Are you ready to own your power, save money, and reduce your environmental impact? Solar has all these benefits and more!
In 2022, solar power in the US totals 97.2 gigawatts (GW). That’s enough power to be able to power 18 million American homes!
Homeowners across the US are switching to solar for savings, energy independence, and to lessen their environmental impact.
Continue reading for more information on the benefits of going solar, and find out why you should join the solar revolution at home.
Solar Benefit #1: Save Money
With rising utility rates, homeowners are looking for ways to save. A great option to save every month and for years to come is solar! How? Let’s look at an example.
Say your solar system costs about $20,000. You’ve read Purelight’s blog on claiming the Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), so you’re also able to recoup 26% of your solar installation costs. That brings your total cost for solar down by $5,200, so you only have to pay $14,800!
Just by claiming the ITC, you just shaved three years off the time it will take you to pay off your solar after you replaced your $160/month energy bill with a low, locked in monthly payment of $150 by going solar for $0 down with Purelight.
By replacing a variable electric bill monthly payment with a steady, locked in payment towards owning your solar outright, you avoid surprises from unexpected power use and rate hikes. Once you own your solar outright, your home is powered by clean, renewable energy, and that $150/month payment turns into an extra $150/month (or $1,800 every year) in savings.
Extra Solar Savings with Net Metering
If the ITC and the flat monthly payment sounds good, but you’re still concerned about how those savings work during darker, colder months, then you should know about net metering.
You can continue maximizing your savings with net metering. The net metering process that allows homeowners with solar installed to make the most of their energy generation by creating a bank of credits to cushion any extra energy usage when the weather is chilly, or a spring storm means your panels don’t get quite as much sunlight as normal.
How? With professionally installed solar that makes the most of your roof and panels, your solar energy system will sometimes produce more energy than your home needs.
Using the same connection your home already has to your local electric grid, the extra energy generated is sent back onto the grid in your community. On the way, it’s tallied by your net meter, which was installed when you got solar installed.
Because you’re helping supply your community with clean energy, you receive a credit on your account.
During shorter winter days, storms, or overnight when your panels can’t access the power of the sun, you can dip into those credits to cover the cost of any energy you do pull from the grid. Sort of like an on-grid battery bank.
Solar Benefit #2: Reduce Carbon Emissions
You probably already know that one of the big benefits with switching to solar is reducing your carbon footprint. That’s a benefit you’d expect when powering your home with a cleaner and more renewable source of energy than coal or natural gas.
During the first 5 years of powering your home with your solar energy system, you only emit about 50 grams of CO2 per kilowatt-hour. When compared to coal-fired power plants, solar panels have a 20-fold lower carbon footprint.
If you ever had your doubts, now you know that with solar power at home you can significantly reduce your carbon footprint.
Solar Benefit #3: Energy Independence
Across the US electricity rates are going up. Partly, that’s due to rate increases tied to non-renewable energy sources like natural gas that homeowners use to heat their homes. In states from Iowa to Oregon, there are also power plants that burn natural gas to generate electricity.
Why should you care? In just the first few months of 2022 so far, natural gas prices have jumped 80%!
But you don’t have to just deal with the rate hikes and rising prices. You can set yourself up for more savings every year with solar!
A solar energy system that uses net metering to increase homeowner savings is a low-cost option for gaining energy independence from your utility company.
If the system is grid tied, do you really have energy independence? Wouldn’t you need to go fully off-grid for that? Not necessarily.
It’s important to take into account that battery systems for solar last only 5-15 years on average. Which means that for the average solar energy system with panels lasting 25 years, you’re replacing that battery at least twice, or as often as every 5 years.
That added expense can quickly outweigh the benefits of having a battery to kick on if the power grid went down for a few hours.
If you’re concerned about power outages, a generator connected to your grid tied system can make sure your home has power if your local electrical grid is down. You’ll get both the perks of a grid tied system and net metering, and have a way to power your home if the power goes out.
Solar Benefit #4: Add Value to Your Home
We’ve established that solar panels can lower your energy bill. But did you know they can also increase the value of your home?
A study from Zillow found that solar panels regularly increase the property value of a home, and help make the home more competitive on the market when homeowners want to sell. It’s not just a few dollars either.
Adding a solar energy system to your home can increase the value by thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars. The average US home saw a 4.1% jump in the value of their house.
For a home that was valued at around $295,000, that’s an additional $11,800 in value!
Zillow’s report also found that one of the reasons homes are selling for more than those without solar is because they can provide future homeowners with energy cost savings. More than 80% of homeowners surveyed said energy-efficient features, like solar panels, are important to have.
Make the Most of the Benefits of Solar with Purelight
Ready to get the benefits and savings of solar for your home?
See if your roof qualifies for our $0 out of pocket program today.
With Purelight’s zero down program, homeowners can go solar for nothing out of pocket and save more for less!
