Can I Add Solar Panels To My Solar System?

Can I Add Solar Panels To My Solar System?

Yes, you can add solar panels to your already existing solar system. There are a number of reasons why people choose to expand their solar installation by adding new panels and there are a number of ways to do so. You may want to account for new appliances that are increasing your monthly energy usage or you may want to accommodate electric vehicle charging or you may have another reason entirely.

We’ll look a little more closely at all these reasons and discuss some of the challenges or important considerations you need to be aware of when you’re considering expanding your solar array by adding new solar panels. 

Why Add New Solar Panels To Expand Your Existing System?

There are a number of reasons people choose to add more solar panels to their already existing systems. We’ll examine some of the more popular reasons that people expand their solar installations with new panels, sometimes new solar inverters, and occasionally solar batteries. 

You Built An Adition To Your Home 

One great reason to add solar panels to your existing installation is that you have new roof surface area to ultilize! If you build an addition to your home and find yourself with a totally new roof space you can add solar panels to your new roof and connect them to your existing solar installation. Now, depending on the number of panels you already had installed and the capacity of your inverter you may need to install a new solar inverter as well but that usually is not a problem in most cases. 

You Have New Appliances And Your Electricity Usage Has Increased 

Maybe you have been enjoying solar panels for a number of years but now you find yourself using more electricity than your solar system is generating thanks to additions to your home like new appliances. This is one reason people choose to expand their solar system by adding some new panels. If you find yourself out-using your solar panels this is a great reason to add new ones to your solar array. 

You Want To Produce More Power To Accommodate EV Charging 

Another admirable reason that people choose to add new solar panels to their system array is that they want to get electric vehicles and be able to charge them at home. That’s right, you can get solar-powered electric vehicle charging stations for your home or business and power them with solar. This is an especially understandable upgrade because electric vehicles have only become more popular in the last several years. It’s not a problem though to add solar panels for EV charging and a charging station to a system that has been around for a number of years. 

You Want To Generate Greater Amounts Of Power Resulting In More SRECs

Let’s imagine that your solar panel system is totally paid off and now you’re feeling like you would like to invest in more solar panels. You know that you have more roof surface area that you could dedicate to solar energy and you know that you could increase your PA Solar Renewable Energy Credit generation by adding more panels. This is another great reason to consider expanding your solar panel installation, to generate more SREC revenue thanks to more SRECs generated throughout the year. 

What Are Important Considerations When Expanding Your Solar Installation?

We wouldn’t call these factors “cons” to expanding your solar system but they are important things to consider when choosing the add more solar panels to your existing solar system. In each of these scenarios, your trusted solar installer should be equipped and ready to walk you through these scenarios and handle the execution of these things but they are good to be aware of going into conversations about increasing the size of your solar system with new panels. 

Getting New Permits For Your Additional Panels

The somewhat unfortunate news is that when you are trying to add solar panels to your existing solar system you will most likely need new permits for the expansion. There is no escaping this in most cases. The good news is that good solar companies will handle this step for you so that you do not need to deal with the headache of dealing with your local government, we all know how challenging that can be at times. 

You May Have To Install A New Solar Inverter 

Depending on the capacity of your existing solar inverter, how many solar panels you have installed now, and how large of an expansion to your solar system you want to make it may be necessary to install a new, larger inverter. This again is not always the case but it is a decently common occurrence. When you increase the number of kilowatts your solar panel system can produce it may exceed what your existing solar inverter is rated for and if this is the case then you will need to have a new, larger capacity inverter installed or in some cases a second solar inverter of the same size will be added. 

You May Have To Move Some Of Your Solar Panels 

This is not the normal situation but it has happened before where customers looking to expand their solar arrays needed to actually move some of their existing solar panels into new configurations with their new system panels. As long as you have a qualified and experienced solar installer working with you on your project this should not be a big problem. 

Adding New Solar Panels To A Residential Lancaster Solar System

This solar installation project is a perfect example of much of what we discussed earlier. This is a system where existing panels needed to be moved around as new panels were installed, a new solar battery was added to this solar array as well. We were able to handle these updates for the homeowner without any problems. Now they will be able to enjoy improved solar power generation and have the benefits of emergency backup power with their new solar battery.  

Using Tough Track Solar Mounting Rails 

At Belmont Solar, we always use Tough Track solar mounting rails for our installations. This is because we value their special wire protection design that allows us to safely tuck all the solar panel wires inside the mounting rails. This protects the solar wires and leads from the elements and any critters that might otherwise be tempted to nibble on them. 

Solar Battery Installation Enhances This Lancaster System Further 

Adding solar battery backup to an already existing solar system when someone chooses to add new solar panels is a pretty common trend we see at Belmont Solar. It’s a great time to do both while the solar system is already under construction as new panels are being installed and sometimes a new solar inverter. It is the perfect time to also add one or more solar batteries to an already functioning system. Below you can see a new SolarEdge battery that was added to this system during the solar panel expansion.

Want To Expand Your Solar Installation With New Panels? 

Are you interested in expanding your solar installation with new solar panels and maybe a solar battery as well? Contact us today to begin a conversation about adding solar panels to your existing system. We will walk you through all the steps and conditions to determine how many solar panels you could add, whether or not you will need a new solar inverter, if battery backup is right for you, and what the benefits of a solar battery could provide you. Click below to begin a conversation about adding to your existing solar panel system in PA, we’re ready to assist you!