NJ Residential Solar: Is It Worth It?

The idea of Solar For Residential Homes could get anyone excited, because of the privileges and benefits the owner is likely to enjoy for taking that bold step. But like every bold decision you make, there is need for a moment of reflection – beyond the excitement – to consider whether the decision you are about to make is right or wrong in the long run; in this case, this is the point where you contemplate your buying the solar system and you ask yourself all sorts of questions, seek clarification, before going ahead to making the purchase.

Before you go ahead buying and installing that solar system in your place of residence, you should weigh your decision on the following factors to know if it is actually worth it:

Environmental Factors:

This tops the list because this should be the first that comes into consideration when purchasing and installing a solar system for your home. In this case, the supply of sunlight is the case in point.  If your roof is sparsely covered with trees or any form of obstructive edifice, it won’t make any sense to install a solar panel on the roof because only limited amount of  sunlight will get to it; hence generating insufficient power for your home.

Also if you live in a location where sunlight is something that is scarcely experienced, buying and installing a solar system in such area would be considered futile because you won’t be able to generate as much power needed in your home.

So you before you go ahead to buy that solar system, ensure your home gets as much sunlight that is required to generate the power needed for your home.

Costs of Power At Your Location:

 The main reason why you would give solar system a second thought is because you want to subsidize on the amount spent on power for your home, but what if you aren’t paying so much already?

 While the idea of  getting a solar system is can be very exciting, you have to consider the cost to acquire one of high quality; A good solar system isn’t sold for anything below $10,000 – which explains why the solar companies make room for payments in instalments that can span up to 20 years to fully cover the cost.

So it’s all about weighing in the cost you are paying for power now, the cost others are paying and the cost of the solar system itself; After doing your calculations and you discover that you aren’t paying that much for power compared to others or that getting a solar panel won’t save you that much, you may just abandon the idea totally. But if the energy cost for your location is way too high, then I think you should get a solar system to cut down on the energy cost.

The Incentives Offered:

Of course, you should aim for the best deal there is, so you can actually satisfy the sole intent of vying for the solar option in the first place: to save cost.

If you bought the solar panel instead of leasing, you can enjoy some tax credits on the cost of the system. In most cases, the homeowners are eligible to claim the federal tax credits worth as much as 30% of the cost price.

The tax credits and incentives offered fluctuates across  states, some states have it better than the others; so it is not fixed for all states.  It is advisable to check the financial incentives offered for your state before making a purchase to avoid regrets eventually. A fine example of a state with juicier incentive plan is New York, they add an additional 25% tax credits on the existing tax credit.

As stated earlier, the essence of buying solar system is to save cost, so, endeavor to do enough research to make sure the financial incentives offered for homeowners of the solar system in your state is favorable enough before making a purchase.

PS: You can only claim the tax credits if your taxable income is equivalent or more than the tax credit. For instance: if the tax credit is about $7,000 after calculation, your taxable income should be equivalent or higher than that amount for you to be eligible to claim it.

You may have entertained the thought while reading, that this article was tailored towards deterring you from buying a solar system; far from it! Instead it is here to help you make better decisions when trying to buy a solar system by considering some important factors, to avoid regrets eventually.

So, the next time, you entertain the thought of getting a solar system for your home, subject yourself to a moment of introspection and check properly to know whether the conditions are in your favor; that way, you can make the most of the opportunity.