Going solar is a great long-term solution to saving energy, reducing your energy bill, and for sustainability. However, how you maximize solar savings depends on how you shop for solar and the guidance you get as you plan to go solar.
The process starts by wanting to know whether going solar is for you. Today with the onset of online solar panel calculators, it is easy to determine whether your rooftop receives enough sunlight to generate clean solar power. Using a solar panel calculator, not only gives you an indication as to whether you can create your solar energy but also, estimates how much it would cost plus the savings.
Once you have estimated the costs and savings for going solar, the next step would be to determine possible ways to obtain the full benefit of solar power. Getting the full advantage of solar power means reducing your solar panel cost significantly and save more money in the long-term. These options include energy efficiency, the use of online solar marketplaces, exploring tax incentives available, and the use of a solar panel cost calculator.
1. Explore energy efficiency options for your home or business.
Conducting an energy audit by a professional energy rater certified under an accredited home energy rating system (HERS)would help to determine some quick energy efficiency measures that could be implemented to reduce your energy demand and hence help you to save you the number of solar panels required to power your home or business.
By conducting an energy audit, you may find out that you need to switch to more energy-efficient appliances that are ENERGY STAR certified. ENERGY STAR rated, means that they consume less energy than their traditional home appliances. Implementing such measures has a high upfront cost, but in the long-term is a cost-effective option. The department of power is a good starting point to point you in the direction of how to finance your home energy efficiency projects.
Conducting an energy audit by a professional energy rater certified under an accredited home energy rating system (HERS) would help to determine some quick energy efficiency measures that could be implemented to reduce your energy demand and hence save you the number of solar panels required to power your home or business.
2. Explore online solar marketplaces to find out who has the best solar panel deals
Online solar markets can aggregate different solar panel quotes from different solar installers hence helping to reduce your overall solar panel cost.
An online solar marketplace like the EnergySage provides prospective solar photovoltaic (PV) customers with a platform to obtain and compare quotes from multiple competing installers. It is an excellent tool for solar customers to get more quotes, and the competition between drivers may allow customers to receive lower prices in a platform like the EnergySage.
For instance, recent, NREL research studies have shown that solar panel prices from online solar marketplaces are about $0.20/W to $0.40/W lower on such platforms compared to market-wide prices.
According to NREL, these price differences are robust after controlling for the various market- and system-level characteristics (e.g., system size, module efficiency). For instance, a typical residential solar PV system, the price differences equate to about $1,000 to $2,000 in savings.
3. Additional ways of getting the full benefit of solar panels
Reducing the cost of solar panels by exploring further about some of the available rebates and tax credits available from your state or Federal government, respectively. You can also explore different grants or low-cost financing options that are available in the market to help lower your initial solar panel cost.
A great place to start and get the link up to all these offers and ways of getting the full benefit of solar power is through the use of a solar panel cost calculator. Get started today to get the full benefit of your solar panels.
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