Imagine living in a house where a crystal clear spring of water flows through the backyard, but instead of using it, you pay the city for water. All it would take to have your own water supply, free of charge, would be installing a pump, but you don’t bother to do it. This, in essence, is what every homeowner who doesn’t install solar panels or PV modules, is doing. The sun is a massive energy source, available and free to anyone who has the tools to use it. Here are three reasons why every homeowner should install PV modules as soon as possible.
Utilities Savings
The most well-known advantage to PV modules is that you will save money on your electric bill. Most units, on average, will account for 80-90% of a home’s electrical needs. This means you reduce your utility bill by that same 80-90%. This is especially important in hotter areas where air conditioning is needed for long periods of time and utility bills run into the hundreds of dollars. In some cases, solar panels will actually generate more energy than you need in your home. When this happens, the excess energy is sold back to the utility company. In short, the worst-case scenario for a homeowner is that they cut their utility bill drastically. The best-case scenario is that they actually begin making money, albeit a modest amount, from their excess energy.
Increase Home Value
Today, living a green lifestyle is increasingly important for many people. For this reason, a home that offers solar panels is very attractive to many home buyers. Even if the buyers don’t feel too strongly about their environmental impact, they will appreciate, and be willing to pay extra for, the energy savings that PV modules produce. In California, a small PV module unit will, on average, increase the property value of a home by almost $20,000. A larger system results in a property value increase of nearly $30,000.
Tax Credits
Along with the benefits that solar panels give a homeowner, they also benefit society. Producing your own energy means that electrical companies can manufacture less, which in turn means a smaller carbon footprint. In recognition of this positive result, there are a number of tax credits and financial incentives for homeowners who install PV modules on their homes. The U.S. government provides a federal tax credit of 30% of the installation fees. State and local governments also offer rebates and other tax incentives for homeowners who elect to reduce their carbon output. With these incentives, combined with utility savings, PV modules are nearly always cheaper than buying electricity from the electrical company, even when installation costs are taken into account.
In conclusion, any homeowner who is interested in saving money and helping the environment should install solar panels immediately. Not doing so means wasting a perfectly good, free energy source, while at the same time causing more damage to the environment.