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1. Solar panels are good for your wallet

Solar panels can save you lots of money. In fact, that’s the #1 reason homeowners choose to get them.

Here’s why solar panel installations are such a great idea for your wallet:

• Lower energy bills for years: Modern solar panel systems can cover a large portion of your home’s energy needs, leaving you paying little in the way of electricity bills. These savings continue for a long time, as solar panels work for at least 25 to 30 years. 
• 30% discount via the tax credit: All taxpayers going solar can get a discount of 30% on the cost of solar panels via the solar tax credit. The tax credit applies even if you buy your panels with a loan. If you purchase or finance a system that costs $20,000, you’ll get $6,000 back.
• You can export your solar power: Any excess power generated by your solar panels can be exported to the utility grid in return for compensation. In states with net metering, solar power exports are very valuable; utilities here are required to price your solar exports at retail value.
• Incentives, rewards, and rebates: Homeowners going solar have access to all sorts of financial benefits from their state and local governments. It’s common to find:
• State tax credits and rebates that lower your upfront costs.
• Assistance for low-income families who want to go solar.
• Tax breaks, including exemptions on sales and property tax.
• SRECs, a special type of credit you can exchange for cash.

Since solar panels have long lifespans, the accumulated savings you’ll see will be worth a lot. Solar panels can save you as much as $83,000 in Boston and upwards of $100,000 in San Diego over 25 years.

2. Good for your independence

Solar panels increase your energy independence by allowing you to use power generated right on your roof!

You’ll no longer be just an energy consumer but an energy producer as well, and in the process, you can take your electric bills into your own hands.

Add energy storage for best results

Pairing solar panels with a solar battery is the ultimate way to achieve energy self-sufficiency.

Here’s how solar panels and solar batteries – AKA solar + storage – work together:

• During the day, your solar panels will produce a lot of power. You can use this power to run your home and store energy in your batteries. 
• After dark, your batteries will discharge their stored energy, powering your home.

With solar + storage, your solar power becomes available to you even when the sun isn’t shining, reducing your need for grid imports. 

You’ll gain valuable protection against power outages, which are becoming more common due to extreme weather. Your batteries can take over the moment there’s a brownout or blackout, allowing you to keep essential appliances running. 

With a solar + storage system with ample capacity, you can power your entire home for days at a time. You can even use such setups to go completely off-grid, but most homeowners prefer remaining connected to grid service to meet energy shortfalls.

3. Good for your home

Putting solar panels on your roof is a fantastic way to increase the value of your home. 

Studies have found that you can add $22,000 to $30,000 to your property’s selling price by installing a 6-kilowatt (kW) solar panel system. 

The reason? Homebuyers are willing to pay a hefty price premium because they know homes with solar will have lower energy costs. 

A 6 kW system, by the way, only costs around $12,000 after incentives. It’s no wonder solar panels are among the 10 best ways to add value to your home.

4. Good for your car

Solar panels can charge your car cheaply, all while adding thousands of dollars to the value of your home.

Electric cars are becoming very popular. They have low running costs, and they’re completely emissions-free.

If you don’t already have an electric car, there’s a good chance you could be getting one soon. 

To get the most out of your electric car, you’ll want to charge it with solar panels. 

Home solar panels are the most cost-effective way to charge, up to $2,500 a year cheaper than other charging options.

Charging with solar also means your clean car will be powered by a clean energy source, maximizing its environmental benefits.

5. Good for your community

Solar panels positively impact the health and well-being of the entire community.

So it’s not just you and your family that benefit, but also everyone living around you.

Improved health

Solar energy is clean, whether it’s produced by a rooftop solar system or on a solar farm. Solar panels leave no gas emissions or chemical waste when they generate electricity.

Increased use of solar energy is a great way to reduce the ongoing use of fossil-fuel power plants that damage the health of people living nearby.

Job creation

The growing use of solar panels is creating many solar jobs.

In 2021, 21,563 new solar jobs were created, bringing the total number employed in the sector to over a quarter of a million.

Here’s why this is great news for communities across the country:

• Solar jobs are being created in nearly every state. 
• The positions are well-paid, with above-average salaries.
• There’s work available across a wide range of occupations.
• Veterans have access to special solar job programs.

Supports local businesses

As growing numbers of homeowners install solar panels, small solar installation companies are thriving. 

Small installers are typically family-owned businesses that operate in, and hire from, their local area. 

When you use them to go solar, your money stays within the community instead of being sent off to a distant corporate headquarters. That means more money going around for local businesses, their employees, and local governments, helping everyone who lives in the area.

6. Good for the planet

Solar panels allow us to generate energy sustainably and avoid damaging planet Earth. 

We all need energy in our lives, whether at school, home, work, or even to get around in vehicles. The problem is that until now, the world has been meeting its energy needs using fossil fuels, polluting our shared environment, and changing the global climate.

Solar panels are an excellent alternative to fossil fuel energy for the following reasons:

• Solar panels produce clean energy: When solar panels convert sunlight into electricity, nothing is burned, and no emissions or waste are released into the atmosphere. 
• Solar power is renewable: Solar panels harness energy from the sun. The sun is an almost endless energy source, as it will keep shining on us for billions of years to come!
• Solar works at any scale: Solar panels can be used at all levels, from small solar-powered phone chargers to massive utility-scale power plants and everything in between!

Everyone – including you, dear reader – can do their part, as solar panels can be used in your home and while you’re on the go. Each time you do, you help ensure that fossil fuels remain buried in the ground, where they belong. And that’s good news for the planet and all life living upon it too!

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