Could Now Be The Right Time For Solar Panels?

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If you live in Massachusetts, the answer is a resounding yes!

On account of the numerous incentives at both the state and federal level to purchase solar panels, there has never been a more rewarding time to go green with solar energy. The vast majority of residential solutions have the ability to pay for themselves in less than 5 years.

The sticker price on a 5 kilowatt solar panel system is approximately $25,000. A system of this size should give off almost 6,000 kWh of power every twelve months here in Massachusetts and supply just about 60% of the normal residential household’s electrical energy requirements.

There’s a Commonwealth Rebate which will subtract $2,000 from that price. In addition to that, if you should live in a moderate home or earn a moderate salary, you should receive an extra $2,000 off. Or if you happen to have been unlucky enough to have your residence damaged in last year’s tornadoes, you will receive an additional five thousand dollars off.

There also are both federal as well as Massachusetts state tax credits. The IRS tax credit is currently a massive 30 percent and the state credit is for $1,000. Following the rebates as well as the tax credits, you’ll be able to obtain a 5 kW solar panel array for about $16,000, less if you should receive the moderate income or moderate home value adders.

A system of that size in Massachusetts will give you an average of close to 80 dollars worth of electricity monthly for a yearly cost savings of $1,000.

But the long-term earnings come from the sale of your SRECs. One megawatt hour (1,000 kWh) earns you one SREC and a 5 kilowatt system ought to yield just about 6,000 kWh yearly. Because the state has compelled the electricity companies to generate a small percent of their total electricity via green sources, they will provide you with about $400 for every one of your six SRECs to say that you are generating electrical power for them. Thus that’s a further $2,400 in tax-free income right into your wallet every year.

Now you can have an understanding of a $16,000 solar panel system can be paid off in slightly less than 5 years considering that it earns $3,400 annually between electricity savings in addition to SREC compensation.

Solar panels are also one of the best home improvement options open to the Mass. resident. For a price of $16,000, it will raise the value of your own residence by $20,000. That’s a 125% ROI. Many home improvement projects won’t pay for themselves fully. Solar panels not only increase the value of your home more than they can cost, they are able to earn you money each year in the process. They’re even exempt from property taxes for the next 20 years.

And let us not forget the main reason these stimuli exist to begin with – to save the Earth. A 5 kilowatt solar panel array can slash your carbon footprint by almost one-hundred tons of carbon dioxide during the next twenty-five years, the equivalent of growing eight hundred trees. Each year, it will prevent the equivalent of 3 tons of coal or 20,000 cubic feet of natural gas from being burned to create electrical energy.

Needless to say from all the incentives currently available that now absolutely is the perfect time for solar energy. The Commonwealth Rebate and the federal and state tax credits cut down your initial expenditures. Plus the electric power savings together with the SREC program add significant revenue and also boost your home’s resale value.

Plus there is no way to tell how much longer each of these stimuli are going to be in existence. The Commonwealth Rebate has already been decreased recently and the federal tax credit has been threatened yearly.

Lastly, as this industry grows, a greater number of financing alternatives are becoming available to homeowners, making solar power economical for everyone. Without a doubt if you’ve always desired to purchase solar panels, there has certainly never been a better time than now!

Gary S. Best lives in Massachusetts and spent months investigating the different incentives and financing options before deciding to invest in a five kW solar panel system in 2011. He has since created a website, www.MassSolarInfo.com, educating residents about solar energy in Massachusetts and providing them with a way to easily get free estimates and save up to $500 off their own installation.