How and Why Solar?

Creating an Efficient Home: How and Why Solar?

Can You Really Limit Your Reliance on the Grid?

Solar energy is the cleanest and most efficient energy currently available to homeowners. With solar panels, many homeowners have been able to limit their reliance on the grid. Others have been able to get off the grid entirely. If you've been dealing with excessively high energy bills and are having a hard time managing them, you may be asking the all-too-common questions, "How and why solar?".

What Are the Five Clear Benefits of Solar Energy?

1. You're In Control

There are five clear benefits of solar energy that make it well-worth investing in. To start, this is the surest way to gain control over rising energy costs, especially if you heat your home with natural gas in the winter. Although there's absolutely nothing you can do to limit fluctuations in natural gas prices, you can certainly limit your reliance upon this fuel by pursuing an alternative form of energy.

If you heat your home with electricity, you are better able to absorb rising electricity rates with solar.

2. The Carbon Footprint of How and Why Solar

One obvious benefit is being able to limit your carbon footprint. Every time that you harness and use this type of energy, you'll be preventing the production of energy emissions. Unlike many other eco-friendly alternatives to gas, solar energy does not produce emissions when harnessed or used. 

Compare this to switching to an electric vehicle (EV). Although EVs are definitely more efficient in their operation than gas-powered vehicles, they rack up massive amounts of carbon debt in their production and their initial transport. Thus, if your overarching goal is improved energy efficiency, having solar panels installed on your home is the far better choice. This is especially true if you own an EV and wish to charge it at home.

You can leverage some of your captured energy and sell it back to your local utility company. Your solar energy production surplus is a benefit of this change that many homeowners overlook. During peak collection times, the energy that your home isn't utilizing can be banked or sold back at a reasonable cost. Payment can come in the form of further reductions on your energy bill, rebates, credits, or even cash.

If you act before the Federal Tax Credit expires, you can also recoup 26% you can save big. Currently, the tax credit of 26% is redeemable as $3,250 when you file your income taxes.

4. Increasing Your Home Valuation

These upgrades are guaranteed to add value to homes. With more consumers looking for eco-friendly ways to manage their home energy needs, more property shoppers seek modern buildings that have been updated for efficiency. Your house will be more marketable, and you'll be able to ask for a higher price when selling. In this way, this is an improvement that will surely pay for itself.

5. Enjoy Substantial Savings and Lower Your Energy Bill

Most evident among all of the benefits that harnessing energy from the sun provides is the ability to reduce your energy bill dramatically. In some instances, you may be able to eliminate it. If you're interested in using this form of power year-round, you can even invest in equipment for storing the energy you aren't using. Between energy storage and credits from local utility companies, you may not need to pay for power at all, even in the winter when direct sunlight is less constant.