For Massachusetts residents, the answer is a convincing yes!
On account of the variety of incentives at both the state and federal level to purchase solar panels, there really has never been a better time to go green with solar power. Nearly all residential systems can pay for themselves in less than five short years.
The typical retail price on a 5 kilowatt solar panel system is around $25,000. A system of this size should give off nearly 6,000 kWh of electrical power every twelve months in Massachusetts and provide around 60 percent of the typical residential home’s electricity needs.
There is a Commonwealth Rebate that will deduct $2,000 off the top of that selling price. Moreover, for those who reside in a moderate house or have a moderate salary, you should be given another $2,000 reduction. Or if you were unlucky enough to have your home damaged in last year’s tornadoes, you will be given a further five thousand dollars reduction.
There also are both national and Massachusetts state tax credits. Currently the federal tax credit is currently a fantastic 30 percent and the state credit is for $1,000. After the rebates together with the tax credits, you will be able to invest in a 5 kW solar panel system for about $16,000, less if you happen to receive the moderate income or moderate home value adders.
A system of that size here in Massachusetts ought to provide an average of just about $80 worth of electricity monthly to get an annual cost savings of $1,000.
But the best long-term profits derive from selling your SRECs. One megawatt hour (1,000 kWh) earns you 1 SREC and a 5 kilowatt solar panel array will yield just about 6,000 kWh annually. Because the state has required the electricity companies to produce a small percentage of their electricity from green techniques, they will be compelled to give you about $400 for every one of those six SRECs to say that you are producing electricity for them. Consequently that’s an additional $2,400 in tax-free revenue straight into your wallet each year.
So now you can see how a $16,000 solar panel system can get paid in full in less than five years as it earns $3,400 annually including electric bill savings together with SREC proceeds.
Solar panels may also be one of the best home improvement possibilities open to the Massachusetts resident. For a cost of $16,000, it should up the value of your house by $20,000. That’s a 125% ROI. Most home improvement projects don’t pay for themselves wholly. Solar panels not only increase the value of your own home more than they can run you, they will earn you money each year as well. They are even exempt from property taxes for the next 20 years.
And let us not forget the main reason all of these incentives exist in the first place – to save our planet. A 5 kilowatt solar panel array is going to reduce your carbon footprint by about one-hundred tons of carbon dioxide across twenty-five years, the equivalent of planting 800 trees. Each year, it is going to prevent the equivalent of around three tons of coal or 20,000 cubic feet of natural gas from being burned to create electrical energy.
Needless to say from all of the stimuli currently available that right now indeed is the best time for solar panels. The Commonwealth Rebate together with the federal and state tax credits cut down your startup expenses. Plus the electricity savings together with the SREC program add significant revenue and also bolster your home’s resale value.
Plus there’s no way to tell just how much longer these stimuli will be available. The Commonwealth Rebate has already been decreased recently and the federal tax credit is endangered yearly.
Additionally, as this business grows, an increasing number of financing approaches are becoming offered to homeowners, making solar panels cost-effective for everybody. If you’ve always wanted to buy solar panels, there’s never been a better time than the present!
Gary S. Best resides in Massachusetts and spent months researching the different incentives and financing options before deciding to invest in a five kW solar panel system in 2011. He has since created a website, www.MassSolarInfo.com, educating residents about solar energy in Massachusetts and providing them with a means to easily get free estimates and save up to $500 off their own installation.