Getting Ready for solar

Pundits have grown fond of predicting that the next order of magnitude of solar uptake will be ushered in by companies that do a good job of commoditizing solar.

But what does it mean to make solar a commodity? What will it take to take the drama out of solar installations, particularly residential ones?

Some vendors, like panel maker SunPower, have articulated visions of selling full systems and have begun selling solar kits. One company that’s taking a more vendor-neutral approach, and adding in its own custom components, is Ready Solar, based in California’s Silicon Valley.

The key, according to Ready Solar, is making solar systems easy to buy and install.

“We believe that standardization, much like in the PC industry, the appliance industry or the car industry, is one of the things that has to happen in the PV (photovoltaic) industry to develop a mass market,” Meredith McClintock, Founder & CEO of Ready Solar told the Cleantech Group.

That’s why the company sells preconfigured systems in nine configurations, it said, which get larger in 1/2 kilowatt steps.

Normally solar system are “designed from scratch on a one-off basis every time one is sold,” said McClintock. “We save on design and engineering costs.”

Ready Solar packages its ‘Solar in a Box’ branded systems on pallets, and drop ships them to job sites where they’re to be installed. Systems include panels, custom-designed racking systems and mounting hardware, flashing to smooth the connection between the panels and the roof, a power inverter and full installation instructions with lots of pictures. The individual components are from manufacturers like Sharp, Fronius and BP Solar, but the company says it’s currently negotiating with new suppliers for long term agreements.

Ready Solar performs site support, and telephone support with homeowners after installation. It also takes care of all the paperwork for utility interconnects, rebate filings and California Solar Initiative home energy audits. Simple automotive lease-style financing is offered through partner Valencia Green.

“The only thing we don’t include is the wiring from the array down to the service box, because we never know exactly what that length is going to be,” said McClintock.

Ready Solar targets general contractors with roofers and electricians, and homebuilders, as its installers.

One of the biggest values of Ready’s system is its proprietary panel mounting system, which, according to the company, is easier to install and looks nicer than conventional mounting systems. Ready developed pre-sized, pre-painted rails that are laid down on the roof. Panels slide into the rails. Matching flashing then surrounds the mounted panels, blending them into the roofline.

“Aesthetics came up in our market research as a major issue for solar consumers, second only to cost as to why they didn’t purchase solar. Most people didn’t want to put something ugly, or as perceived as ugly, on the roof of their home, most people’s most valuable asset,” said McClintock.

Bay Area solar installer Akeena Solar advised Ready's engineers in the design process. And Akeena apparently helped Ready install its first few systems.

“I absolutely believe that the market needs a way to install modules faster on the roof and set them up so they look better. I think it’s a really good first start. They’re on the right track,” Akeena CEO Barry Cinnamon told the Cleantech Group. “Like any new technology, it might not be working perfectly out of the box. Sharp’s proprietary racking system is a little faster in some regards.”

Solar installers and subcontractors like Akeena stand to be somewhat disintermediated by Ready, so a little friendly criticism wasn’t unexpected.

Akeena has previously acknowledged it’s working on a solar racking system of its own (see the Cleantech Group’s Cinnamon on Solar.)

While headquartered in the swanky Northern California community of Portola Valley, Ready Solar says it’s prepared to offer its product anywhere in the United States where there are incentives to make solar attractive.

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