Solar energy and greenhouse gases

Pollution on earth has reached alarming levels. China and India are the planet’s worst polluters, but they are not alone. Foolish policies enacted by corrupt lawmakers account for some of the problems. But now extremely dangerous climate-related events are helping to pave the way for a new push for renewable energy sources.  An energy revolution is slowly taking the United States by storm. The U.S. solar market grew 76% in 2012. Never before has solar power been this available to American households. What are the reasons why so many homeowners choose to go solar these days? Following are some of the many reasons to go solar:

Save thousands of dollars by installing a solar power system
 

According to climate experts, adding solar panels to your home will bring in monthly savings of well above $100 in many states. Projecting forward twenty years, less than the length of a typical solar panel warranty, and this translates to over $30,000. In Hawaii, residents save on average $64,000 the first 20 years. Depending on the size of your solar installation, you may even be able to sell electricity back to your power provider. Solar purchase power agreements (PPAs) and solar leasing have made it possible for homeowners to install solar for little or no money down. Many homeowners opt to finance their solar panels with one of the “pay-as-you-go” financing options. This means that a third-party company – the solar provider – owns the solar system and takes care of installation, maintenance, monitoring, and repairs. You simply pay the solar provider for electricity – less than you would`ve paid the utility company.
 
Solar payback period less than a decade!

If you choose to purchase your solar system in cash, the payback period is in many cases less than ten years. In Hawaii, it takes homeowners on average 5 years before the monthly savings (in terms of lower electricity costs) exceeds the total costs of the solar system. Most homeowners choose to go solar because it makes good sense from a financial point of view. But the environmental benefits help motivate renewable proliferation. The U.S. places second in the world in annual carbon dioxide emissions at 17.9%, right behind China. You can lower your carbon footprint considerably by replacing your power with clean electricity from solar panels. The typical residential solar system offsets about 100,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide in 20 years – the equivalent of driving a car for 100,000 miles. The United States relied on net imports for almost half of the petroleum (crude oil and petroleum products) that we consumed in 2012. Every citizen can help to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign energy. We will run out of oil, coal and natural gas within an estimated half-century. While we continue our consumption of these increasingly expensive and dangerous energy sources, our national security and economy suffer. Shopping for solar power used to be a long and complicated process. There are hundreds of solar companies in the U.S. alone. It would take you weeks to find the best solar deal. Luckily things have changed.

There has never been a better time to go solar!

Solar power is here to stay, and the sooner you explore how much you can save, the sooner you can enjoy the benefits of residential solar power. Go to HahaSmart.com and try our price checker tool. It tells you how much solar power you need, and how much you can save.

Please visit our solar blog to find out more about the benefits of going solar.