🌞 Why Go Solar?

Switching to solar power offers numerous benefits for you and the environment. By harnessing the sun's energy to generate electricity, you can reduce your reliance on traditional utility sources and take control of your energy consumption. Below, we explore the reasons why you should consider embracing solar power for your home. From cost savings to environmental impact and increased property value.

🌞 Solar vs. 🏭 Utility

Throughout North America conventional energy costs are rising due to a couple of factors:

• Generation plants, transmission and distribution systems are getting older, and maintenance and replacement costs are increasing.
• Non-renewable fuels for power generation are increasing in price from both limited supply and from tighter environmental regulations and emission taxes.
• Electricity demand is increasing with population, larger homes, and increasing utilization of air conditioning, electronics and electric vehicles.

This is where residential solar comes in. Solar is an environmentally friendly solution to offset utility costs and help off load the reliance on conventional energy solutions.

💰 Bill Savings

Did you know? Solar can save you over 30% on your cost of electricity. This is the main driver for the adoption of solar - it saves you money!

When you think of home solar. The one that makes the most sense. It’s the one that produces its own electricity at effective rates that are less than you are paying your existing utility.

Electricity rates continue to increase over time - since 1970 the price of electricity has increased over 4% per year on average. In contrast, energy from a solar system has a fixed price. With solar, you won’t have to worry about how the price of your electricity changing in the future.

Solar savings varies on many factors. The most important are:

• Current cost of power from your utility company
• Local net metering rules & regulations
• Sunlight hours on their property
• Shade
• Roof Orientation
• Roof Material
• Installation cost
• Financing charges to install solar.

♻️ Sustainability

By installing solar, you can reduce your own personal environmental footprint!

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the energy sector accounts for 27 percent of America’s carbon emissions. Fossil fuel power plants create carbon emissions which contribute to local air pollution in areas close to power plants. When you put a solar system on your property, you can avoid purchasing hydrocarbon-generated electricity from the grid by generating electricity directly with your solar panels instead.

Even when you’re not using the solar electricity directly, you’re offsetting the need for hydrocarbon-generated electricity by exporting your excess solar energy into the grid. At the end of the day, a typical residential solar system will eliminate 3-4 tons of carbon emissions each year—the equivalent of planting over 100 trees annually.

Additionally, by producing energy at the point of consumption, solar takes significant stress off the power grid by matching peak load demand with local supply. Solar generation is maximal throughout the day, which tends to be the period during which homes consume the most energy. Solar therefore helps reduce the need for future high voltage transmission lines. With local production of power communities gain a more versatile and secure energy infrastructure.

🛡️ Energy Security

Home energy security can be achieved by combining solar power with a battery system.

For safety reasons, solar alone does not function during a power outage in the absence of a storage location for excess energy. Pairing solar panels with a battery allows you to recharge with sunlight and keep your appliances running even when the grid goes down. Batteries are designed to integrate with solar panels and can store energy generated during the day for use at night or during unexpected outages and grid shut-offs.

There is nothing quite like the feeling of being the only house on the block with the lights on after the grid goes down—although the more altruistic among us would prefer that all our neighbors had the same luxury. With a solar battery the transition from grid to battery backup power is seamless and reassuring.

There are many reasons that you may opt to include batteries in your solar project. Some of the most common are:

• You work from home and need continuous power for lights/computers/internet
• You experience frequent grid failures and lose valuable perishables (food)
• You experience frequent grid failures and lose valuable perishables (food)
• You have vital medical devices that require electricity
• You want to ensure your furnaces can run during winter so their pipes don't freeze
• You have valuables in your home that require a constant temperature
• You want to ensure your alarm system performs 24/7, 365 days a year
• You want to self-consume as much solar power to be less reliant on dirty grid power
• Your utility company's solar rate plans aren't great and a battery improves solar ROI
• You want to position your home as “net zero” and self-reliant to increase property value
• You just want it!

⤴️ Increase Your Home Value

Many homeowners, buyers, and appraisers know that the installation of solar panels and solar batteries can increase a property's market value. In fact, one study from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory confirmed that solar installations increase a home's resale value by up to $5,911 for each kilowatt of solar panels installed. Another study from Zillow showed an increase of 4.1% of the home's value.

More than 80% of homebuyers say that energy efficiency is a top priority.

Solar panels reduce operating costs and have little to no maintenance which allows homebuyers to more easily afford a house with solar panels. With increasing grid uncertainty and reliance on home energy for remote work solar batteries are becoming a requirement for many new homebuyers.

Even some states like California have made it mandatory for all new constructed residences to have solar in order to be livable. As time goes on more and more states will follow suit.

A unique perk to solar investments, compared to a bathroom renovation, is that solar is generally 100% property tax increase exempted. Which means while the appraised value of the home may go up and the market value of the home will go up from solar, the property taxes will not go up. This property tax exemption is regional and some areas do not have any exemptions. Adding solar is an easy - no-demolition needed - home improvement that can be cash-flow positive. Try saying that about windows!

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