Things You Should Know to Have the Most Cost-Effective Solar System

When you make the switch over to solar, there are certain things you should know, especially when it comes to getting the most cost-effective system possible. You’ll save money when switching to solar no matter what, but in order to save the most money, here are some things you’ll want to know.

Making Sure You Have a Well-Lit Roof

To make the most out of solar energy, you´ll need to have a well-lit roof. Design your solar system so that you won’t have any shade covering your panels. If that’s unavoidable, you can get ground-mounted panels instead in order to deal with the shading issue.

Getting more money by selling excess energy.

Once you’ve found the perfect spot on your roof or grounds, check with your state about whether or not you can connect your solar panels to the national grid. A solar panel can not only eliminate all of your utility bills but can even earn you a surplus of $20- $30 each month by selling any excess energy you produce to your utility company. This money can be put away for any potential repairs you might need in the future, or go towards paying off the initial outlay. There’s a lot of online materials like solar calculators that can help you to figure out exactly how much money you´ll be making back each month.

Figure out if you want to buy or lease your panels.

If the initial cost of going solar is unfeasible, you can invest in solar panels via a loan, offered by most solar energy companies, or a lease.

The lease agreement means you pay a small percentage to the solar company for your solar energy. The upside is that it’s a very affordable method of going green. The downside is that you won’t benefit from tax credits or surplus energy supply. Once the lease agreement has been fulfilled, the solar company will have every right to reclaim the solar panels since you won’t actually own them.

Get in on the federal tax credit.

Solar panels are a long-term investment that will usually pay itself off over a period of decades. In the meantime, there are plenty of tax credits that you should take advantage of, but you should especially do it right now because they won’t last forever.

The federal tax credit allows buyers to recoup some of the money in tax via investment tax credits (ITC). Under the current legislation, consumers can claim 30% of the cost of installing a solar energy system back from federal taxes. On average, that will save you around $5,000 dollars on your installation costs. But keep in mind that it’s lowering each year and will be gone by 2022.

Installing solar increases the value of your home.

When thinking about the long-term, solar energy adds value to your home. According to a study conducted over a decade by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, they found a home fitted with solar panels would sell for around $17,000 more than a home of a similar size without solar panels. That’s enough to reclaim the full investment costs of installing a panel. Another study conducted by UCLA in 2012 found that homes with solar energy panels had a 9% increase in resale value over those that didn’t.

Want to learn more about how to make the switch to solar and start saving yourself a ton of money? Check out the HahaSmart blog!

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