An expansion of the state's net metering laws in 2008 may help to grow the market for small scale residential, agricultural or commercial installations.

Idaho Power's program is limited to residential installations.

In addition, various types are available to suit normal residential installations, wet areas such as bathrooms, and fire-rated panels.

Several installers have published real-time views of system performance in an online community of recent residential installations.

"But we found it also worked well in residential installations."

According to a report released earlier this year, local permitting and inspection processes alone add about $.50 per watt, or $2,500 per residential installation nationwide.

A 30% tax credit is available for most residential installations, making payback periods and associated returns on investment competitive.

These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation.

Centralizing the location of solar systems has advantages over residential installation that include:

A 30% tax credit is available for residential and commercial installations.