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Every day we get the question, "Why install solar panels?" Let's make a quick list of all the common reasons to do it - reasons that hold true for both homeowners and business owners:
- Save on your electric bill
- Take advantage of the current Tax Credits (federal 30%)
- Create a passive income. This can be a significant income, depending on which state you have your property
- Increase the value of your home or commercial building without impacting tax assessment or payments
- Become more energy independent
- Avoid price fluctuation from the utility provider, because solar has a fixed price and utility rates go up over time, from new power purchases or escalating fuel costs
- Create U.S. based jobs (engineering, installation, high-tech design and manufacturing, software development etc)
- Reduce your carbon emissions
- Strengthen the local economy as local businesses work and trade with each other
- Show your customer or neighbors that you are ahead of the curve and responsible
- Help the grid become less vulnerable to widespread outages by increasing distributed energy
Why you shouldn't go solar:
- You have trees that create shading. If your solar resource is blocked and you can't cut the trees, that's a problem.
- Your roof needs repair before putting solar panels on it (but you could repair it before installing solar panels)
- You will sell your property in the next 3 years. Average payback time is 3.5 years in Washington DC - 9 years is closer to the average in Virginia, and in Maryland it may be a bit shorter. Some financing methods will only make sense if the resident plans to stay at the home 20 years or more.
- The high-tech looking panels don't look good on your property - some people consider it an aesthetic clash.
Lastly, there might be some misconceptions that you would have thought of which we recommend you don't worry about:
- You think the savings of thousands of dollars and for larger projects of hundreds of thousands of dollars is not worth your time - don't be too quick to dismiss your solar potential!
- Worried about how it will all work - Did you know we provide 10 years of warranty on all labor and 20 years on products?
- Worried about the additional maintenance cost. Be aware that the electric savings and passive income offset this, and that unless you are in a region prone to air pollution your solar is unlikely to require cleaning.
We quantify these benefits for your business or home. Contact us to hear the specifics and review our Guide to Go Solar to learn more about some key related topics.
