Solar panels are a great way to save money long term; upfront you will be paying for them through a payment plan, but after a few years the savings from solar panels will offset the cost and eventually you will be bringing in more money than before.
Save Money. How Much Can You Save With Solar Panels?
To think about how much you’ll save, consider your electricity bill and your gas bill. You can use solar to heat your home and your water. The sum of both those bills is how much savings you can potentially save each month with solar installation. The average California household prior to going solar spends nearly $2300 annually on electricity.
To find out your cost, just add up the totals of the electricity bills you’ve received over the past year and divide by twelve to figure out an average. Once you’ve done that, consider the cost of an average solar panel set up, which would be about $18,250. The estimated return on investment varies depending on utility company rate increases, but you can figure on as low as 4.5 years to about 9 years depending on your bill and other factors related to you going solar. Some of those factors include panel orientation on your home, shading on your roof, and the total number of panels needed to eliminate your electricity bill.
Do You Still Have An Electric Bill With Solar Panels?
You’ll still have an electric bill coming in each month as long as you’re connected to the grid, but it could be as low as $10.00 for the connection fee to the grid. , meaning it’s essentially just a statement from the electricity company. In addition, during the day your solar panels might produce more power than you’re actually using. That excess energy will be sent to the grid and you then will be issued electricity credits that you can use during times of the day or times during the year when there is less sunlight.
During periods like this, your solar panels won’t produce any electricity, so your system would end up pulling electricity from the grid and the electricity credits earned when you had excess electricity would offset the cost of your bill.
How Much Do Solar Panels Reduce Greenhouse Gases?
Solar panels can be very instrumental in reducing your carbon footprint. The majority of the reduction will come from using solar energy to heat your home and water versus using electricity or gas like propane or butane. In that regard, solar panels are very effective at reducing greenhouse gases, but it also depends on where your home is located.
If you’re in a less developed region that uses coal plants for electricity, then your carbon footprint will be greatly reduced by using solar. But if you’re in a region where solar, wind, hydropower, or nuclear is used, then the carbon footprint will not change a whole lot because you would already be getting power from a relatively clean source.
Solar Panels Can Be a Great Savings
Adding solar panels to your home is a great investment that will save you more and more money over time, while traditional electricity costs are only continuing to go up. Electricity costs in California have continually gone up for the past decade averaging over 6% a year and sometimes double digits. In addition, homes with solar panels appreciate more in value and are seen as a better investment for real estate developers.
Finally, it’s important to acknowledge the psychological aspect of installing solar panels. Homeowners with solar panel installations feel more comfortable knowing they are less dependent on the system in case of an emergency. Generally speaking, they have more control over their lives. As you can see, solar installation offers tremendous cost savings and add value in a number of different ways.
Save Money With Solar Today
If you have further questions about reducing your electricity bills or how you can save money with solar, the best thing you can do is explore your solar power options with a qualified professional. Contact HomePro Solutions today. We have the technical know-how and customer service expertise necessary to ensure that every solar power project is a success.