Using Solar Power In Rental Houses and Why It’s Important

There are lots of things that affect our lives in the long run. However, going solar is one of those things that you can do now and truly appreciate it later. Using Solar Power In Rental Houses

Since humanity tends to have a bad influence on our Mother Earth, we should take advantage of all the possible options to save it. Earth Hour is great, but what else is out there?

Nowadays going solar gets more and more popular. There are lots of companies that pop up and offer you to make your house more ‘green’ and energy efficient.

Related Post: How Real Estate Agent and YouTuber Made Over $100,000

Today we want to show you that going solar is possible even if you don’t have your house and only rent one!

How Does Solar Power Work? Using Solar Power In Rental Houses

Solar power is the best solution to our climate crisis that knocks on our doors louder and louder, but how does it really work? Let’s imagine that you’ve already installed solar panels on your roof or somewhere around the yard of your house.

It means that once the sunlight will hit your panels, they will convert the received energy to DC current and then it will be transferred to the inverter.

Related Post: Real Estate Business Ideas – 50+ Highly Profitable

Basically, the inverter can be called ‘the brain’ of this operation. It converts the electricity from the DC to AC and makes it possible for you to use it.

There are two generic questions that people like to ask:

• What happens on the cloudy days?
• Where does the exceeding energy go?

The answer is actually right here on the surface. When your panels generate the exceeding amount of energy that you do not actually use, it can store it, so you could use this reserve later when the sun is not there anymore.

How Much Power Can Solar Panels Generate?

The answer will really depend on the size and type of your solar system/panel. However, we can give you some rough numbers, so you could have a general understanding.

Related Post: Smart Home Devices Renovation For Your Next Home

An average 4kW solar panel can generate around 3,400 kWh annually. It will give you:

• 4,857hours of the washing machine
• 97,143hours of the fridge
• 1,880hours of boiling the kettle
• 1,417hours of the oven

Usually, when you have a family-sized home, you’ll need to use a 3kW or 4kW solar panels. In case you have a smaller house, you’ll need to take a look at the 2kW and 3kW ones.

What Are Your Options? Using Solar Power In Rental Houses

Ways Renters Can Go Solar 

Let’s admit, it’s easy to talk about going solar when you have your own house, but we are all tenants and our list of options is smaller than the house owners have in this situation. Here are the key options that you should consider when you decide to go solar and do not know what to start with.

Negotiate with a Landlord: Using Solar Power In Rental Houses

First of all, you should discuss your idea with your landlord. In some cases, you’ll be lucky to find out that your landlord is a huge fan of ‘green energy’ and you’ll definitely find the common ground on this issue.

Related Post: Smart Gadgets – How To Make Your Home Smarter

However, most of the landlords will not really care about it and it can be understandable: installing the solar panels is a great way to save our Mother Earth, but it’s not that kind of investment that will pay off your landlord soon.

That is why you need to ask him what are the possible options here and whether it’s possible to share the expenses of the solar panels installation or maybe cover it with a portion of your rent.

Unfortunately, some of them won’t even let you install big solar panels on the roof even at your own expanse, but it’s definitely worth asking.

Try Out Portable Solar Panels: Using Solar Power In Rental Houses

Another option will be using the portable solar power systems. In this case, you won’t need to pay for a professional installation and won’t need to discuss this matter closely with your landlord.

Portable ones won’t damage your property in any way.

Related Post: 8 Smart Home Gadgets Every Home Renter Needs

However, portable systems will obligate you to invest more in additional devices. Yes, it’s great that you can fold them and store them conveniently, but you’ll still need to buy a charge controller or a solar power generator, a battery and the inverter to convert the power output.

Invest in Shared Solar

Thanks to the community solar business model, we can see the solar technology spreading wider and wider. This initiative allows multiple participants to invest in the solar panels deployment and benefit from the produced energy together.

The participants of this initiative usually benefit from owning or leasing a part of the solar system. Basically, it’s a budget way to get the solar energy and go green.

Make Your Electricity Bill Greener

US government tries to support the renewable energy initiatives and offers you to pay for the green energy without installing anything at home. Using Solar Power In Rental Houses

The idea is simple: you pay extra dollars in your utility bill and cover up the costs of purchasing clean and green energy. It’s nice, but sounds a bit controversial, doesn’t it?

This is a great option that may inspire lots of people to go green due to the fact that there are no actual solar system installations involved, but how can you check if your money was in fact used for that? That’s right, you’ll have to take someone’s word for it.

What Kind of Property Do You Rent?

We discussed in the beginning of our article that the amount of solar energy your panels will produce depend on the type of solar system you use. However, there is one more variable that you should note – what type of house you rent.

It’s fair to note that a single-family house has more options for the solar energy generation than a room in a small apartment, right? Let’s review, what are your options depending on the type of property you lease. Using Solar Power In Rental Houses