Tips From The Top

Still thinking about solar power for your home? It’s a good idea to do – someday?

That someday may be now.

If you’ve been considering solar for a while – now’s the time to act. Why? Because it’s never been more cost-effective to make the leap to solar – and it may never be again.

The Verge writer Sean Hollister found this out recently when he ran the numbers. He shared his experience in a recent post, detailing his rationale to finally take the leap from considering solar power to actually putting it into practice. The final incentive? The price was right.

The US government now pays thirty percent of the total cost to install solar – but that incentive goes down after 2019.

Here are some specifics: according to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, a taxpayer may claim a credit of 30% of qualified expenditures for a residential solar-powered system that serves a dwelling unit located in the U.S. that is owned and used as a residence by the taxpayer. The home does not have to be the taxpayer’s principal residence. Expenditures include labor costs for on-site preparation, assembly or original system installation, and piping or wiring to interconnect a system to the home, and should be placed in service by the end of 2019.

But after 2019, the credit decreases. It’s 26% before 2021, 22% in the next year, and after that? It disappears altogether.

Decreasing costs of the solar materials and installation also make the time right. The cost to install solar has dropped by more than 70% over the last decade, according to a report from the Solar Energy Industries Association. Lower material costs and efficiency mean less panels are required per roof, making the panels more cost efficient overall.

When Hollister went on a mission to talk to contractors, he learned the parts of a solar-powered system have now been standardized to decrease installation time; his system could be installed in a day or two. The installers could also guarantee his panels would produce the quoted amount of power for more than a decade. And, he says, more than one contractor would warranty the entire job for 25 years.

With solar power, there’s evidence that the energy savings would pay for the system itself within 5-8 years.

Is it the right time for you to take the leap into a solar-powered home?

To learn more about how you can take advantage of the new lows in solar costs, call us at Jackson Hole AV. We’d love to discuss the possibilities.