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What's the Catch?! - The Incredible Incentives of Solar Technology
You can get solar for no money out of pocket! Sound too good? Check out our article for a full breakdown of how it works.
Keyword(s): solar technology
If you're like most homeowners, you're always looking for ways to save money in your monthly budget. In fact, you might be downright fed up with those monthly utility bills.
Since the average homeowner spends around $400 per month on their utilities, it's not surprising to be looking for ways to cut down on expenses.
You might have heard some about solar technology and are wondering if it's a way to save some from your monthly budget.
If you're wondering about the benefits of solar technology, including saving money on utilities, read on to learn more.
Benefits of Solar Energy
As you consider solar energy for your home, you may have some perceptions that are keeping you from taking the leap into adding it to your home. While some of these perceptions are understandable, getting past them will be a huge step in helping you to understand why getting solar is a smart choice for you.
While you might be making an investment in solar, the truth is that it will save you money. In fact, over the course of your home's life, it's likely to save you thousands and thousands of dollars.
You will not need to rely on buying expensive power from your utility company and can instead rely on the energy you get from solar panels.
Adding solar panels to your home is a big boost for home resale value. As more and more consumers focus on going green, homes that feature solar panels are sought after. These environmentally conscious individuals will appreciate finding a home with solar already in place.
You might know about solar energy is environmentally friendly. Would it surprise you to learn you can power your home with zero emissions back into the atmosphere? This is a huge step in reducing your own carbon footprint on the earth.
A common misnomer is that you can only use solar energy in certain places where it's sunny all the time. In fact, solar energy can be used around the globe. You can live in a climate, like the northeast where there are cold, brutal winters and still reap the benefits of solar energy.
Finally, it might surprise you to learn how easy it is to have solar panels on your home. They are nearly maintenance-free with a long life span. More on this later.
Solar Energy, How Does It Work?
Solar panels work to capture energy from the sun and convert that energy into useable power. The most common method for capturing that thermal or electric power is through the use of photovoltaic solar panels.
These solar panels can be installed for residential and commercial use and on a larger scale for utility use. Residential solar users will usually have the solar panels installed up on their roofs. If they happen to have open land, they can also be installed there and connected to the house.
While the size of solar panels can vary greatly between a residential set of solar panels and ones used for utilities, the goal is the same. The goal is the same no matter where they're installed and what size they are. The solar panels should produce on-site solar energy to be used.
So how do those solar panels work? A solar panel consists of many parts including:
A layer of silicon cells
A metal frame
A glass casing unit
Wiring to transfer electric current from the silicon
The silicon cells inside the panel work to absorb and convert the sunlight into usable electricity. This involves a process called the photovoltaic effect. This happens with silicon cells causes electrons to go into motion which initiates the flow of an electric current.
During the photovoltaic process here's what happens to create energy:
Those silicon solar cells absorb the sun's radiation
Once the radiation is absorbed, electrons move to create that electric current
Wires that are part of the unit capture and feed the electricity to a solar inverter for AC electricity
While simplified, the sun's energy is captured, goes through those steps to give you on-site electricity.
Solar Power, Get Rebates, Incentives, and Tax Breaks When You Go Green
One of the concerns related to solar power for many residential customers is the cost. While they want to do what's right for the environment and save money too, they worry what the out-of-pocket cost will be to get solar panels on their house.
The good news is the significant tax incentives the federal government offers if you install solar panels on your home. Currently, you can get up to a 26% tax credit for installation. Simply put, if you invest $10,000, you can get a $2,600 credit on your taxes.
It should be noted, that the federal tax credits drop to 22% in 2023. The other thing to know about a tax credit is that it can carry over. If you meet the maximum write off in the year you install, you can rollover the remainder of the write-off to the subsequent years until its used up.
Many state and local governments also offer incentives to go to solar too. You might be surprised to hear there are also incentives through many energy companies to convert to solar.
Evaluating If Solar Is Smart for You
As you ponder adding solar panels to your house, know that it will save you money in the long run, despite the investment. How much it will save depends on your situation.
How much do you spend on electricity each month. If your bill is higher than most, you're likely to save more. Consider how much light your house has access to and which direction it faces. The more sunlight your house has access to the more energy your solar panels can produce.
Then do your homework and look for incentives to help balance out the initial investment for the panels.
Go Green and Take Advantage of the Incentives for Solar Technology
Solar technology is a smart way to get power for your house into the future. Not only is great for the environment, it the long run it can save you money too.
For more information on solar panels and to get a quote for your home, check out our Sun Grid solar panel calculator.