A Brighter Future

Benefits of Going Solar

The sun in one hour radiates more energy onto earth than the entire human population uses in one year. It is estimated by scientists that the sun, in its current form, is half-way through its life span and has about 5 billion years left. Let’s face it – that is a lot of solar energy!

Advantages

The advantages of solar are clear. You can save money, raise the value of your home and community, and have greater independence from imported fossil fuels, a brighter, richer and cleaner environment. Most importantly, you can get relief from the volatility of energy prices.

Currently, solar power provides only 2 percent of the power used in the United States. As solar technology improves, the cost of switching to solar energy use will drop. This will help improve our ability to capture and use the sun’s abundant energy.

Helping The Environment

Using solar energy is a great way to not only save money but also help the environment. A 5-kilowatt solar system can reduce greenhouse gasses by up to 9,000 pounds per year!

Energy Independence

Among many other renewable energy sources, solar energy will be the single leading energy source in moving the U.S. closer to be energy independent. Energy independence refers to reducing our need for other countries to provide our source of electrical power. It means we could reduce the amount of oil that we import from other countries, making us a more self-sustaining country.

Let us work together to achieve energy independence by increasing our capacity to generate clean energy from the sun, we also can claim independence from price fluctuations in global energy markets.

Own Your Power

One of the most significant benefits of solar is declaring freedom from the utility company. As we say here at SPM, “start owning your power.” With us, you can!

Start Reducing Your Electricity Bill

There’s no doubt about it, solar-powered electricity is a cost-saving energy alternative. Depending on the size of your solar power system, it can start generating more electricity than your home consumes, making your meter spin backward. When you go solar, you can decrease your monthly electric bill, instantly saving on electricity month over month.

Generate Free Power

With a solar panel system, your home will generate free power. Even if your solar power system does not produce 100 percent of the energy your house consumes, you still will be reducing your energy bills and owning the power your panels produce.

Increased Costs without Solar

The U.S. energy costs will continue to increase as more homeowners go solar. As more people generate their own electricity, there will be fewer and fewer people paying the utility companies.

How do you think the utilities will pay for the massive costs of maintaining the grid with less revenue?

You are correct, the fewer people paying electricity bills, the utilities will have to pay dramatically higher utility rates to compensate for lost revenue, resulting in higher utility bills.

Increase Your Property’s Value

Homes with solar, based on an article from Money Magazine, sell on an average 4.1% more. For example, a $226,000 home would be worth $235,040 which is an increase of $9,040.

From the same study, there’s evidence that they also sell faster than non-solar ones. As more homebuyers become interested in the benefits of solar, demand for properties with solar panels will continue to grow.

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How Do Solar Panels Increase Home Value?

The energy savings provided by solar panels translate into better value for your home. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that every dollar saved on energy through solar increases home value by $20.

That’s a return on investment of 20 to 1. When you sell your house, these better savings equal bigger profits.

According to Zillow, homes with solar panels sell for approximately 4 percent higher on average than homes without solar energy. That means an added value of about $9,200.

State Of Illinois Solar Incentives and Tax Credits

Illinois Solar Incentives

llinois has a law requiring its utilities to source 25% of its energy from renewable sources by 2025. The law requires a significant portion of that energy to come from residential solar. To achieve this goal, Illinois’s largest utilities must make incentive payments to homeowners who invest in solar. These payments are on top of a longstanding federal solar tax credit

SREC Prices Will Decline Over Time,
And Expire Sooner Than Later

To ensure Illinois solar installers have an incentive to reduce costs. Illinois requires the prices of SRECs to decline as more solar systems are installed.

We’ll Do The Math and File your Application

You don’t have to do any of these estimates or calculations. When SPM designs a solar system for you, we will estimate the number of SRECs it will produce and its value. When you decide to move forward with an installation, we make a reservation with the state to ensure you get the payment you expect.

This will only last for the first 5,000-10,000 systems. Once that block of systems has been installed, the price will decline. For each subsequent block of systems, the price will decline further.

Federal Solar Tax Credit

In addition to the Illinois solar incentive, most homeowners can also benefit from a federal solar tax credit. Section 25D of the Internal Revenue Code for a tax credit equal to 26% of the cost of system installed in 2021: