Do not reduce consumption before going solar:
Installation of solar panel is a costly affair. After installing it you need to reduce the consumption of the energy to save the cost of installation. But most of us do not go in that way. You should also do home energy audits by a certified agency to identify your biggest energy losses and how to minimize them. Good behavioral can save up to 30% of the energy. That will indirectly save your money.
Buying cheap quality items:
With the increased craze of solar energy there is no lack of supplier of solar panels. People tend to go for the options which are cheaper and come with a discounted price. These are cheap initially but on long run they suck hell lot of money from pocket. Sometimes they come with flaunty promises (works on cloudy weather). Take a full survey before buying them. Look for third party approval or certifications etc before paying for them.
Buying before setting the load:
While deciding the load of the unit people make a roughly calculation based on previous months’ consumption. This is not the right way to do it. Electricity consumption is not same throughout the year. If logically calculated you can see there is a constant growth in the consumption. Also the solar panels lose its efficiency on each year. You need to keep all these factors in mind before selecting the load of the panel.