Like most homeowners, you have probably searched for ways you can reduce your monthly expenditures. You may even be willing to invest a little money if it will reduce your bills. One way you may accomplish this goal is to invest in a solar energy system. With incentives such as the Texas solar tax credit you may even get some of your investment back. This is why solar is the perfect way to save money.
Saving Money on Your Bills
The purpose of installing solar panels is to save money on your household energy. Every panel you install reduces the amount of energy you have to purchase from your local utility. If your system is large enough, you won’t have to pay an electricity bill at all.
Your solar system also produces electricity at a much lower cost per kilowatt hour. You can compare these costs by determining your payback period, your loan interest, monthly payments and the total cost of your system. Consider how much energy your system creates and multiply this by the current electricity rate to determine what the utility cost could be. This figure should be higher than what you pay on your financing.
In addition, if you pay in cash, you can use the payback period and the longevity of your system to determine your actual monthly costs. Then, compare this to what you pay every month for electricity or what you would pay for the energy output your system produces. In addition, consider that once you pay off your system, you receive your energy for free, increasing your savings.
Avoiding Grid Power Outages
Although this doesn’t directly apply to saving money, installing your panels also helps you prevent power outages in your home. Even if you hook into the grid, you can have power during the day if you have solar panels. If you have a battery backup system that stores your energy, you can even have power at night.
However, even if you do not have a battery backup, you can do many of your high-energy tasks during peak sunlight hours, such as washing dishes and clothes, heating and cooling and charging electric vehicles.
If you live in an area that gets high winds, super cold temperatures or other inclement weather that causes the grid to fail or if your utility becomes overwhelmed with the power draw during some seasons, causing blackouts or brownouts, you won’t feel these effects. This more than makes up for your solar panel price.
Selling Electricity Back to the Grid
In most municipalities and states, you can sell your solar energy back to the utility company. During peak solar hours, you will likely produce much more energy than you can use. Instead of letting this energy go to waste, especially after your battery system is full, you can sell this energy.
Then, during non-peak sunlight hours, you can draw power from the grid at a lower rate. You can offset this cost based on the price your utility pays you for your excess energy production.
If you have an interest in saving money on your energy, write down all your questions and contact solar installers near me to learn more.
