If you are considering converting your home to solar power, you may be asking yourself if it is worth the initial investment. There is a lot to consider since this will be a sizeable investment and will add some preventative maintenance tasks to your chore list.
Here are seven reasons that show just how “worth it” solar power is!
- Solar Power Is Good For The Environment
- Solar Power Is A More Efficient Use Of Energy
- Your Lifetime Savings Is More Than The Cost Of A luxury Car
- Your Return On Investment Comes Quickly
- Your Power Bill Won’t Jump Due To Increased Rates
- Solar Power Means Tax Incentives
- Your Home Value Will Increase
Now, let’s go unpack all of those!
1. Solar Power Is Good For The Environment
Solar power is “clean power.” Clean power is an energy source that does not create pollution, and that is renewable.
Take the electricity that you depend on now, for example.
More than 80% of the world’s energy comes from fossil fuels. More specifically, 33.1% of the energy of the world comes from oil, 27% comes from coal, and 24.3% comes from gas.
When we burn coal, oil, and gas for energy, we use up limited resources, and we generate pollution. This pollution then contaminates the air that we breathe and damages the ozone layer that acts as a sort of sunscreen for the Earth.
Continued damage to the ozone layer means that fewer ultraviolet rays are filtered and that all things living on the Earth get exposed to increased levels of ultraviolet radiation.
Turning to renewable energy sources like solar power means that we no longer generate such incredible amounts of damaging pollutants. With fewer pollutants in the atmosphere, the ozone layer has a chance to heal itself.
Fewer pollutants also mean cleaner air for us to breathe, and that means fewer allergies, less exposure to toxic and carcinogenic substances, and healthier life overall!
2. Solar Power Is A More Efficient Use Of Energy
When you switch over to solar power, you rely on solar panels on the roof of your home to convert solar power into energy that then flows into an inverter.
The inverter converts this electricity from direct current power to alternating current power which is more usable.
The alternating current power then travels from the inverter to the breaker box in your home that carries the electrical current to areas of your home as it does with the electricity that you get from your utility company.
Now, because the energy used to create electricity is coming directly from the sun, to your solar panels, and into your home, there is a relatively short distance for electricity to travel.
When you rely on a traditional utility company for your power, however, that electrical current travels quite a distance.
Your traditional power begins at the power plant and travels to a transformer where the voltage gets increased to help that electricity travel long distances through transmission lines.
The electricity then travels through the transmission lines to a neighborhood transformer that lowers the voltage of the electricity and funnels it through distribution lines.
The electricity then travels from the distribution lines to a transformer on the utility pole that, once again, reduces the electrical current before the electricity is carried into your home.
Wondering just how far that electricity is traveling before it gets to your home? The maximum transmission distance for that electrical current is three-hundred miles.
Over that three-hundred-mile journey, you can bet that electrical current is lost. Between two to four percent of the electrical voltage is lost during transmission.
Two to four percent may not seem like much, but when you consider how much electricity gets lost over a day, a month, or a year – well, that total adds up. It is also important not to forget that the voltage that gets lost comes from those limited resources and contributed to pollution even if it is not going to good use!
3. With Solar Energy, Your Lifetime Savings Is More Than The Cost Of A luxury Car
Let us look at the state of North Carolina. The average cost of power in kWh is $0.25. The average expense of solar energy is $0.04.
Of course, we have to consider the initial investment in the solar power system – approximately $2.62 per watt for a 5kW solar power system. At this rate, it takes six years and seven months to cover the cost of the solar power system.
Once we subtract the cost of paying back the money that the solar power system cost, the average lifetime savings you will bank is a cool $67,825 in the eighteen years that follow paying off your solar power system.
$67,825, think about that for a moment. By converting your home to solar power, you will get all of the benefits offered by clean and renewable energy, and you will save the equivalent of a luxury car.
4. Your Return On Investment Comes Quickly
Most people turn away from the idea of using solar energy because they are sure that a solar panel system will take a lifetime to pay off – this just is not true.
In the example above, we found that it would take six years and seven months to pay off the initial investment in the solar power system. Once you pay off your solar power unit, you do not pay a penny for your electricity (assuming that you use a solar battery to store energy for nighttime use).
5. Your Power Bill Won’t Jump Due To Increased Rates
Have you noticed that your electricity rates keep going up? That every time you turn around, your power company is tacking on a new fee, a new charge, or upping your rate to account for…
It is not unusual for utility companies to increase their rates, but as a consumer, this can feel like you are getting cheated. You are getting no more electricity than you were previously, yet you are paying more for it!
One of the benefits of solar energy, however, is that you do not have to deal with these inconvenient rate hikes. Your power source is free!
6. Solar Power Means Tax Incentives
Did you know that there are considerable tax incentives available for homeowners who convert to solar power?
United States residents who convert their homes to solar power can take advantage of the Federal Solar Tax Credit. This credit is available for homeowners that convert their homes to solar power between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2021.
The Federal Solar Tax Credit refunds a percentage of the cost of your solar power unit based on when the unit was installed in the home.
- Homeowners who installed a solar panel system before December 31, 2019, were given a credit equal to 30% of the cost of the solar power system.
- Homeowners who installed a solar panel system before December 31, 2020, are given a credit equal to 26% of the cost of the solar power system.
- Homeowners who install a solar panel system before December 31, 2021, will be given a credit equal to 22% of the cost of the solar power system.
It is also worth noting that there is no cap on the amount of money that a homeowner can claim, AND the cost of the solar panel system includes:
- The solar panel system itself
- Solar panels or cells to power an attic fan
- Labor costs for preparation, assembly, and installation of the solar system (this includes permit fees, inspection cost, and developer fees.)
- “Balance-of-system equipment” including inverters, wiring, and mounting equipment
- Energy storage devices
- Sales taxes on expenses
In addition to the Federal Solar Tax Credit, many states are offering additional incentives for residents who choose to go with solar energy. State rebate programs usually offer homeowners a flat cost rebate – for example, North Carolina offers homeowners a $2,000 rebate for switching to solar energy!
On top of federal and state incentives, utility companies are also offering customers incentive payments if they convert to solar power.
But wait…there’s more!
In some areas of the country, utility companies have to source a percentage of their power from solar energy sources. Homeowners with solar energy systems are issued Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SRECs) certificates as a representation of 1 megawatt-hour of electricity produced from a solar energy system.
SREC’s are then to the utility companies that need to source solar energy. The utility companies then hand over these SRECs to show that they have met their obligations.
With more than a few solar energy credits and incentives to claim, you may feel a little overwhelmed but most solar panel installation companies can inform you of your local opportunities.
If your solar panel installation company is unable to point you in the right direction as far as taking advantage of rebates and incentives, hop online and search local resources, and you will find what you need in no time at all!
7. Your Home Value Will Increase
Who does not want the value of their home to increase? One surefire way to add to the value of your home is to invest in a solar energy system.
According to solar research done by the mega-real-estate company, Zillow.com found that adding a solar energy system to a home can increase that home’s value by more than 4.1% compared to comparable homes.
The percentage increase of how much more a homebuyer is willing to pay for a home with a solar panel system varies by state. In their study, Zillow.com found that ten states, in particular, are willing to pay more for solar energy homes.
- New Jersey home buyers were willing to pay 9.9% more (that is $32,281) for a home with solar panels.
- Pennsylvania homebuyers were willing to pay 4.9% more (that is $8,589) for a home with solar panels.
- North Carolina homebuyers were willing to pay 4.8% more (that is $8,996) for a home with solar panels.
- Louisiana homebuyers were willing to pay 4.9% more (that is $7,037) for a home with solar panels.
- Washington home buyers were willing to pay 4.1% more (that is $15,916) for a home with solar panels.
- Florida homebuyers were willing to pay 4% more (that is $9,454) for a home with solar panels.
- Hawaii homebuyers were willing to pay 4% more (that is $24,526) for a home with solar panels.
- Maryland homebuyers were willing to pay 3.8% more (that is $10,976) for a home with solar panels.
- New York homebuyers were willing to pay 3.6% more (that is $10,981) for a home with solar panels.
- South Carolina homebuyers were willing to pay 3.5% more (that is $5,866) for a home with solar panels.
Why are homebuyers willing to pay more for homes with solar panels? Current global events, as well as increased awareness of environmental destruction, have led more homebuyers to seek out more eco-friendly homes. In short, homebuyers are more aware of the impact fossil fuel use is having on the planet.
Homebuyers are also willing to pay more for a home with solar panels because it means that they do not have to go through the trouble of installing solar panels themselves.
For eco-conscious homebuyers who intend on converting to clean-sourced renewable energy, finding a home that already has a clean energy system in place is a no-brainer. It is less work for them to do themselves, and when prices are negotiated, buyers can save money when compared to buying and installing their own system in another home!
You can also heat your home with solar power, check out this article for information about that: A Guide to Heating Your Home With Solar Power
So, Is It Worth Converting Your Home To Solar Power?
Ultimately, the decision to convert your home to solar power is yours. However, if you can afford the initial investment of a clean energy system, and you plan on staying in your home for the foreseeable future (think at least eight years) it is an investment that will pay off in more ways than one.
Converting your home to solar energy means
- Converting to a clean energy source that is better for the environment.
- Being more efficient in your use of energy.
- Saving an incredible amount of money throughout the lifetime of your solar power system.
- Getting a fast return on your investment.
- No longer having to deal with increases in rates from your utility company.
- A number of great tax breaks and incentivization programs.
- Increasing the value of your home!