Natural-E: Financial benefits of solar electricity

Now, more than ever, solar electric systems are a good investment. The reasons for this are simple enough: government incentives, changes in utility policy and law, better technology, and rapidly escalating utility costs all intersect to provide a much more favorable pay-off period. Even if you finance the cost of your system, your loan payment plus your newly reduced electric bill will be about the same as your previous statement. The nice thing is you don’t have to worry about rate hikes with a solar system – you’re hedged against rate inflation.

We have outlined several financial benefits below. Our goal is to inform you the best we can, and become a trusted partner in your quest for affordable, clean energy.

Monthly Savings

With a solar electric system you will use considerably less electricity from your utility company, and be able to sell your excess solar electricity right back to them.

Federal and State Incentives

The combination of federal tax credits and state public utility rebates can result in up to 80% deduction from your solar electric installation price. See our Fed and State Incentives section for more details on your state. In Pennsylvania for instance, a new rebate program will begin in the first quarter of 2009 that will reimburse 25%-30% of total installation costs of many renewable energy products including solar electricity. Add on top of that the 30% tax credit from the federal government and you essentially have 60% of your installation costs paid for. See our Financing Options section for a detailed breakdown of costs with included rebates and credits for a typical system.

The combination of federal tax credits and state public utility rebates can result in up to 50% or more deduction from your original installation price. See our Fed and State Incentives section for more details on your state. See our Financing Options section for a detailed breakdown of costs with included rebates and credits for a typical system.

Protect Against Utility Rate Inflation

Solar electricity allows you to offset energy prices and inevitable rate hikes by producing your own, free electricity for up to 30 years or more. Many utilities have removed their cap on rate hikes, or are getting ready to do so. As a result, rates have skyrocketed suddenly in some states to 50 – 70% (Delaware and Maryland). With solar electric you can relax since you’re inflation proof for the life of the system.

Increased Property Value

Solar is a great way to increase your property value. According to the National Appraisal Journal Report (1998/1999) for every $1 of annual utility savings, the value of your home increases by $20. So, if your monthly bill is $200 and you cut it by $100, you could save $1,200 per year thereby increasing you home value by $24,000.

Energy Independence

Solar electricity is used where it is made, so there are no transportation fees, delivery costs or foreign influences on cost. The supply chain is simply the sun to your roof.

Alarmingly, the U.S. power grid is practically overloaded with no significant expansion in sight (see related article). Ideally, if more people use solar electric systems, the public power grid would be more reliable since there would be less strain on it. Everyone would benefit by reduced costs and increased reliability of the grid.

Furthermore, when you consider how dependent the U.S. is on foreign oil - something has to change for our country to be competitive. Based on figures from the Energy Information Administration, the U.S. imported 57% of its oil costing us $37.9 billion in September of 2011. According to recent historical data, we average $40 billion per month throughout the year - that's nearly a half a trillion dollars per year sent overseas! Solar energy, along with other forms of domestic energy, certainly can help reduce that extreme drain on our economy.

Net Metering – Getting Paid for Your Excess Electricity

Net metering helps increase you savings by tracking your net power usage. Your meter spins forward when you use utility company electricity, and spins backward when your system is generating more electricity than you need. In essence, the more electricity you produce, the more you save. So during a long sunny day your meter likely will be spinning backwards most of the time, and during nights and cloudy days the meter will spin forwards. It’s all automatic and power flow is uninterrupted throughout this process.

Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs)

Most states require or will soon require electricity suppliers to provide a percentage of their electricity sales from solar generation as well as other renewable forms of energy through Renewable Portfolio Standards. This means they have to either construct their own renewable energy plants to provide sustainable electricity, or purchase power from other suppliers like residences and businesses who have renewable energy installations (more likely). If you are a solar photovoltaic owner you are producing one SREC per each 1,000 kwh your system is producing per year. These SRECs are sold on the open market, and their value is state specific.

For further questions please visit our FAQ section. If you’re interested in getting a free site visit and quote please click on our Get a Quote section.