Powering Your House With Solar Panels – Costs, Incentives, and Savings
Powering your house with solar panels can be a great way to lower your electric bills and help the environment, but you should be aware of the costs of this renewable energy. The costs and savings are based on where you live and the amount of sunlight you receive. Here are some tips to help you determine if solar panels are right for your house. You will also learn about tax credits, incentives, and savings.
Costs
Installing solar panels can lower your electricity bills while also providing monetary benefits. Depending on where you live, many states offer financial incentives to use renewable energy, and most utilities allow solar owners to sell excess electricity back to the grid. Installing batteries can also store the energy you produce from solar panels. These factors will make the initial costs of powering your home with solar panels less than half of the price.
Energy usage is another important consideration when determining the number of solar panels you need for your home. Average energy usage can vary significantly by season. Summertime means that air conditioning uses more electricity than in winter. For this reason, comparing a single utility bill to the average over a year can be useful in estimating the number of solar panels needed to power your house. After calculating this, you can calculate the average cost of energy and calculate your energy costs.
Tax credits
Whether you want to save money on your utility bills, or you simply want to improve the environment, there are several options for financing your solar panels. Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to qualify for federal and state tax credits. Some programs require that you purchase your solar panels outright, while others require you to lease the equipment. In any case, you will likely still have to buy some power from a local utility, but you will get a tax credit for it.
If you’re planning to install solar panels for your house, you may qualify for some state tax credits and rebates. You can get up to 26% of your total project cost in tax credits. And because solar energy is environmentally friendly, you may also qualify for a property tax exemption. The state of Texas, for example, allows homeowners to deduct the cost of solar energy devices from their property taxes. While these tax breaks are not available for every state, they can help make the investment even more attractive.
Savings
Installing solar panels can help you save a significant amount of money on your electricity bill. The average American household uses roughly 10 thousand kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per year. At an average rate of $0.1301 per kWh, a typical household would spend about $1,500 per year on electricity. In contrast, with solar panels, your utility bill would be less than half that amount.
Your savings will depend on the efficiency of the solar panels you purchase. The more efficient the solar panels are, the more money you’ll save on your monthly electricity bill. California’s recent percentages of inflation have been around 13%. Your tax refund and investment tax credit will also reduce your solar cost. These are just a few of the benefits of installing solar panels in your home. So, how much will solar energy save you?