Did you know that one hour of sunlight striking the Earth could satisfy our global energy needs for the entire year? Solar panels convert this energy into electricity.
Each solar panel has a semiconductor that absorbs sunlight and knocks electrons loose. An electrical current runs through them and, with the help of copper metal conductors, powers your household appliances. Contact Solar Panels Darwin now!
Save on Energy Bills
When you generate your own energy through solar panels, it will significantly reduce the amount of electricity that you need to buy from your energy provider. As a result, your energy bills will be substantially lower, potentially even making it possible for you to profit from your solar power system in the long term.
This will depend on the size of your solar energy system, how much electricity you use and the price of electricity from your energy supplier. However, on average, solar systems will produce enough energy to offset around 80% of your electricity consumption, leaving you with only a small amount of power that you need to purchase from the grid.
If your state offers net metering, you can sell back any excess electricity that your solar panels don’t use to the grid, further decreasing your power bill. You can also reduce your energy costs further by taking advantage of time-of-use rates and running appliances during off-peak hours.
Whether you pay for your solar energy system upfront with cash, finance it through a loan or lease it, you’ll likely be able to see a positive return on investment within a few years. This is especially true if you live in a sunny location with high electricity prices and robust net metering.
If you do choose to lease your solar power system, keep in mind that you’ll not be eligible for valuable tax incentives. That said, it’s still a great option for those who want to save on their energy bills but can’t afford to make a significant upfront investment.
Make Your Home More Energy Efficient
If you’re looking to cut down on your energy costs, a solar power system will help. It will also cut down on emissions and do your bit for the environment as it cuts down on the use of fossil fuels. Solar panels are a sustainable source of energy that will reduce your dependency on the grid, allowing you to produce as much or more electricity than your home needs, depending on whether your state has robust net metering policies in place.
During the day, solar panels can absorb direct sunlight that converts into electrical current and heat energy. This electricity is stored in an inverter, which then produces alternating current. This can then be used for household appliances and other items in your house. Solar panels are efficient all year round, even during the winter when there’s less direct sunlight. New technologies are continuing to improve the efficiency of solar panels. For instance, monocrystalline solar cells are more efficient than polycrystalline solar cells due to the way they reflect light on their surfaces. In addition, the color of a solar panel’s protective back sheet plays an important role in its performance as high temperatures can affect efficiency. Colors such as black or silver tend to be the most effective, but newer solar technology is focusing on using a wider range of frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum, increasing efficiency even further.
Solar energy systems can be mounted on rooftops, on poles in yards or fields, and in alternative outdoor structures like gazebos and structural awnings. In most cases, solar systems utilize a meter to track usage, which then sends the surplus energy into a utility grid.
Do Your Bit for the Environment
Solar panels reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions by converting sunlight into electricity. They also help to make homes and businesses more sustainable. The reduced demand for fossil fuels can lower energy costs, increase energy independence, and decrease reliance on foreign oil.
The environmental impact of solar power is largely dependent on the location where it is used and how much is produced. Most solar panels are made from recyclable materials, including glass, aluminum, and silicon wafers. These materials can be repurposed for use in other electronics and new solar panels, further reducing waste. Solar energy also helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by replacing traditional sources of power, such as coal and fossil fuels. In the United States, most oil is imported and must be transported across long distances on trains, ships, and trucks, increasing CO2 emissions.
Solar power also does not produce any greenhouse gases, which are the primary cause of climate change. Using renewable energy to power homes and businesses also makes the air safer for everyone to breathe, as there are less air pollutants like carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides, and sulphur dioxide.
As a bonus, most solar panel systems require very little maintenance. Keeping them clean with warm soapy water is typically enough to keep them looking good and working properly, which cuts down on cleaning chemicals that can harm the environment when drained into rivers or other bodies of water.
With all of the advantages they provide, it’s no wonder why solar panels are a great way to do your bit for the environment! If you’re thinking about making the switch, contact LA Solar Group to find out how much your home could save on energy bills and boost its resale value.
Increase Your Home’s Resale Value
The long-term energy savings and potential for selling power back to the grid provide a clear financial benefit for homeowners. That makes them a major selling point for real estate agents and home appraisers, who may add a premium to the price of a house with solar panels. The exact amount added depends on the size of the system, its age and location. The better quality and more efficient a system is, the greater its value contribution will be.
A number of studies have analyzed the value added by solar panels, but they can vary widely in their methodology and timeframe. For example, one study by Berkeley Lab found that homes with solar sell for about $4 per watt more on average, which amounts to an extra $9,274 for the median-priced home. Another study by Zillow analyzed homes sold between March 2018 and February 2019, comparing those with and without solar energy systems, controlling for observable attributes like home size and other factors.
Whether or not solar boosts your home’s resale value also depends on how the system is financed. A purchased, outright system tends to increase resale value more than leased ones. In some cases, you can transfer a solar lease to the next homeowner or buy it outright, but that can slow down a sale and raise questions for a potential buyer.
That’s why it’s important to talk to your customer about the pros and cons of buying vs. leasing when they first consider going solar. Ultimately, it comes down to their goals and whether they want to move soon or plan on staying in their home for many years. If the answer is yes, purchasing their solar system outright makes more sense than securing a lease agreement with a lender.
Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Solar power systems are also a great way to offset your carbon footprint. They generate their own clean energy, and if they produce more than they need at any time, it gets channelled back into the grid via a smart or generation meter (which is built in). The electricity companies will then reward you for this by paying you per kilowatt hour of solar generated electricity that you feed back into the system, a process known as ‘feed-in tariffs’.
However, it’s worth remembering that solar panels don’t just magically appear out of thin air – they need to be mined, manufactured and transported to your home, which leaves behind a small carbon footprint. However, the good news is that the carbon footprint from these activities is typically offset within three years of the system being up and running.
The type of panel you choose will impact your carbon footprint. For example, monocrystalline solar panels are molded from silicon blocks, while polycrystalline solar panels are formed from smaller wafers that need to be melted together. This is why it’s essential to do your homework on the different options available before making a final decision.
Once your solar energy system is up and running, it will start generating free, clean electricity for you. This will reduce the amount of electricity you consume from your local power company, which is typically created using more energy-intensive methods such as coal. This means that every kWh of electricity produced by your solar energy system is a reduction in the carbon emissions that are released in Massachusetts from the burning of fossil fuels. That’s a big deal! And the best part is, that your solar energy system will continue to offset your carbon footprint for decades.