Solar is FREE!!!
I know you have all seen the ads and thought, too good to be true…right?
Well, yes and no.
These companies get away with advertising that because if you do the math correctly, solar IS free. In fact, better than free, most systems will generate a decent profit in the FIRST year you have it…if you qualify. And I mean, with the costs of electricity going up each year, why would you not take advantage of this? Well, congratulations, if you live in SC and are reading this, you live in a state with some of the best incentives for going solar. Let’s dive in!
It’s all about the tax credits. I mean, even without the tax credits, you will still pay less per month than you are currently paying for electricity…but with the tax credits, you will actually GET PAID to switch to solar.
We are talking THOUSANDS of dollars in credits…but you have to qualify.
How do you qualify? Be employed and pay income taxes each year.
The Federal Government offers a tax credit of 30%, known as the ITC tax credit. On top of that, the SC Government offers its own version of the ITC tax credit, where they will pay an additional 25% of the cost of the system. That’s a whopping 55%!!
Let’s do some quick calculations to put this into meaningful terms. Don’t worry, I will break the numbers down at the end of this article.
An average system, 5KW, will run for approximately $15,000. The total value of tax credits, 55%, amounts to $8,250, leaving a balance of $6,750 for you to go solar…but you never pay that out of your own pocket.
The money you save on electricity gets routed over to cover the financing, and you still get that $8,250 come tax time. With the monthly savings, that $6,750 will be paid down in about 4-5 years, leaving you 20 - 30 years of FREE electricity. Considering that electric costs are rising on average by 4% each year, your $150 bill could be well over $450 in 25 years if you do not switch to solar.
But even with all these great incentives, we still hear all kinds of concerns from customers about making the switch.
One of the top concerns is not wanting to go into that kind of debt, because you will have to initially finance the full cost of the system. In our example, that would be the full initial upfront amount of $15,000. Unless you know of another way to eliminate your power bill though, you are already in debt to your utility provider…one that will NEVER be paid off and will only continue to get higher. Why not lock in a rate of $100, that will eventually disappear as your neighbors pay close to 5 times that amount!
But what if I sell my home? Fantastic!! Having solar panels on your home will INCREASE the value of the home, and you just pass the financing payments over to the new homeowner...unless you have leased the system…please don’t do that.
So, here is how the numbers from our example break down.
Ready to see what a system for your home would cost? Get in touch with us today for a free, no obligation, quote…unless you are trying to lease your system…again, please don’t do that.
Carbon Recall York
803-306-NET0 (6380)
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