How can solar energy save you money?

Solar power allows you to not only save the environment but also your household energy budget, killing two birds with one stone. Given the fast rising costs of electricity from traditional power sources, in combination with government-introduced financial incentives to encourage the take up of alternative energy, solar power could prove to be a very attractive financial proposition for your household. Once set up, it effortlessly converts the FREE energy supplied by the sun into electricity for your household, so that your solar panels will overtime pay for themselves, allowing you to recoup your initial investment and to save money on electricity costs.

Most of us have experienced first-hand the fact of rising electricity prices. According to one study from the Edison Electric Institute in the United States, nationwide electricity prices rose an average of 2.5% per year from 2000 to 2006, a continuous upward trend over a number of years which is forecast to continue as conventional fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas become increasingly scarce and therefore expensive in the years ahead.

Governments around the world are slowly waking up to the prospect of a looming energy crisis, and the threat of climate change induced by harmful carbon emissions resulting from the burning of fossil fuels.

 

In response, they are belatedly introducing measures to encourage the take up of alternative energy sources like wind, solar etc, and avert a climate catastrophe. For example, the U.S government has introduced generous tax credits (up to 30%!) for homeowners who install solar panels. Additional tax incentives have been introduced by various state governments, as well as by other governments around the world.

Yet, even with the tax credits, solar panels are still quite expensive. Your average 3KW residential system costs about $15000 up front. However, in addition to the government tax incentives, many of the home solar companies also offer installation discounts. Also, because solar panels generate their own electricity by converting the FREE energy of the sun into clean power for your household (saving you from having to PAY the ever increasing prices for power sourced from the grid), and because in many states you are paid for feeding any excess electricity you generate into the grid (‘feed in tariff’ programs), you should be able recoup your initial investment over time – and even make a tidy little return on your investment. Certainly, in the long run, choosing solar will save you money compared to remaining tied to the grid and bare the ever rising energy costs.

When you consider the savings to be made by generating your own electricity using solar panels instead of purchasing it from the grid at ever-increasing prices, then the financial benefits of solar power are plain for all to see. Not only is this the eco-friendly power option, it is also an economically-friendly one as well. So why not go for it save some money on electricity? Yes, it is an investment, but in the long run, this investment is much better and more sustainable than relying on electricity that is generated by non-renewable energy sources.

ledwatcher

Blogger, editor, developer who loves green living. Interested in photovoltaics and solar lighting. Reviewing solar products since 2013.

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