In United States the solar industry has been a booming industry for the past decade, causing a 70% decline to the cost of solar. Since going mainstream, homeowners are questioning how much switching to solar can save them.

If you are a homeowner who is considering gong solar, here are some solar power facts that you should know before investing in solar.

The cheapest and most abundant energy source in the world is solar power. 

This solar energy fact was confirmed in December 2016, when the cost of solar panel installation dropped to $1.65 per watt. This drop caused it to beat out it’s renewable energy counterpart wind by $0.01. It also beat out it’s fossil fuel competitors.

Another factor that plays into this solar power fact, is that there is enough solar energy that hits the Earth every year to meet the whole Earth’s power needs for a whole year.

If the Mojave Desert was covered in solar panels, those solar panels would create twice as much electricity that the United States uses annually.

In the United States, solar power is a growing industry.

The millionth solar system was installed in the United Sates in the beginning of 2016. This solar panel fact was a huge milestone for the solar panel industry that took 40 years to reach.

However, what was even more attention worthy, was that it was predicted that there would be a million more installations within the next two years. The reason that this solar energy fact took so many people by surprise is because it took them over 40 years to reach their first million.

Solar power plants can last 40 years or longer. 

The next solar power fact is, solar power plants can last up to 40 years or longer. Before building a solar power plant, there is typically a power purchase agreement that lasts 20-25 years. However, just because the agreement only lasts 20-25 years, doesn’t mean that power pants only last that long,

Some of the solar panels will last 40-50 years, along with the solar power infrastructure. The solar power infrastructure will usually last much longer than the panels themselves. You can replace your panels with more efficient modules as they get older, but you won’t really need to replace the infrastructure.

In the United States homeowners can reach their break-even point in as little as 3 years.

Because the cost of solar has dropped and the electricity grid prices have continued to rise, the idea of breaking-even point has become more and more attractive. In 2018, homeowners are have reported to seeing payback periods between 5-8 periods, making 20-year savings estimated to be $20,000 or higher.

In states that have higher utility bills, like Massachusetts and New York, they have reached their breaking even points in as low as 3-4 years.

California is Solar Star.

Another solar power fact is, there hasn’t been any other states that have driven solar, in the United States, like California has. California is leading the United States in solar installations by a very large margin.

California had 19.7 GW (gigawatt) by the end of 2016 and was getting 14% if its electricity from solar. Solar popularity has risen since 2016 and its popularity in California continues to grow.

Another solar panel fact that makes California even more unique is that it has both small rooftop systems and some of the largest solar power plants in the world.

Airplane can fly around the world while running solely on solar energy.

This is possible the most interesting solar energy fact, that solar energy can power airplanes. It is a more known solar power fact that solar power can power trains, cars and space stations, but many people were weary when Bertrand Piccard flew a solar-powered plane.

In 2016 Piccard flew around the world in a plane that solely used the sun as it’s only energy source. He completed his flight in July and when he landed it was a breakthrough on just how limitless solar power truly is.

Solar energy can provide power all day long 7 days a week.

One misconception that many homeowners have in terms of switching to solar, is they think that their panels can’t provide power during the night hours. A solar energy fact that is often overlooked is that, solar power can still power your home if it’s nighttime or clouds are covering the sun.

The way that solar energy powers homes without sun is because of solar storage providers. There are multiple solar storage space providers and because there are more competitors that are entering the market, the prices of storage are going down as technological developments are rising.  

Since recent developments in 2018, homeowners can now purchase solar-plus-storage systems that allow them to energy independent.