Benefits of Solar

Overview —

Solar Panels Allow You To:

Save money on energy bills: Credits given by your local grid due to the over generation of power by your solar panels will give you notable lessened charges on your energy bills. As explained before, when your solar system generates more power than needed to power your home, it sends that amount of excess energy to the grid, and you receive a credit from your local grid to be used later when your system isn’t receiving enough sun exposure to generate enough electricity. When your system doesn’t generate said energy, it uses the given credits to get you your due amount from the grid free of charge. Know that this varies where you live, but that is the general rule set that utility providers use when it comes to hooking up your solar panel system to the local power grid. Please note that this is for an On Grid Solar Panel System and that Off Grid Solar Panel Systems work on a different set of rules.

Earn SREC: What is SREC? SREC stands for Solar Renewable Energy Certificates. What are they? They are a solar incentive that allows homeowners to sell certificates for energy to their utility. A homeowner earns an SREC when a certain amount of energy is produced, that being 1000 kilowatt hours, by their system. SRECs can be sold for over $300 dollars in certain states. They exist as a result of a regulation known as the renewable portfolio standard (RPS), which are state laws that require utilities to produce a specific percentage of their electricity from renewable resources. To meet these requirements, electricity providers must obtain renewable energy certificates which serve as proof that they have either produced the renewable electricity themselves or paid someone who is producing said renewable energy for the right to claim that electricity for themselves.  SRECs are just like RECs, but specifically for electricity caused by solar panels. Homeowners are allowed to have these certificates and earn them more money on the side of their savings just for letting their solar system generate power. Fun fact: in Texas, you might have seen another form of renewable energy at the works if you’ve driven through the fields of the state: windmills.

Earn Tax Credit: There is a 26% federal solar tax credit that is available for a purchased home solar system installed by December 31, 2022. Simply put, if you are a homeowner who wants to buy a solar panel system for their home, you will receive 26% of it back from the federal government for your choice of action. This itself is free money since it is already assured to you that your solar panel system will pay itself off over time.

Increase your property value: Simply installing a solar panel system onto your home will give your property more value. What’s not to love? A nice home like your own with the sun powering it up at no extra cost while giving you a renewable energy property tax exemption so you don’t have to pay extra taxes. That by itself is a game changer to potential buyers if you ever want to put your asking price on the real estate market.

Lower your carbon footprint: During the first few years of utilizing a solar energy system, around 50g of CO2 per kilowatt-hour is produced. Moreover, compared to the carbon output of coal-powered electricity sources, the solar panel’s carbon footprint is roughly 20 times less. As a result, your carbon footprint will reduce immensely as soon as you install solar power in your home. However, you’ll need to have solar panels in utilization for at most three years to become carbon neutral, paying off their carbon debt. Then, after the three years of use, your overall carbon footprint will decrease even further since the system will remain carbon neutral for the rest of its lifespan. Lastly, solar panels last at least 25-30 years if properly maintained, preventing a significant amount of carbon from the atmosphere.  

A vast majority of homeowners typically wonder whether solar energy is worth the initial cost of investment. However, home solar systems start saving money from the moment they’re installed. With solar energy, the advantages are almost never-ending.