Does going solar make sense for every homeowner? Not necessarily. Each home is unique and there are many factors that will determine if it makes sense to install a solar system on a particular home. These factors include location, positioning of the home, tree coverage, roof size, energy usage of the occupants, and far more. However, for the average home and homeowner, these issues don't get in the way of going solar. The only way to answer the question, "is solar power worth it for you?" is to have us perform an analysis to see if it is practical and makes financial sense. Because if it does, it’s one of the best investments you make in your home.
Keep in mind that no 2 homes are the same. Even if they were, no 2 sets of home occupants use the same amount of energy. A retired couple is going to use far less energy than a young family. So, if you want to determine if going solar is right for your home and situation, you need an analysis done specifically for you.
We Don't Like Pushy Salespeople Either
I know. You don’t want a pushy salesperson in your home trying to “close” you on solar on the spot without time to absorb and understand information about something that you don’t completely understand. Our company gets it. We have an educational, consultative approach. Our job is only to explain solar to you and give you information about how solar for your home will affect you financially. If it makes sense to you, we’ll install a solar system. If it doesn’t, we won’t. It’s as simple as that.
And we don’t even come to your home! Everything we do up until the point that you decide that you do want solar is done remotely via Zoom. We’ll meet each other virtually. We have technology available to us that will allow us to design a solar system specifically for your energy usage and your home. Then we’ll present that information to you. If you don’t like us, you can click “Leave the Meeting”! And no one has ever done that.
If you decide that you want to go solar, we will do all the paperwork via the internet. After that our crew will come to your home and inspect the roof, the attic, and your electrical system to make sure your house is suitable for solar. If you need a new roof or an upgrade to your main panel, we’ll let you know. By the way, if your roof is close to the end of its life expectancy, we can include the cost of a new roof in the financing of the solar system. You won’t have to come out of pocket for the roof or the solar system.
The 10 Reasons Why Solar is Worth It
Is solar power worth it? Assuming that your home is suitable for solar, here are the reasons why it is one of the best investments that you can make in your home.
We can typically lower your monthly energy costs
What that means is that solar will drastically reduce your monthly bill to your utility company. We can’t eliminate it because you still need to be connected to the grid and there’s a monthly hook-up fee for that. And depending on the utility company’s policies we may not be able to produce 100% of the energy you’ll need for your home. So you will have to pay the utility company for a small amount of energy. Many times, that monthly bill is nominal. Then you’ll have a lower fixed monthly payment for your solar system.
We switch you to a lower fixed payment
Instead of paying a higher utility bill that keeps going higher every year (3 to 5% per year on average), you will have a lower monthly payment for your solar system that is fixed for 25 years. This payment is far more budget-friendly and is perfect for people entering the years of their life when they are no longer generating as high of an income.
Your home value will increase
There are 2 ways that an increase in home value due to solar is reported. The first way and probably most important is the increased price people are willing to pay for a home with solar. According to Zillow, homes with solar-energy systems sold for 4.1% more on average than comparable homes without solar power. However, this varies by state. In New Jersey, people paid 9.9% higher for a home with solar.
Another way this increase in value is estimated is based on the size of the solar system. This makes sense because the bigger the system, the more energy it produces, and the more it decreases the energy bill. Solar panels will add $4 per watt in value to the home. A home with a 10kW solar system will have an increased value of $40,000.
Is solar power worth it? Between the energy savings over the life of a solar system and the home value increase, homeowners typically realize a financial benefit of more than $100,000.
If you decide to sell your home in the future, it will typically sell faster than homes without solar.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that solar homes sold 20% faster, and for 17% more than the equivalent non-solar homes, across several subdivisions built by different builders. This is contrary to some perceptions and assumptions people make about selling a home with solar. Those perceptions come from the concept that a lien is put on a home when solar is installed and financed. Therefore, selling a home becomes more difficult. Today there are no liens on homes with solar and the finance company makes it easy for the new buyer to assume the solar loan.
The federal government will provide you with a tax credit equal to 30% of the cost of the solar system
If a homeowner's solar system costs $20,000 as an example, that homeowner will then have a federal tax credit of $6,000. This reduces the net cost of the system to $14,000. Is solar power worth it? If you recall, I shared above that the typical solar installation will give the homeowner a financial benefit of over $100,000. Not bad for an investment of just $14,000.
Many states also provide incentives for homeowners to go solar
States like Connecticut, Massachusetts, South Carolina, and more have their own incentive programs that are worth thousands of dollars to homeowners. This is over and above the federal tax credit.
Reroof your home when going solar and finance the cost
If your roof is 15 years or older, we can have a new roof installed (that you’ll have to do soon anyway) and include the cost in the financing of the solar system. This increases your home value as well.
There is a 25-year production guarantee on the amount of energy your system will produce.
We presume that all solar companies will provide a warranty on their workmanship and equipment. We not only provide a warranty for 25 years but we also guarantee the amount of energy that will be produced by the system for 25 years. The amount of production on an annual basis is written into the contract and we monitor the system 24/7 to make sure you are getting what you paid for.
There is a 10-year warranty for any damage to your roof caused by solar installation.
Another common misconception is that installing solar panels on a roof degrades the integrity of the roof which could cause leaks. This is a rare occurrence. Even so, we provide a 10-year warranty against any damage to the roof caused by the solar system.
By reducing your carbon footprint you are helping the planet
Is solar power worth it? Let’s also not forget that by installing solar, homeowners can reduce CO2 emissions equivalent to planting over 3,500 trees or over 120 acres of forest, or eliminating the burning of over 300 barrels of oil. Now multiply any of these by 94,000,000. Which is the number of homes in the U.S. that don’t yet generate electricity from solar power.
Let us show you how much you could save by going solar
As you can now understand, you should contact us to provide you with a free analysis of how much money you can save by going solar. The only downside you'd have is if we determine that your home is not suitable for solar or that we can’t save you money, which is highly unlikely.
CLICK to Schedule a Free, No-Obligation Solar Consultation