Solar panels allow you to generate your own electricity using free and limitless energy from the sun, so you can get away from the grid and use clean, reliable solar energy to power your home or business. But does the money you save with solar panels make the upfront investment worth it?
In most cases, the answer is yes—especially for California residents. Solar installation costs have dropped by 53% over the past ten years in California and the state has some of the best solar incentives in the country, making sunny Santa Cruz a great place to go solar.
Here are a few of the best reasons to invest in solar energy in Santa Cruz:
Save Money on Your Electricity Bills
The main benefit of residential or commercial solar panel installation is the electric bill savings. Solar panels and batteries allow you to generate and store your own electricity for free (not accounting for the cost of the system) so you save money on your bills. In most cases, you’ll be able to break even on your solar installation costs long before your system reaches the end of its lifespan—the average solar payback period in California is just six years.
Qualify for Tax Breaks and Incentives
When you go solar in California, you’ll qualify for the federal solar tax credit, which allows you to reduce your federal taxes by 30% of your total installation costs. This can significantly reduce your upfront costs and speed up your return on investment.
The solar tax credit isn’t the only incentive for solar installation in California. The state also offers net metering, which allows you to earn credit with your utility by trading the excess electricity your solar panels produce. With net metering in CA, you can rack up credits during the summer when your solar panels are producing a lot of electricity and use them during the winter when there’s less sunlight available, helping to keep your electric bills low all year.
Increase the Value of Your House
Did you know that solar can increase your home’s value? Buyers know how much value a solar system can provide and love the idea of being able to benefit from solar panels without having to deal with a home solar installation themselves. Even if you’re not planning to move anytime soon, adding solar panels to your home now can help you get more from the sale if you ever decide to put your house on the market.
Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Limiting your fossil fuel consumption as much as possible is one of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint and your impact on the environment.
California gets 26.21% of its power from solar energy, but the grid still relies heavily on fossil fuels to generate electricity. By adding solar panels to your home or business in Santa Cruz, you can significantly reduce or even eliminate your reliance on the grid, leading to a smaller carbon footprint.
Avoid Power Outages with Solar Plus Battery Storage
The California electric grid has become increasingly unreliable and with extreme weather events occurring more and more frequently, power outages are not uncommon in Santa Cruz. If you install solar panels plus battery storage, you can keep your solar system running and your power on during an outage, and also store backup power in your batteries.
Get the Most Out of Your Santa Cruz Solar Installation
If you want to get the most out of your investment in solar panels, you need to work with a solar installer that knows what they’re doing. The best solar companies will customize your system to maximize electricity production so you can squeeze as much power as possible out of your panels.
Premo Solar installs custom solar energy systems to maximize your energy production and savings. We are a leading solar company in Santa Cruz providing a premium solar installation experience to local homeowners and businesses. We use top-of-the-line solar products including SunPower panels and Enphase IQ microinverters to design sleek, high-end systems that look great and perform even better.
