The Major Advantages of Installing Solar Panels Right Now

With the change in seasons, we see a change in energy bills. In the summer it’s the AC, and in the Winter we make the switch to central heating. Solar panels are a great way to offset energy costs, especially in the summer, which is why it is the perfect time to be investing in solar panels right now. Not only does it reduce the environmental impact of your home, but it has many additional benefits, as you'll see below, including aiding your local economy.

Here’s why you should invest in solar panels right now.

1. They Can Reduce and Even Eliminate Energy Bills

On warm spring days, a solar panel will typically be able to generate more than we consume. Because of this, Firefly Energy says that “solar often costs less than energy from your average utilities.” On hot summer days when the AC is on, it will draw from the panels, and on cloudier days it will substitute with power from the grid. So living somewhere that's often cloudy doesn’t mean you can’t have panels.

Cloudy locations will typically receive more than two hours of sunlight a day. Although sunny days will produce more solar energy, on cloudy days solar panels can still draw energy from the sun, just much slower. Cloudy days typically produce around 10 to 20 percent of what panels generate on sunnier days.

2. Earn Tax Credits and Rebates

Regardless of where you live, you probably have some tax credits as an incentive for solar. It is so important that you take advantage of them while they’re being offered, and still available.

Your solar panels pay for themselves, and you too! Due to modern green initiatives, you can get up to 30 percent of total system costs back when you file your taxes as a federal income tax credit. This means if you install a system worth $25,000 you would save around $7,500 on a solar system.

If you were to combine this with state and local rebates as well as Solar Renewable Energy Credits, your total costs could be cut in half. Solar panels have a warranty of around 10 years and a useful life of 25 years—which means you can end up generating free electricity for 20+ years, which is hard to beat. This initiative is both economically profitable and socio-environmentally responsible.

3. You Start Saving from Day One

The average annual energy cost is typically in the thousands, and often upwards of $3,052. This includes transportation and residential energy. With solar, you see this reduced, or eliminated, immediately after installation. It might be a hefty initial expenditure, but it has you saving in the long run because sunshine is free.

Solar panels also significantly improve the resale value of your home. Most home buyers today know and understand exactly what a home with solar panels means. It is especially attractive as they don’t have to spend the money to make the initial investment. You can expect to see a $5,911 resale value increase per installed kilowatt. This means that a 3.1-kilowatt system equals a resale value of almost $18,000.

An extra bonus is that panels extend the life of your roof. They protect the roof from the various elements, as they are an extra layer. They even assist in insulating the house as they block the sun from hitting the roof directly. The panels absorb the heat and keep the house temperature lower.

4. It Helps the Environment and All of Us

Solar power systems produce clean, pure energy from the sun, which means that when you install solar panels you are doing your part to combat greenhouse gas emissions and our dependence on fossil fuel. Relying on fossil fuels is unsustainable as they are non-renewable and are the primary cause of air pollution, leading to climate change. The price of fossil fuels, because they are finite, is constantly in flux and often unreliable.

Fossil fuel production typically requires exorbitant quantities of water, which is also a finite resource. It causes water pollution, which is really bad considering the water crisis the globe is increasingly making its way into. Solar is clean energy and requires little to no water to be produced and to operate. This means that solar is a safe alternative for our water resources and doesn’t put a strain on the world’s supply.

Solar power will also work without any issues during droughts or heat waves. Coal, natural gas, and nuclear power all use large amounts of water for cooling, putting the equipment at risk, so they are expensive to run during these periods which we are seeing becoming a trend. Solar doesn’t need water.

There you have it. A few reasons why you should seriously look into installing solar panels right now. It’s good for the environment and can save you a buck in more ways than one.