Answer 6 simple questions, and we’ll build you a personalized solar blueprint in under 60 seconds. Start by choosing your primary motivation below.
💰
Save Money
Get the best return on investment and lower my electric bill.
🔋
Backup Power
Keep essentials running during a power outage.
🌿
Go Green
Maximize self-sufficiency and run on clean energy.
Step 2: How Big is Your Home?
This helps us estimate your total energy needs.
🏠
Small Home
Under 1,500 sq ft
🏡
Medium Family Home
1,500 – 3,000 sq ft
🏘️
Large Home
Over 3,000 sq ft
Step 3: How’s Your Sunshine?
Be honest! This is crucial for calculating your system’s real-world production.
☀️
Full Sun
My roof gets direct sun all day long.
⛅
Mixed Sun & Shade
It gets decent sun for part of the day.
🌳
Mostly Shady
My roof is mostly covered by trees.
Step 4: What is Your Roof Made Of?
This helps us understand the installation requirements for your system.
🧱
Asphalt Shingles
The most common type of roof.
🏺
Tile or Slate
Requires special mounting hardware.
🔩
Metal Roof
Good for solar, but needs specific clamps.
Step 5: Do You Have an Electric Vehicle?
This is a major factor in your energy needs and potential savings.
🚗
Yes, I do
I want to power my car with the sun.
🤔
Not yet, but soon!
I want my system to be ready for an EV.
🚫
No, and no plans
This is just for my home’s power.
Step 6: What’s Your Approach to Budget?
This helps us recommend the right type of equipment for your financial goals.
📈
Best Value
I want the fastest possible payback period.
⚖️
Balanced
A smart mix of performance and cost.
💎
Premium Tech
I want the best, most efficient technology available.
Your Personalized Solar Blueprint:
Based on your unique situation, we’ve designed a system to match. Here’s your high-level overview:
The Engine: System Size & Panels
The Fuel Tank: Home Battery
The Foundation: Roof & Installation
The Payoff: Your Bottom Line
Remember, the 30% Federal Tax Credit and any state incentives can significantly shorten this timeframe!
Thinking about going solar? It’s an exciting idea—clean energy, lower bills, and freedom from the grid. But the moment you start researching, your excitement can turn into pure confusion. You’re flooded with aggressive sales pitches, confusing quotes, and a dozen different brands all claiming to be the “best.”
The truth is, many solar companies sell pre-packaged “bundles” that might not be right for your home. A pushy salesperson might try to sell you a system that’s too big, or a battery you don’t actually need, just to inflate their commission. They count on you being too overwhelmed to question the details.
This tool is designed to change that.
We built this simple “Solar Matchmaker” to cut through the noise and the sales tactics. By answering these simple questions about your life—not about technical jargon—you’ll get a clear, unbiased blueprint of what your home actually needs. This is your personal cheat sheet. Use it to understand the basics before you even talk to a salesperson, so you can walk into that conversation with confidence.
Let’s build your perfect solar system in the next two minutes.
How to Use Your Solar Blueprint
Your personalized blueprint above is the most powerful tool you have. It’s your starting point, giving you a clear, unbiased estimate of the system size, panel count, and battery needs that are right for you.
Now what?
Your next step is to take this blueprint and use it as a benchmark when you talk to installers. The #1 rule of going solar is get multiple quotes. Never go with the first company you talk to. We recommend getting at least three free quotes from certified, local installers.
When an installer gives you a proposal, compare it to your blueprint.
Is their recommended system size similar to yours? If it’s much bigger, ask them to justify exactly why.
Are they pushing a massive battery when your main goal was just saving money? Now you know to question it.
Does their quote include the key components like a quality inverter and all necessary permits?
This blueprint is your defense against being oversold and your guide to making a smart, confident investment. You’re not just buying solar panels; you’re buying two decades of energy freedom. Now you have the knowledge to do it right.
Suhas Shrikant is the founder of Vecharged and an engineering enthusiast specializing in high-power off-grid solar systems. He has designed and built over a dozen custom systems and uses his hands-on, field-tested experience to create Vecharged’s expert guides and reviews.
Vecharged is the consumer education platform of the Electricity Delivery Forum, an organization dedicated to the professional discussion of energy infrastructure and policy. The experts at the Forum recognized a critical gap: while industry professionals had a place to discuss the future of the grid, there was no trusted resource dedicated to helping homeowners and consumers navigate these changes in their own lives. Vecharged was created to fill that gap. We ground our practical, hands-on advice in a deep, foundational understanding of the broader energy landscape, ensuring our content is not only useful but also accurate and forward-looking.
Let’s be brutally honest. Buying a used electric car today feels like a massive gamble. You can check the tires and look for scratches, but you have no real way of knowing the health of its most important and expensive component: the battery. You’re staring at a car that looks perfect, but you’re haunted by
A slow-motion crisis is unfolding in the tech world. We are building a future powered by brilliant, world-changing AI, but trying to run it on an electrical grid built for the last century. That crisis has now arrived. Now, a radical idea is gaining serious traction at the highest levels: that every major AI data
The new broad-duty tariff is a direct geopolitical action designed to make the EV supply chain dramatically more expensive. EV Tariff Cost Risk Calculator Estimate the potential cost increase on your battery pack from new import duties. 1. Select Your Vehicle’s Battery Size 40 kWh (Base Model / Short Range)65 kWh (Standard Long Range)90 kWh
Innovations in Agrivoltaics A powerful solution is transforming agricultural landscapes: the integration of solar farms with active farming. This approach, known as agrivoltaics or dual-use solar, enables the simultaneous production of food and clean energy on the same piece of land. By mounting solar panels high above crops or livestock, this strategy optimizes land use, conserves valuable
