If you’re thinking about going solar in the near future, take the time to learn about solar incentives.
Solar incentives include federal and state tax credits, as well as other rebates and financial perks. Many candidates for solar power are frightened off by the up-front cost of installing solar panels. When you factor in solar incentives, however, the cost can be halved.
Today, we’re going to tell you more about how these incentives work and how you can take advantage of them. Affordability shouldn’t be the barrier to going solar. Keep reading and learn how you can save money.
Federal ITC
The federal solar investment tax credit was put in place in 2006 to stimulate the market for solar panels. It’s worked wonders, as solar has an annual growth rate of around 40% in the U.S. alone.
The ITC gives you a 26% tax credit on purchasing and installing your residential (or commercial) solar panels. As long as your panels were installed between January 2006 and December 2023, you just claim it on your taxes.
If you’re thinking about going solar soon, then consider the fact that the ITC is set to drop to 22% in 2023 and will disappear entirely by 2024.
State and Local Solar Incentives
In addition to the ITC, many states and municipalities offer similar solar tax credits for solar panel owners. State credits work in a similar fashion to the ITC, where you obtain credit via your tax return. Some states offer as much as 25%.
Some local utility companies will offer a cash rebate when you install solar. When you accept one of these, it’s subtracted from the total costbeforeyou apply for your tax credits.
SRECs
Another way to make back some of the money you spent installing your solar panels is through incentive-based credits.Solar renewable energy certificates(SRECs) are obtained for each megawatt-hour (MWh) of energy you produce.
Because many utility companies must generate a percentage of their energy from renewable sources, you can sell your SRECs to them. You get cold hard cash, and they get to hit their renewable energy quota.
Saving Money On Your Monthly Bills
When you combine all of these solar incentives together, you could end up trimming your solar installation in half. However, that is really only the beginning of the savings you can experience with solar energy.
As you start harnessing the sun’s energy with your solar panels, you can offset most or all of your energy usage. Eliminating your monthly bills can save you thousands per year. This means that you may break even on your solar panel installation within 8-10 years.
Not only are you helping to save a planet in crisis by lowering your carbon footprint, but you’re also saving money in the process. Going solar becomes a no-brainer when you start looking at all of the incentives and savings.
If you’re an LA resident thinking of going solar, then visit us at Signal Alarms and Electric for more information on residential solar systems, inverters, and solar kits.
Signal Alarms and Electric is an electrical contractor in Southern California providing full capacity electrical contracting services for new construction, renovations, tenant improvements, service upgrades, exterior, interior, and landscape lighting, retrofits, and service installations in the Southern California/Los Angeles County area.