Most of us can’t choose which utility provider to use. Take power back by generating your own.
A future-ready home can be more appealing, to more buyers.
A future-ready home can be more appealing, to more buyers.
From powering electric vehicles to working from home, our future is electric.
Solar panels save you money because they produce electricity.
It’s pretty simple: When you have solar panels on your roof, they generate electricity from the sun, which then flows into your home through an inverter. You can use this electricity to power your appliances and charge your devices.
The great thing about using solar energy is that it’s free—the sun produces more than enough energy for us humans to use in our daily lives! That means that if you have solar panels on your roof, you can save yourself thousands of dollars on your electric bill each year by reducing or eliminating your need to buy electricity from the local utility company.
Between your excess power and property value, there are a number of areas where you will see the solar savings make an impact on your bottom line. Not only do solar panels save you money on your energy bills, but solar incentives like the solar federal tax credit, net metering programs and federal, local and utility rebates make the initial decision to go solar easy and affordable.
the amount you can save with solar panels is dependent on your personal situation, so it’s best to consult with a local solar specialist.
In terms of savings on solar panels, you can estimate how much your savings will be by understanding how much in energy costs you currently are paying. In the U.S., the average electricity rate is 13.19 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) (as of February 2021). (1) According to the EIA, the average yearly electricity consumption for homeowners is 10,649 kilowatt hours (kWh), or an average of about 877 kWh per month.
If you do the math, that adds up to around $1384 in electricity bills each year. Which means if you have a solar system installed that covers the amount of electricity your home consumes and added a solar battery for energy storage, you could avoid paying for energy for the entire life of your solar energy system.
Now find how much sunshine your home at peak hours gets with a handy tool from Google called Project Sunroof.
If your goal is to completely cover your home energy use with solar energy, you’ll need more solar panels as well as battery storage to hold the excess power for the night.
The quality of a solar panel, the materials used and the brand makes a huge difference on how much energy your panels produce.
If you need help with these calculations, be sure to set up an appointment with a Solar Specialist. Find the ‘kilowatt hours used’ number and get an estimate by dividing the number of days or hours within that time period.
Enter your information. An a Solar energy specialist will contact you to schedule your estimate and help you determine if solar is right for you.
Knowing about the efficiency of your solar panels will allow you to determine just how much energy you can expect them to produce. The efficiency is a measurement of what percentage of sunlight your panels can turn into energy. The majority of solar panels are between 14% and 20% efficient, but it’s best to go with solar panels that have 20% efficiency and above for maximum savings on your home energy costs. Each percentage makes a large difference in how much more energy your panels will likely produce.
One reason it’s good to talk to a Solar Specialist is because this varies widely especially if you’re considering a battery in which you’ll be able to store excess energy for later use, like when the sun is not shining.