10 Benefits for Installing Solar Panels on Your Home

The sun has warmed the earth for around four and a half billion years now, but it took until the 1830s for us to ponder using that energy to power our lives. It was then that Alexandre Edmond Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic effect, laying the groundwork for the solar energy technology available to us today. 

The last ten years have seen rapid advancements in solar cell technology. As efficiency has steadily trended upwards, the cost of solar panels has dropped by about 80% since 2008.

With this newfound affordability increasing their accessibility, many home and business owners are exploring the benefits of going solar.

Maybe you have heard some of solar power’s advantages, but do you know all the ways that installing panels can benefit you?

The Top Ten Benefits of Installing Solar Panels on Your Home

Some of solar energy’s benefits are fairly apparent, but others are less obvious. If you are considering investing in solar panels for your home, you should be aware of all of the perks that come with that decision.

Here are our ten top benefits of installing solar panels on your property:

1. They Will Reduce or Eliminate Your Electricity Bill

Most homeowners are interested in finding ways to lower that electric bill. Transitioning to solar power is one of the best moves you can make towards reducing that monthly figure to zero.

Assume that your monthly power bill averages out to about a hundred dollars. That doesn’t seem like a terrible figure for an adequately-sized home. But it adds up quickly.

A hundred a month becomes $1,200 a year, just to keep the lights on. Assuming an extremely favorable scenario where rates don’t increase, that would still be $24,000 over a 20 year period.

Modern solar panels are sufficiently efficient to dramatically reduce the energy you pull from the grid, making your power bill negligible or eliminating it outright.

Then you can take that $24,000 and invest it in something more fruitful than the power company’s coffers.

2. The Will Increase Your Home’s Value

At one time there was the perception that residential solar panel installation would lower property values. In actuality, the opposite has proven to be the case.

Prospective property buyers recognize the perks of a property coming with solar panels pre-installed. Some studies report that homes with solar panels can command an asking price of up to 4.1% higher than comparable properties in the same area.

Naturally, the largest increases tend to be in areas where energy prices are highest. But even in areas with more moderate energy costs, installing a solar panel array is an investment that will boost your property’s overall worth.

3. You Can See a Return on Your Investment in as Little as Seven Years

Speaking of investments, some homeowners balk at the upfront cost of installing a solar array. But the prices becomes substantially more palatable when you weigh the short turn-around time for a return on your investment.

The exact length of time varies, but on average you could reasonably expect a solar array to pay for itself in seven or eight years time. After that, you can count all of your savings on electricity as a return on your investment.

4. Solar Panels Protect You from Rising Energy Costs

After you start seeing a return on your investment, you can actually expect that return to increase over time.

Energy costs have a tendency to rise over time. This tendency will likely accelerate in the future as the cost of fossil fuels increases and new infrastructure is constructed to take advantage of alternative energy sources.

Utility companies pass these costs on to consumers in the form of rate hikes. By reducing your reliance on the grid, you effectively circumvent the worst of these cost increases.

5. Solar Energy is Just Good Business

If you are a business owner as well as a homeowner, you may find yourself weighing the benefits of utilizing solar panels for your business as well. Though some would be wary of investing so heavily in solar, this can actually be a very smart business move.

For one thing, it immediately reduces overhead. As quickly as the energy savings can add up for a private residence, they would be proportionately greater for a business that is pulling power from the grid throughout the day and night.

Businesses that invest in solar technology are also eligible for federal tax rebates to help offset the upfront cost.

But beyond the tangible benefits, there are perks that are harder to quantify, if no less real.

Public perception can make or break a business. A reliable way to generate some public goodwill is to demonstrate your dedication to doing business in a sustainable and responsible fashion. You can use solar energy as a part of an effort to paint a greener image of your brand.

The benefits of doing so will polish your image in the eyes of both customers and staff. Employees will be happier and work harder for a company if they believe that their employer does business responsibly.

6. There are Incentives for Homeowners as Well

Just as there is a rebate available for businesses that invest in solar panels, there is a comparable tax credit for homeowners interested in reducing their draw from the power grid.

The current Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit will reimburse qualifying homeowners for up to 30% of the total cost of equipment and labor related to installing a solar array. This credit makes solar panels an even more obvious choice for a home investment.

7. Modern Solar Panels Have a Lifespan of 25 Years+

Just as a baseline, most solar panel manufacturers will give you a 20-25 year performance guarantee on their products. However, that is only the low estimate of their effective lifespan.

The main reason for the low-ball lifespan estimate is that photovoltaics are a reasonably new technology. Most solar panels currently in use are only ten years old or less.

To be blunt, even many of the people manufacturing the technology were not really sure what would happen as it reached the tail-end of its expected lifespan. Now that some of the older examples are reaching maturity, however, what we have been seeing is encouraging.

Consider that the oldest modern solar panel is now almost 70 years old. And it still works.

As you might imagine, it doesn’t produce all that much energy after this time, but then, it was also an experimental design built by on a school teacher’s personal budget. This and similar stories inspire confidence that current, more robust solar panels, can easily maintain a high degree of functionality for twice their ascribed lifespans.

8. Investing in Solar Helps Support a Growing Economic Sector

If you follow the news at all, you will likely have heard a lot of talk about mostly floundering attempts to bring back jobs to America’s coal industry. At this stage, however, most analysists agree that those particular jobs simply are not coming back. Increased automation has virtually guaranteed that that will be the case.

But where a window closes, a door opens. The clean energy economy has been booming as more consumers look for alternatives to fossil fuels.

The Solar Foundation’s Solar Jobs Census reported that industry employment grew by 168% between 2010 and 2017. The solar sector now employs about twice as many workers as the coal industry. And employment is expected to increase in proportion to the growing demand for solar energy.

Furthermore, these are well-paying jobs. The report states that the national median wage for solar installation personnel is was around $20 an hour, compared to about $17 for the total U.S. workforce. And about 10% of all solar workers are veterans, which is a higher proportion than the overall economy.

Taken as a whole, the report paints a picture of a healthy industry that provides good jobs for low and middle-skilled workers as multiple other industries are increasingly affected by automation. By investing in solar, you become a part of the support for the industry and the workers who rely on it.

9. Solar Helps Foster American Energy Independence

Global energy markets are notoriously temperamental. But you can always count on the sun to rise each day.

Investing in solar energy on a greater scale would help the United States to insulate itself from fluctuations caused by political and economic instability abroad. So Going solar isn’t just good for you, it’s good for America.

10. Solar Energy is Good for the Earth

The trend has been for homeowners to move towards a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. And energy consumption will be one of the most important areas in which that dedication is tested.

Not to be dour, but the fact is that climate change will be the defining challenge of our time. And solar energy may be one of our best hopes for meeting that challenge.

A recent study estimates that we could effectively power the entire world by covering just 1% of the Sahara desert with solar panels. That’s just an example, of course, the exact scenario wouldn’t really be practical. But it does illustrate the technology’s potential.

As world leaders drag their feet in addressing climate change, it may fall to ordinary citizens to lead the way.

Solar is Good for You, Good for Business, and Good for the World

Alternative energy sources like solar will only become more important in the years to come. If you’re not taking advantage of the potential of solar panels then you’re doing yourself a disservice.

So what if you have already made the leap to solar power, but think you could still make your home a little more energy efficient? Consider how you heat or cool your home. Read up on some ideas to better insulate your home to increase your energy efficiency.