Solar panels help you save money, increase the value of your home and reduce pollution.

There are many benefits to installing solar panels, whether monetary or environmental. The best part is that you can save money each month on your electricity bill while helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions around the world.

Reason #1 to go solar: You can save and make money with solar

One of the most popular reasons to install solar panels is the amount of money saved from low or no electricity bills. The cost of electricity in your area will have a huge impact on how much you can save with solar energy: the higher the cost of electricity, the more money you will save.

The solar company you work with will custom design your solar panel system so that it covers the average electricity consumption of your home. This means you can expect to have no electricity bill most months.

Solar energy also protects you from rising utility rates. Traditionally, the cost of electricity increases over the years due to the need for utilities to pay for grid repairs and construction of power plants. These increasing costs are incorporated into energy bills. But with solar panels, you won’t have to pay these increasing costs because you’re generating your own electricity.

Reason #2 to Go Solar: Solar Panels Increase the Value of Your Home

It’s worth starting with a caveat: solar panels that you own and pay off, not rent, increase the value of your home. Freehold solar panels produce electricity for free.

The problem with leased solar panels is that when you transfer ownership of a home, you must transfer ownership of the leased solar panel. This can result in a legal headache that may result in the panels having to be removed due to the contract with the original owner.

A home with solar panels already installed is attractive to a potential buyer because they do not need to pay for the panels themselves and can immediately enjoy the benefits of green energy – a convenience that many bidders will pay for more expensive.

Reason #3 to go solar: Solar and storage lead to energy independence

When you add solar panels to your home, you become more energy independent by relying less on the grid for your electricity. With a grid-tied system, you’re still using traditional grid energy to power your home when the sun isn’t shining or you’re using more electricity than your panels produce.

You can install a solar battery storage system while remaining connected to the grid, which will give you more independence. To take it a step further, you can build your home to be completely off-grid, but this is much more difficult for most people to achieve.

A solar battery allows you to store excess energy produced by your solar panels for backup use during a normal day or during power outages. Grid-connected solar panels don’t work in the event of a power outage, but a battery backup will allow you to run your devices until power is restored.

Newer battery systems are coming to market that can act independently of the grid, meaning they will keep your solar system running and producing electricity for days, even if the power lines are down. They are more expensive but can help you achieve true energy independence.

Reason #4 to choose solar energy: Solar reduces air pollution

A unique advantage of solar panels is the fact that once installed, the electricity they produce does not create any air pollution.

When fossil fuels like coal, gas and oil are burned, the fumes that are released into the air are pollutants. These pollutants range from carbon dioxide, which is one of the main drivers of climate change, to particles that are dangerous to breathe. Using solar panels to produce clean energy significantly reduces these emissions.

Reason #5 to go solar: Reduce your dependence on non-renewable energy

In addition to reducing air pollution, solar panels reduce your dependence on non-renewable energy. If you want to reduce your environmental impact, reducing your dependence on fossil fuels is a big step forward. Solar panels are a great source of renewable energy to help you take this step.

This is especially true if you invest in an electric vehicle, because you can charge it using solar panels installed on your roof. You will thus reduce your carbon footprint and your energy consumption will be completely free of emissions, your car being charged by solar energy and your electricity produced by the same panels.