By harnessing the sun’s power, households can tap into significant cost savings, contribute to environmental conservation, and improve energy efficiency. Additionally, solar energy systems offer substantial tax credits and require minimal maintenance. This article delves into the many benefits of solar energy in residential settings.
Cost Savings
Buying solar panels is expensive. The upfront costs are always high. While panel prices have dropped in recent years, the average cost to buy these panels and have them installed is around $12,000-$17,000 in California. However, using solar energy to power your home can help you obtain considerable cost savings immediately after the panels are installed.
If you’re able to replace most of your home’s monthly electricity usage with solar power, you can save hundreds or thousands of dollars every year. In fact, your savings over 20 years can amount to anywhere from $15,000-$30,000.
Cost savings also come in the form of a potential increase to your property value. One of the benefits of solar energy installations is that they are sought after by prospective homeowners, which is why the value of your home should rise once you replace electricity with solar energy. Since California has placed a lot of importance on solar installations, buyers in the state are more likely to seek properties that already have them installed.
Environmental Impact
One other benefit of solar energy installations is the positive environmental impact they have. These panels also become more efficient with each passing day. By installing solar panels, you can do your part to avoid carbon emissions and other issues caused by nonrenewable energy. To understand how beneficial solar energy can be, a single panel produces around 50g of CO2 for every kilowatt-hour. In comparison, coal produces just under 1,000g of CO2 for every kilowatt hour.
Electricity is taken directly from fossil fuels like natural gas and coal. When these fuels are burned, they create harmful gases that cause climate change and air pollution. Along with being damaging to the environment, fossil fuels are also finite and can run out.
By switching to renewable energy, public health should improve as well. Natural gas and coal plants generate a considerable amount of water and air pollution that can adversely impact human health. The process of obtaining and converting solar energy requires practically no water, which means that the limited water supply isn’t further reduced by solar panels.
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Energy Efficiency
Once you’ve installed these panels on your home, they’ll be able to effectively harness the sun by capturing sunlight and converting it into usable energy. This type of energy is highly affordable, which means that your ongoing operational costs are low.
In comparison, electricity is much more expensive. While there are certain appliances that can help you reduce your household’s energy consumption, solar panels eliminate this issue altogether by allowing you to create energy from a wholly renewable resource.
Tax Credits
One clear benefit of solar energy is that you’ll be able to significantly reduce or eliminate your monthly energy bills. However, you can also save money by taking advantage of a federal residential solar energy credit. If you install solar panels anytime from now until 2034, you may qualify for a tax credit of up to 30% of your initial costs.
While tax deductions reduce your taxable income, credits directly lower the amount of money you pay on your return. If you owe $4,500 in taxes for the year, a $2,500 credit for your solar panel system would reduce the amount you owed by the same amount. Consider speaking with a CPA to determine if you qualify for the credit.
Low Maintenance Requirements
These panels come with minimal maintenance requirements. All solar panels become less efficient over time. However, they should last for upwards of 20-30 years, during which you won’t need to do much to keep them in good condition. Make sure you check the manual to look for maintenance recommendations from your manufacturer.
It’s a good idea to lightly clean the panels around two to four times every year. If you find that the panels have layers of leaves or dirt on them, all you need to do is wash them off with a hose. Since these panels capture sunlight, snow and ice should melt quickly during the winter.
Solar energy offers ample cost savings, high energy efficiency, and a positive environmental impact. You can discover more detailed information about solar installations at Green360Solutions.
