The installation company told the couple about their partnership with Sunrun, and they decided to check it out.

Tim and Carol liked the idea of not needing to purchase a whole system themselves, and signed up for Sunrun’s low upfront offering. Once installed, they started saving right away. To read more about Tim and Carol’s experience and to see the difference in what they pay for power after going solar, check out Carol and Tim’s solar story.

Your picture could go straight to the top!

Sunrun has officially transitioned to the new Timeline layout on Facebook, and now we have a ton of space to have some fun with. Wouldn’t it be cool if your solar home became the face of Sunrun? What better way could there be to show off after taking control of your energy costs?

From this point on, every picture submitted to Sunrun’s Facebook page has a chance of making it to the top. Each picture that we use as our cover photo will stay up for a week, and the homeowner who submits it gets bragging rights! So tell your friends, tell your family, and tell Sunrun, “I want to make the cover!”

We won’t be able to use pictures that come in too small, so if you’d like to be on the cover of our page, please ensure that your photo can be blown up a bit. Most have no problem getting a little bigger, but it’s always good to be sure!

As always, every photo submitted to Sunrun will be featured in our photo album. If you don’t make the cover right away, don’t fret! Your picture is still featured on our page.

We’re looking forward to seeing some great pictures on Facebook!