 Financial Benefits
Solar power is a smart investment, especially with current government tax incentives and financing, you can curtail the effect of rising energy costs. Modern equipment can last 25 years or more with very little maintenance, due to its high quality, sturdy construction and no moving parts. It will also increase the value of your home, and take a bite out of rising energy costs.
Cutting your electric bill in half can be a great savings, especially over 25 years, and considering the rising costs of electricity. Many people who go solar can break even in less than 7 years, and see a return on investment after 25 years of 400% or more. Key financial benefits of solar:
- Helps offset the effects of rising energy costs, energy cost spikes, and uncertainty in energy prices
- A solar system will increase the value of your home and is exempt from real estate taxes
- Even when it's cloudy, the PV system can still generate electricity and offset your energy needs
- If your system is generating more electricity than you are using, the electric company will actually CREDIT you for the electricity feeding back into the grid that you don't use (the meter runs backwards)
There are many factors in determining the cost of a PV (photovoltaic) system:
- Your building's power needs
- How much you want to offset your electric needs with solar
- Government incentives (30% federal tax credit, plus additional state and local incentives)
For more details, please call us at 201-767-0800.
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 Environmental Benefits
Solar power is a renewable resource. This means that we are not in danger of running out. Solar power is non-polluting, nor does the acquisition of it harm ecosystems through spills or dredging. Solar power does not emit carbon dioxide, and will minimize your carbon footprint (CO2 emissions).
Energy Usage Facts (all figures in this article are from the EPA, unless otherwise noted):
- National figures show an annual average electricity use of 11,000 kWh (kilowatt-hours), a bit over 900 kWh monthly.
- The approximate average cost of energy is $200.00 each month.
- The average American home emits over 16,000 pounds of CO2 annually. It takes 24 trees to offset that.
The figures seem even more compelling when you compare them with auto use:
- The average person drives 12,000 miles each year, with an approximate rating of 20 mpg. This "average car" will use 600 gallons of gas in a year.
- The EPA estimates 19.4 lbs. CO2 produced per gallon used.
- 19.4 lbs. CO2 / gallon x 600 gallons of Fuel = 11,640 pounds CO2 emitted.
If you go solar for all your electricity use, you are taking the equivalent of 1.37 cars off the road. Think what an impact just your neighborhood, much less your city, could have on carbon emissions by installing solar power systems!
Real solar impact
When we project energy savings from solar as an experiment let us consider what would happen if a mere 5% of American households offset their energy use with solar power.
In 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the number of households in America was 111,162,259. Rounding up we get 112 million, so 5% is 5.6 million households. That's a large number of homes and it yields an impressive win for our environment, if it came to fruition.
If 5% of American households go solar, it means that, as a nation, we are
- Taking 7,700,000 cars off the road!
- Removing 89,600,000 pounds of CO2 from the environment.
- Offsetting the entire fleet of automobiles sold in the US. in 2007.
- Retiring 6,900,000 trees from their "CO2 offsetting" jobs.
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