Solar panels and solar panel systems will save you money and return your investment in a short time. Increasing property values, lowering utility costs, and the federal tax credit ease the upfront costs of installing solar panels. The short answer is yes, solar panels save money. In addition to helping the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, solar panels allow you to keep more money in your bank account each month.
You save by using less electricity, a saving that kicks in once you've cut your electricity bills enough to recover the cost of installation. You're also likely to make more money when you sell your house. Solar energy isn't the only potential way to save money. Learn more about what you can do to lower your bills.
If you're ready to start looking for quotes and installation costs from pre-screened solar contractors in your area, check out the EnergySage Solar Marketplace. Whether or not your system will fully compensate for your electricity needs is mainly determined by how accurately you size your PV system; you can calculate how many solar panels you'll need to guarantee that percentage. Calculating your savings by investing in solar energy is as simple as subtracting the amount you pay for solar energy from what you would have paid for electricity otherwise. Ultimately, regardless of whether it's finance or carbon emissions, a solar panel system will generate huge savings for homeowners.
If you know your current energy consumption, you can estimate how much you'll have to pay for solar panels. As far as I can tell, the best deal for the homeowner and the environment is to have their own solar panels. Under this type of plan, the benefit of a solar system may depend on the household's use of electricity; in certain areas subject to rates that increase dramatically as consumption increases, large homes (with high energy needs) may benefit more from solar panels that compensate for high-cost marginal consumption. If you need more energy than your solar panels are capable of producing, you'll continue to owe money on your electricity bill.
The benefits and advantages of solar energy are often well covered, but the costly upfront costs associated with a solar photovoltaic (PV) system can confuse you. Solar panels can't store electricity, so you'll have reduced power output in cloudy climates and zero energy output at night. When selling their home, the new buyer must sign papers to assume their debt to solar panel installers. If you live in a part of the country that gets a lot of exposure to sunlight all year round, you'll get more from using solar panels than others.
To provide a snapshot of typical energy bill savings for a solar installation, the following table provides state-by-state data for estimates of 20-year solar energy savings. You “rent” them to the Solar company for 30 years, which is why the savings are so low on your energy bill, that you are paying for the panels.
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