Even though solar power has been around since the beginning of time, solar panels are fairly new to most homeowners, so there are a lot of facts regarding solar panels that are unknown to most homeowners.

Seven Unknown Facts About Solar Panels

Now that solar power has been a growing trend among homeowners in the United States, more and more homeowners are beginning to wonder how much a solar panel installation can save them, and some other facts that go along with solar power.

Using solar panels, homeowners are now able to convert the sun’s solar energy into usable solar power for homes, businesses and more.

The Cost of Solar

In 1977, the cost of solar per watt for a single cell was $77 per watt. Now the cost of solar is as low as $0.21 per watt. The cost of solar energy is cheaper than nearly every fossil fuel option.

Depending on where you’re looking at getting a solar panel installation, it’s probably cheaper than coal, diesel, nuclear, and even in most cases natural gas, particularly in the Southern U.S. if the pattern of cost reduction is any indication, it’s not going to be long before the cost of solar panels blow away the cost of all of the fossil fuels.

Solar Incentives

If you are just beginning your journey into the research of solar energy, you may not have heard about the solar incentives that are available to you. Some of the solar energy tax benefits that are available to homeowners is going to depend on where the homeowner lives.

One of the most beneficial solar incentives is going to be net metering. Net metering allows homeowners with solar-powered systems to receive bill credits for the extrasolar energy that is being generated at a retail rate from their utility. It is important to remember the not all states have net metering.

Another solar energy tax benefit that is vital to homeowners is considering a solar panel installation that is going to be the Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC). The ITC is making going solar extremely appealing to homeowners throughout the United States. However, the ITC is set to drop from 30% to 26% at the start of 2020, so if you want to take advantage of the solar power ITC the to sign up for solar panel installations is today!  

The Largest Solar Panel Installation  

It’s no secret that California has been a huge advocate for solar panel installations, with the 2020 mandate for solar-powered systems on all new homes, solar panels in California are only expected to grow in popularity. So it should not be a surprise the world’s largest solar power project is in the Mojave Desert in California. The solar panel installation contains 350,000 mirrors that will concentrate the sun’s solar energy onto boilers full of water. When this boil, steam will power a turbine to create solar energy. The developers expect this solar power to provide power for 140,000 homes.

Solar-Powered Systems Installations Hit Over 2 Million in the U.S.

In the beginning, if 2019, the United States surpassed 2 million solar panel installations. This Milestone comes just three years after the industry completed its 1 millionth solar panel installation, a feat that took over 400 years to accomplish. What is even more notable is that by 2023, it is solar-powered system installations are expected to reach 4 million, indicating that the rapid growth of solar panels as the fastest-growing energy resource in the world.

Solar Energy Can Provide Power 24/7

A common misconception that is centered around solar energy is that your house can’t rely on solar power for all of its power needs, especially at night. This can be easily avoided for a residential storage system for solar power. Quite a few reputable companies have entered the storage for solar-powered systems realm and the new competition and innovations are causing the cost of solar storage systems to fall. In 2019, homeowners will have the option to purchases solar-plus-storage systems and can be completely energy independent.

Solar Power Plants Can Last Over 40 Years

When a solar power plant is built, it is normally backed by a power purchase agreement with a customer that is going to last 20 to 25 years. But that doesn’t mean that these plants are going to be worthless two decades later.

Not only are the solar panels going to last 40 to 50 years the infrastructure around a solar power plant that has a lot of value. Solar panels could be replaced with the new panels with higher efficiency of solar energy at a relatively low cost, thus improving performance, but once a site established and the infrastructure is built, a solar power plant has an extremely long effective lifespan.

Utilities Are Joining the Race for Solar Power

If you are interested in getting a solar panel installation, a rooftop solar-powered system may be the choice for you. But even if you don’t own a home that is fit for rooftop solar panel installation, you can get 1000% of your electricity from solar energy in a growing number of places. Community solar energy projects are popping up in states such as Massachusetts and Minnesota, allowing ordinary consumers to be the power purchase agreement customers for solar energy projects. Utilities throughout the country are giving customers to option to source their electricity from wind or solar power for an extra fee.