The Benefits of Solar Panels
Solar Panel Will Reduce or Eliminate Your Electricity Bill
As a Buffalo, Rochester or Syracuse utility consumer, every year you pay ever-increasing rates for electricity. Installing solar panels is an easy and affordable way to stop giving so much of your money to the utility company, and instead put thousands of dollars back in your own pocket.
During the summer months, a typical home’s solar panels produce excess amounts of energy, creating credits that carry over into future months. This could completely offset your yearly electricity usage!
During our cold, winter months, our homes and businesses require expensive heating solutions that cost more every year. What most people don’t know, however, is that once we get into February, the amount of daily sunlight doubles and your solar panels can generate a significant amount of solar energy to combat your annual utility costs!
The cost of electricity through your utility company can fluctuate month to month. We’ve seen cost differences of up to 70% over the course of an entire year! Help “weather” dramatic fluctuations with a solar system customized to your home and energy usage.
Improve the Value of Your Home with Solar Panels
A multi-institutional research team of scientists led by the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory quantified the value of rooftop solar systems on homes that sold across eight states and over 15 years. They found that home buyers have consistently been willing to pay more for homes with host-owned solar energy systems, equating to a premium of about $15,000 for a typical system.
Co-author Sandra Adomatis, an appraiser who helped develop the Appraisal Institute’s Green Addendum and who has written and spoken extensively on valuing green features, noted: “Our findings should provide greater confidence that [these solar panel systems] add a quantifiable premium to a wide variety of homes…”
Solar panels are an investment in your future, helping you to save money AND add value to your home.
Solar Panels Extend the Life of Your Roof
Solar panels can cover a significant portion of your rooftop, protecting it from natural elements such as water and sunlight. This can greatly reduce the weathering on your roof, and require less regular maintenance and upkeep.
Solar Panels are Good for the Environment
It’s very important that we all do what we can to take care of the environment around us. When it comes to addressing climate change, converting to solar energy can make a huge difference in your carbon footprint.
Currently, electric utilities produce an estimated 70% of their electricity from coal and natural gas, and is the single largest source of CO2 emissions in the United States.
When you convert to using a solar power, you are choosing a cleaner, more cost effective form of energy generation, improving not just your own life, but the world around you.
Installing a 10,000 Watts of solar power Saves 15,555 lbs of Carbon From Entering the Atmosphere. This Equates to:
- 2.6 tons of waste in a land fill
- 791 gallons of gasoline
- 16.4 barrels of oil
- 294 cylinders of propane.
Types of Solar Panel Installations
Grid-Tied
One of the first questions most people ask about a solar system is, “how many batteries do I need to store my generated energy?” With grid tied solar panels, you don’t require batteries at all!
All power generated by your solar panels is “net metered”. In a net-metered system, all the energy produced by your solar panels is sent to a device called an inverter, which changes the electricity from direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC), which is the type of current necessary for all home appliances in the United States. This inverter then modulates its output to match the frequency of utilities electricity, and directs your power to your breaker box, where it is then distributed to wherever you are in need of power. Any additional solar power generated above and beyond your demand is delivered back into the grid to help power your community, giving you a credit with the utility company. Your meter keeps track of the power coming into your home from your utility company, and how much electricity is delivered back to the grid, keeping tab of your balance at all times. If you are generating more power than your home consumes on a regular basis, the utility company will be paying YOU!
Off the Grid Solar Power
Solar panel systems provide an attractive opportunity for those who choose to live “off the grid” (aka, not connected to the normal utility grid). Off grid solar systems require expertise planning and design, to ensure that your system can produce enough power for your home, and can store needed energy in times when generation is lower. Please note that off grid solar systems are not currently eligible for either the NYSERDA or New York State Solar tax credits.
AC Coupled Batteries with Solar Panels
AC coupled solar panel systems are a combination of grid tied and off grid solar systems. Unlike a strictly grid tied system, an AC coupled system incorporates batteries to help power the home with your solar generation can’t supply enough power. We can help you evaluate your options to decide if an AC coupled system is right for you!
