Frequently Asked Questions

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Property Tax Exemption for Solar Systems

Section 73 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code allows a property tax exemption for certain types of solar energy systems installed on or before December 31, 2009. (The original expiration year of 2005 was extended by AB 1099 [2005].) Qualifying solar energy systems are defined as those that "are thermally isolated from living space or any other area where the energy is used, to provide for the collection, storage, or distribution of solar energy." These include active solar energy systems, solar process heating systems, photovoltaic (PV) systems and solar thermal electric systems. Solar pool heating systems and solar hot-tub-heating systems are not eligible.  
 
Pipes and ducts that are used to carry both solar energy and energy derived from other sources qualify for the exemption only to the extent of 75% of their full cash value. Likewise, dual-use equipment for solar-electric systems qualifies for the exemption only to the extent of 75% of its value.  
 
System owners should contact their County Assessor's office for further information. Click here for a listing of County Assessor offices in California.

Solar Basics

A closer look at the awesome energy of the sun

When we think of energy, it is often in terms of coal, oil and gas. Yet the earth receives as much energy from sunlight in twenty days as is believed to be stored in this planet’s entire reserves of fossil fuels.

Although the sun releases ninety five per cent of its energy as visible light, it also produces infra-red and ultra-violet rays.

Each part of the solar spectrum is associated with a different energy. Within the visible portion of the solar spectrum, for example, red light is at the low-energy end and violet light is at the high-energy end, with fifty per cent more energy than red light.

Scientists often think of light as traveling in small packets, called “photons”, rather in the same way that water is transported by passing full buckets along a chain of people. Photons in the invisible ultra-violet region have more energy than those in the visible region. Likewise photons in the infra-red region, which we feel as heat, have less energy than those in the visible region.

Active Solar Power

Creative ways of tapping into the sun's energy

We currently use three different ways to harness the sun's power: passive solar, using buildings to absorb the sun's energy; photovoltaic, which uses light to generate electricity; and active solar, collecting the sun's heat through solar-thermal concentration systems.

Passive Solar Power

One of the key routes to using solar power

Of the three main routes to using solar power - active, passive and photovoltaic - passive solar could arguably have the biggest impact on our daily lives.

Passive solar's potential impact on energy consumption is enormous, and its technology can be applied anywhere with sufficient sunshine.

The concept behind passive solar is simple. It involves managing natural sunlight in such a way that it maintains a desired temperature inside a building. The remains of early Greek buildings show that their architects were experts in passive solar design.