What Solar PV Can Do For You
Photovoltaics (PV) has dominated the solar industry so far. While there is plenty that solar thermal power can do for you, PV, which directly converts sunlight into electricity, has a more immediate and widespread use in the home. So, logically, there are a myriad of applications for solar PV in your home.Solar PV Can…
- Provide all your electricity. Obviously, a solar electric system will work to alleviate any of your needs for electricity. They plug, via an inverter, directly into your electrical panel and may also be tied to your community electrical grid. A PV system can provide up to 100% of your electricity, depending on the system size.
- Save you money! While up-front costs are usually high, the backbone of PV economics is the free energy from the sun. You can greatly reduce or eliminate your need for fossil-fueled electricity. In most any case, a PV system will eventually pay for itself in energy savings. According to statesadvancingsolar.org, a typical residential PV system would pay for itself in 16 to 19 years.
- Make you money! Not only can you make money but, if your state or utility offers net metering, you can actually get paid for excess electricity your system generates. Programs vary, but most utilities will purchase your net excess generation (NEG) from you at the end of your annual billing cycle. And usually at their retail or avoided-cost rate.
- Increase your home value. The rule of thumb regarding property value and solar PV systems is that for every dollar of energy savings in the first year, your home value will increase by 20 dollars. So, say you save $500 in your first year; that’s a $10,000 increase in value! Furthermore, several states offer property tax exemptions for all or part of that increase.
- Protect your environment. According to the Department of Energy, every kilowatt of PV-made electricity offsets 830 pounds of nitrogen, 1,500 pounds of sulfur dioxide, and 217,000 pounds of carbon dioxide every year! That’s something that PV does for all of us.
There is no doubt about the benefits of solar PV systems. In fact, their only hold up is the up-front costs of installation. State rebates and incentives have played a big part in the recent growth of the solar industry, making those benefits a realizable goal for many homeowners and businesses. PV can do a lot of things for you, but what makes it especially great is what it does for the planet and everyone on it.Talk to a qualified solar installer today and see firsthand what PV can do for you.
Posted on September 23rd in Going Solar by Dan.