Interesting Facts about Solar Energy

Here we will discuss some facts about solar energy including statistics and predictions for the future. The buzz about global warming and alternative energy sources grows more every year. Every day we hear about our carbon footprint and how to reduce it. Solar power is becoming more popular all the time, and there’s good reason why. It’s cleaner, quieter, and reduces or eliminates the need for foreign oil.

Right now, only about 10,000 homes are running on solar power in the United States. Although we consume approximately 25% of the world’s energy, only 1% of that is solar. Clean Edge, a research firm committed to making facts about cleaner, greener practices available, has projected that the total amount of solar energy use in America will jump to 10% of total energy production by the year 2025. The same report also points out that the growth of solar power has averaged around 40% per year over the past eight years.

The cause of much of this growth could be the ever falling prices of solar power systems. As technology improves, the cost to install a solar system decreases. The efficiency of energy collection and conversion has also improved dramatically over the past several years.

Depending on the size of your home, the average cost to install solar power systems is currently between 20,000 and 40,000 dollars. Sounds expensive right? Yet when you consider government rebates and incentives, the savings on your electric bill, and the potential for actually making the electric company pay you for power, you will actually save money once the system has paid for itself.

One of the most interesting and relevant facts about solar energy is that the technology is advancing by leaps and bounds. Solar panels have received a lot of negative commentary because they are not very efficient. The size and number of panels needed to power a home completely had traditionally been too large, and too many to make it worth the homeowner’s time, if they even had the room.

Each year more is learned and newer panels are developed that can gather more energy within a smaller space. This is good news for those in suburban and urban areas, as they can power more and more of their homes using what little space they have available for the system.

Encouraging Incentives

Some other interesting facts about solar energy that many people don’t know are about government programs designed to encourage the use of this type of power. The federal government offers rebates and tax incentives to homeowners who choose solar power. If you qualify for all of the incentives currently offered, you can save as much as 70% on the installation of your system.

Many electric companies are also offering incentives. There are homes run on solar power, especially in southern states and during the summer, that are actually producing extra energy that they can’t use or store. If you’re connected to the power grid, this means that your meter will actually spin backwards, causing a credit on your power bill. Some people have been known to generate as much as 2,500 dollars worth of electricity or more a year. Wouldn’t it be nice to make the power company pay you for a change?

Homeowners are also seeing increases in the value of their homes when incorporating solar power systems. We all like to see the value of our homes increase rather than decrease as so often happens. Solar powered homes sell for more and many who are shopping for new homes are looking for this feature, willing to pay a little extra now to save so much later.

With all of the facts about solar energy available today, many homeowners are choosing to switch to this cleaner, quieter method of powering their homes. Those building homes are including solar power systems in their original design. Government incentives, higher property values, and lower monthly bills are just a few reasons to check out this emerging and evolving form of energy production.

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