Back HomeSolar Electric Energy For Your Home
December 21st, 2015 by keithandkinsey
Solar electric energy for residential applications has regained popularity in recent years. Improved technology, increased manufacturing, and higher efficiency has made solar panels (also known as photovoltaic cells) more affordable and practical than ever. There are many benefits to the solar panels on your residence including:
Utility Cost Savings: Our current listing on Hwy 39 in Hollandale has a solar system which saves the owner $1000-$1200 per year in electric utility costs. This is pretty typical for most residential solar systems.
Fast Payback: In many cases the savings in utility costs will offset the cost of a solar energy system within 7-12 years.
Environmental Impact: Solar energy can help reduce your carbon footprint. Depending on the size of your system, it could save 8,000 – 20,000 pounds of CO2 output per year. For comparison sake, the average car outputs about 8,000 pounds of CO2 per year. So using solar energy on your home is equivalent to taking at least 1 car off the road.
Increased Value: A modern solar electric system can actually increase the value of a home too. These systems have become desirable enough that people will actually pay more for a home with solar power. The increased value is probable not equivalent to the cost of the system. However, if you enjoy some energy savings for a few years and gain a little bit in your sale price, you’ll likely come out ahead.
Tax Incentives: Currently the government offers a 30% tax rebate on the cost of renewable energy systems. This definitely helps offset some of the installation costs of a system.
Long Term Performance: Many of the solar panel suppliers provide a 20-25 year warranty and they can last 40 years or better, resulting in a long term dependable energy source. Sun Power, for example, warranties that their panels will still produce 87% of their power rating after 25 years.
Custom home on 19 acres with solar energy.
Energy Independence: Some solar energy systems power your house directly as well as putting power back on to the electrical grid during peak sun exposure, with the utility company providing an energy credit for the amount of power produced. Other systems actually include an energy storage system that allow you to store the energy your system produces and use the power directly in your home. This type of system could make it possible to operate your electrical system during a power outage, or potentially even be off the grid entirely.
In summary, solar electric systems have become an affordable, viable, and dependable green solution to providing power for your home. If you are building a new home or even buying an existing home it’s definitely something to consider. If you are interesting in finding an existing home with environmentally friendly systems like this, we have the capability of filtering search criteria for homes with features like solar or geothermal systems. Or if you’d like to check out this amazing home we have listed that has an existing solar system as well as other energy saving features, let us know.
