There are many good reasons to go solar, but everyone wants to save money.
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Getting the most savings from home solar panels and the clean, cheap, renewable energy they provide takes a little planning. Palmetto’s solar experts can guide you through the long- and short-term considerations of your potential solar savings, but we’ll go over those important factors here.
If you've looked into going solar, you likely know solar panel systems can be relatively expensive. So, you might wonder how investing in a solar panel system will help you save money.
Essentially, the power you get from your home solar panels replaces some or all of the power you buy from your electricity provider. When you break down the monthly cost of your solar panels and compare that to how much power they produce, the cost per kWh for electricity from your solar panels is often lower than that offered by your electric utility.
How you calculate those savings depends on whether you get your solar panels through a loan or by paying upfront. Understanding your financing options is an important step of going solar with Palmetto or any other company.
At first glance, it might seem like you would be paying more if you invest in solar panels, because you still have an electric bill in addition to a monthly payment toward your solar panel loan.
While it’s true you will have a second bill when going solar with a loan, the amount of electricity you produce with your solar panels should offset your electricity bill significantly. The combined cost should be less than your original non-solar electricity bill on its own.
The goal is to find a balance where you have enough solar panels to produce the energy you need to power your home, but not so many that it isn't worth the extra cost. (To calculate this for yourself, check out, “How Many Solar Panels Do I Need On My Roof?”) By reducing the amount of power you get from electricity provider, you can lower your electricity bill by an amount that offsets the payments you are making on your solar panel system.
Essentially, you have to look at the payment toward your solar panel system as an electricity payment. You can then compare how much you are paying for electricity from your utility company with what you spend each month paying off your solar system.
Here is an example of how you can save money by installing a solar panel system:
Another option is to buy your solar panel system upfront with cash. This can be beneficial because you know the system is already paid for, and you’re not paying any additional amount to finance the system over time.
Unfortunately, it can be harder to see how much you are saving when you don't have a monthly loan payment to compare your electric bill to. However, you can do some calculations ahead of time to estimate how much you are saving each month.
Let’s look at an example that can give you an idea of the savings with solar panels you can have if you buy your solar power system outright:
As an added bonus, your savings will typically increase over time, because the cost of electricity generally goes up over time. The amount you paid for the system is fixed, and the amount of electricity you save each month will be about the same, but the value of that saved electricity will increase over time. (And you won’t be impacted as much by rising electricity rates.)
The savings you get by installing solar panels aren't limited to what you are saving on your utility bill. There are several other ways to save money when you start using solar panels.
The less electricity you use overall, the more likely it can come from your solar panels and not from your utility, which you have to pay for. To use less electricity, you can go room-by-room through your home and find ways to be more energy efficient. This could mean doing things like:
More efficient appliances, smart devices, and solar power can be part of electrifying your whole home. Home electrification is the process of replacing everything that uses natural gas, oil, propane, or another fossil fuel with electric appliances.
On the surface, using more electricity and little or no other fuels will increase your electric bill even if you have high-efficiency appliances and take steps to save energy. But if your solar panels cover the higher electricity usage, it adds to your savings.
You can also invest in battery storage which stores any excess electricity your panels generate that isn’t immediately used by your home. Then, if your panels aren't producing enough electricity at any point, you can use electricity from your battery instead of drawing power from the utility grid.
It increases your upfront cost to get battery storage installed, but if your panels can regularly produce more power than you need, you can save money by not paying your utility for that electricity.
In places without 1-to-1 net metering, where credits are worth less than the retail rate of electricity, batteries are most valuable.
If you want to ensure your solar panels produce enough electricity to run all your appliances and other electrical needs, it is best to use your electricity during hours with plenty of sunlight.
Net metering (if available in your state or locality) allows you to take the extra electricity your solar panels generate and add it to the electric grid. You then receive a credit from your utility company for that extra electricity, which can help lower your monthly electricity payment in the future.
A time-of-use electricity plan means you can get lower rates for your electricity by aligning your energy usage with peak and off-peak hours.
For instance, you can:
Peak and off-peak hours will vary based on your location, the season, and your electric company. However, peak hours are usually when electricity demand is highest, and off-peak hours are when demand is the lowest.
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Going solar can be a great way to reduce your electricity bill from your local utility company.
When looking at investing in solar panels, it’s important to consider your long-term savings. You may start seeing some savings immediately, but your savings will often increase as the years go by.
If you choose to invest in a solar power system, you can also take additional steps to take full advantage of your potential savings. This includes being as energy efficient as possible by doing things like upgrading to Energy Star appliances when yours need to be replaced or adjusting your HVAC and water heater settings.
Investing in battery storage can let you store solar electricity to use when your panels can meet your homes energy demand. This stored electricity means you can avoid even more utility power.
You can also maximize the value you get from your panels by shifting your electricity use to daylight hours when your solar panels are making electricity.
Two other ways you can save money are net metering and time-of-use plans. Net metering allows you to send any excess energy your panels produce to the utility company for a credit on your electricity bill. Time-of-use plans give you the chance to get lower rates for shifting your energy usage to off-peak hours with cheaper rates.
If you're ready to install solar panels to save on your electric bills with renewable energy, talk to Palmetto today. You can get started with our Free Solar Design and Savings Estimate Tool to see how much you could save by going solar.
How do solar panels save money?
Home solar panels can save you money by allowing you letting you avoid buying all your electricity from your electricity provider. In areas with net metering or net billing plans, you can also earn bill credits for electricity your system sends to the grid.
What is the solar payback period?
A solar payback period is the time it takes for your savings from going solar to match your costs. Installing solar panels can cost you thousands of dollars, but can save you more over their lifespan which should be 25 or more years.
How do I calculate my solar payback period?
The simplest version of the payback period calculation is total costs divided by annual savings, which will give you the approximate time in years.
Where should I start?
Solar energy can feel complex, especially if you're researching providers, technologies, incentives, municipal requirements, permits, and more. From financing and design to installation, tracking, and maintenance, Palmetto’s dedicated customer service team is here to answer questions, address concerns, and guide you through every step of going solar.
There’s no denying the fact that solar panels save you money. But just how much money do solar panels save, and are they worth the cost?
There’s a lot of misinformation out there about solar energy savings. If you want the facts, keep reading. We cover exactly how solar panels save money and how much you can expect to save with a solar panel installation for your home.
The cost of your solar panel installation will impact your overall savings. When you install residential solar panels, you will start saving money on your electricity bills right away, but you won’t break even until you save more money on your bills than you spent on your installation. The sooner you break even, the more you will save throughout your solar system’s lifespan.
How you finance your solar installation will also impact your overall solar costs and ultimately, your savings. There are a few options for solar panel financing:
Solar incentives like the federal solar tax credit will also impact your upfront costs. When you go solar with a cash purchase or solar loan, you will own your solar panels and therefore be eligible for a 30% federal tax credit. The tax credit reduces your upfront costs so you can save more over the lifetime of your system.
Solar panels save you money by reducing (or eliminating) your electricity bills. They generate electricity using free and limitless energy from the sun so you can meet most or all of your electricity needs without buying power from a utility company. There are, however, times when you can’t generate solar energy, like when it’s dark out. That’s where net metering comes in. Net metering is an incentive system that allows you to trade electricity with your utility. When your solar panels overproduce, you can export the excess to the main electric grid and receive a credit that can be used to purchase electricity from the grid when your solar panels are not meeting your needs.
Depending on local electricity rates and your overall electricity consumption, you could save anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars on electricity every year with solar panels. It’s also important to consider the future savings solar panels provide by shielding you from electricity rate increases. When you go solar, you essentially lock in what you pay for power, so you don’t have to worry about inflation and price hikes driving up your costs.
However, savings vary. For an accurate estimate of how much you can save with solar panels, reach out to Boston Solar for a free assessment!
Solar panels save you money, but they save more money in some instances than in others. System size, sunlight access, and local electricity rates will all impact your overall savings.
System Size – The more solar panels you have, the more electricity you can generate. If your roof is not large enough to support the number of solar panels you need, you may not save enough money for solar panels to be worth it.
Local Electricity Rates – The more money you spend on electricity, the more you will save with solar. In New England, we have some of the highest electricity rates in the country, making solar worth it for most local homes.
Sunlight Access – To generate solar power, you need sunlight. Houses with good sunlight access stand to save the most with solar panels, while shade can reduce savings.
Electricity Consumption – If you use a lot of electricity, you will save more with solar than you will if your consumption is low. As we transition to all-electric appliances and vehicles, solar energy is becoming increasingly valuable and savings will increase accordingly.
Solar energy savings can vary significantly from one house to another, even for homes in the same area. The best way to find out how much you can expect to save with solar panels is with an assessment from an experienced local solar panel installer. Boston Solar offers free solar assessments and can provide an overview of your estimated installation costs and lifetime savings. Our solar experts are here to answer your questions and help you decide whether solar makes sense for your home—no pressure, just facts!
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