Publish Date: May 4th, 2022
Blog Updated: November 2022
While there are many reasons to go solar, here are four of the top advantages of solar energy for your home. If you're curious about solar for your home or you want to encourage your neighbors to explore solar, you’ve come to the right place!
Own Your Power
Many of the advantages of solar energy for your home are financial. That's because as soon as your solar panels are installed and your system is turned on, you have an electricity-generating power plant of your very own on your roof. Instead of paying a premium to the utility company, you're now the owner of your power. We factor in a 4% electricity rate escalator to show our customers the increasing utility prices you no longer have to deal with once you go solar.
Thinking about purchasing an electric vehicle, adding an energy intensive appliance, or electrifying your home? Investor-owned utilities like Xcel Energy and Black Hills Energy adopted the 200% rule in 2021. This rule states that homeowners can now offset up to 200% of their last 12 months of energy usage. It allows for more flexibility for the size of solar systems and can help you futureproof your home.
Money Saving Incentives
The savings from a solar panel system can be looked at monthly and over the lifetime of the system (around 30 years). At Namaste Solar, we typically design systems to offset 100% of your energy usage with an average payback period of 12-15 years. Not only do our systems pay for themselves, but it’s possible to see a system pay for itself twice over during its lifespan. That's a major advantage of solar energy for your home compared to staying completely dependent on a utility company! Check out this blog that details an example cash flow table from one of our customers to see how the finances played out.
The Federal Solar Tax Credit is another great incentive. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, the tax credit is increasing to 30% for both home and commercial solar and will be in place until 2032. After that, homeowners will get 26% in 2033 and 22% in 2034, and in 2035, the credit goes away. In 2021, with just a 26% tax credit, our customers saved $7k-$8k on average.
Increase Your Home’s Value
Solar benefits both buyers and sellers. Not only does it allow homeowners to save money on utility bills, but, according to a study by Zillow, homes with solar panels sell for 4.1% more on average than similar homes without solar. Check out what a Colorado realtor has to say: Realtor Tips on Buying or Selling a House with Solar Panels. We also believe solar on your roof is a powerful visual reminder that we can each make a difference, and it may encourage your neighbors go solar too.
Environmental Impact
It’s hard to ignore the very real impacts of climate change, especially when they’re happening in our own backyard. So, another advantage of solar is knowing that you’re making a positive impact on the earth. In fact, the environmental impact of an average-sized Colorado home that’s had a solar system for 30 years is the equivalent of 225,810 lbs. of coal not burned. That ends up being quite a lot of greenhouse gases you are keeping out of our atmosphere. Pretty impressive!
On a Scale of 1-10…
How likely are you to go solar now? If we’ve inspired you, reach out for a free consultation with our non-commissioned solar advisors. If you're not quite ready, that's ok! We'll be here when you want to see what solar could look like for your home.
Still not sure? Check out our Home Solar Buying Guide. Get expert, honest answers to the top questions you need to ask when considering solar for your home. Learn essentials like:
- How much does solar cost?
- How much will I save?
- Can solar work for my house?
- And much more!
