What Homeowners Need to Know About Home Solar Power Systems

The past ten years have been key ones in terms of solar panel installations on homes. Homes and businesses across the country are transitioning away from traditional a fossil-fuel electricity grid towards a clean energy economy, necessitated by emissions reduction targets in a time of global climate change. Amidst this period of energy reform, solar-powered systems for houses are taking off at a remarkable rate. Here’s what you need to know about residential solar panels.

How Much Has The Cost Of Solar Decreased?

If you are looking for a reason to get a solar panel installation, the reduced cost of solar is a fantastic place to look. The cost of solar panel installations in the United States has dropped by around 70 percent over the past 10 years. Last year alone, residential solar panels saw a five percent decrease in the cost of solar. There isn’t any question that solar panels have evolved from a simple cleantech commodity to a sensible home upgrade that more and more Americans are considered. Getting a solar panel installation for your home is one of the smartest decisions that you can make.

The Difference Between Solar Panels for Business and Home Solar Panels?

A commercial solar power project might power a town or a company’s operation. As a result, they will vary significantly vary in terms of scale and the cost of solar panels. Thanks to the relatively small scale, rooftop solar panel installation for home is an attainable energy upgrade that cab generates serious electric bill savings for homeowners at any income level. Commercial solar panel installation necessitates a major investment and a collective group of investors.

The Cost of Solar for Residential Installations

The cost of solar is going to depend on the state and the size of your solar-powered systems. But, there is data that can help you estimate the cost of solar in the United States. The easiest way to calculate the cost of solar through the different solar-powered system sizes is in dollars per watt ($/W), which will indicate how many dollars the cost of solar per watt of available electricity production is. In 2019, homeowners are going to be paying an average of $2.98/W. In order to fully understand how much the cost of solar has decreased, in 2008 the average cost of solar was over $8/W. For an average 6kW solar-powered system, the price of $2.98/W means that you will pay approximately $17,880 before the tax credits and rebates in 2019. But if you don’t want to do the math, you can go to HaHaSmart and use the price checker tool.

How Does Home Solar Connect to the Grid and What is Net Metering?

Most home solar-powered systems are going to be connected to the grid. When your solar panel installation is connected to the grid, net-metering is going to serve as an efficient solution to the specific question “how will you get solar power at night?” Net metering serves as a solar incentive where you are going to receive bill credits when your solar-powered when you receive bill credits to cover the cost of your grid electricity use.

If you have an off-grid solar-powered system, you aren’t going to have electricity from your utility. This will mean that, in order to build a completely off-grid solar-powered system, you are going to need extensive energy storage capabilities, a very large solar-powered system, and provisions for the backup solar power to cover your energy needs when your solar panels aren’t getting enough sun.  

Is It Possible to Get a Solar Panel Installation if Your Roof Doesn’t Qualify?

One of the coolest aspects of the residential solar-powered system sector is the list of options for homeowners who want to get a solar panel installation but don’t have the right rooftop for it. The option of getting a ground mount solar panel installation and community solar power gardens are two common ways to access power from the sun without actually getting a solar panel installation on your rooftop. Community solar power involves connecting the members of a group or your neighborhood to share a solar-powered system, while ground mounts solar panel installations are a much easier way to own and install your own solar-powered system while bypassing any roofing hurdles.

Solar Energy Tax Benefits

There are two simple ways to think about solar energy tax benefits when it comes to getting solar panels. The major solar energy tax benefits that are associated with solar panels for home use is the federal investment tax credit (ITC), which is more commonly referred to as the solar energy tax benefit. The ITC gives you a solar energy tax credit that is equal to 30 percent of the total cost of solar, as long as you are the one who is buying the solar-powered systems. The next option you have will be the state solar energy tax benefits, such as New York state’s tax credit that cuts an additional 25 percent off the price of the residential solar-powered system. Depending on the state that you live in, the opportunity for beneficial tax breaks and solar power programs could be extremely significant. Some of the states and municipalities are also offering other more complex options that are the case-specific - you should do some research into SRECs and the other location-specific solar power rebate programs.

How Much of my Home Will I Power With Solar Electricity?  

The answer to this question is going to be 100 percent. However, although a solar-powered system you can, in theory, offset all of your energy use, it isn’t realistic to expect that the level of the production of solar panels every day the week. Leading the U.S. solar panel manufacturer SunPower recommends that homeowners factor in a 25 percent cushion when calculation their target for solar panel offset. The main reason for this: solar panels are able to operate at maximum efficiency all of the time. There’s going to be certain days when the grid connection is necessary to fully be able to cover your power usage. However, the beauty of net-metering is that you are able to benefit from surplus production days and never paying anything to your utility while still relying on the grid for backup storage.