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Top Benefits to Solar Energy

There are many reasons why solar energy is taking off with homeowners. In addition to improving the environment, homeowners can decrease their energy costs, increase their property value, and even earn incredible tax credits and rebates. If you are searching for a way to improve your home’s value while contributing positively to your local environment and community, solar energy is the best solution. Homeowners nationwide can enjoy the following eight benefits of solar energy systems.

Reduce or Eliminate Your Electric Bills

Electricity costs can make up a substantial portion of any property owner’s monthly expenses. When you install a solar panel system, you can generate free power for your panel system’s entire 25+ year life cycle. Even if solar energy panels do not produce 100 percent of the energy your home uses, solar energy reduces your utility bills significantly and can save you a substantial amount of money.

Earn an Excellent Return on Your Investment

It is more appropriate to consider solar panels an investment instead of an expense. The return on investment for your solar energy system is incredible. Due to significant electricity bill savings, the average American homeowner can pay off their solar panel system in just seven to ten years and enjoy an ROI of 20% or more.

Protect Your Household From Rising Energy Costs

In the past ten years, residential electricity costs have increased by an average of three percent annually. When you invest in a solar energy system today, you can protect your household from unpredictable increases in electricity costs. If you want more control over your energy costs, going solar can help you better forecast and manage your expenses.

Boost Your Property Value

Many studies have shown that homes with solar energy systems have higher property values and sell faster than non-solar homes. When appraisers visit homes, they are increasingly considering solar installations. As more home buyers become educated about the benefits of solar energy, the demand for properties equipped with solar panels will continue to increase. If your property already has solar energy panels installed, it becomes highly valuable to buyers.

Increase United States Energy Independence

When you rely on the sun for power, you use a near-infinite energy source rather than an energy source sold in global markets. By increasing our capacity to generate electricity from the sun here in the United States, we can help insulate our country from the price fluctuations that occur in global energy markets.

Create Jobs and Boost Your Local Economy

According to the Solar Foundation, the solar energy industry adds jobs much faster than the overall U.S. economy. This growth is expected to continue as solar energy use expands. Because solar-related jobs tend to be higher paying and cannot be outsourced, they are a substantial contributor to the country’s economy.

Protect the Environment

Solar energy is an excellent way to reduce your carbon footprint. Buildings are responsible for about 38% of all carbon emissions in the U.S., so going solar can decrease that number. A typical residential solar panel system can eliminate three to four tons of carbon emissions every year. This is the equivalent of planting over 100 trees each year.

Earn Tax Credits and Rebates

Many tax credits and rebates are available to encourage homeowners to invest in solar energy systems. For example, you can get 30% of your total system costs back from equipment and installation as a federal income tax credit when you file your taxes. This would mean saving $7,500 on a system worth $25,000.

When you combine this with state and local rebates, and Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs), you can cut your total costs almost in half. SRECs are generated throughout the year, and you can sell them to utility companies to help you create a return on your investment.

Check out the tax credit opportunities for Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington DC, Virginia, and Arizona.

Maryland Incentives

  • Federal tax credit 30%
  • Maryland State grant $1,000
  • Property tax credit $5,000 (Baltimore County and Prince George’s County)
  • $2,500 (Anne Arundel County and Harford County)
  • Md SREC For every 1,000 kWh you generate you qualify for an SREC. The value of the SREC in Maryland is $59.

Virginia Incentives

  • The solar investment tax credit (ITC) allows homeowners to recoup a big chunk of equipment and installation costs. Homeowners claim the credit when filing federal tax returns. A similar credit is available for businesses.
  • The dollar-for-dollar credit is worth 30% of the total cost.
  • This Virginia solar incentive has a huge impact on the total cost of making the transition to solar.

Pennsylvania Incentives

  • Federal tax credit 30%
  • PA SREC For every 1,000 kWh you generate you qualify for an SREC. The value of the SREC in Pennsylvania is $40
  • Philadelphia Solar Rebate program Philadelphia residents make qualify for a $200 rebate for every KW of solar power installed.

Washington DC Incentives

  • Federal Tax credit 30%
  • DC SREC for every 1,000 kWh you generate you qualify for an SREC. The value of the SREC in DC is $400.

Arizona Incentives

  • Allows eligible homeowners to reduce the amount of tax they owe by up to 30% of their solar panel installation cost from their federal income taxes.
  • The state tax credit is valued at 25% of the total system cost, up to a maximum of $1,000 in total.