The advantages of solar power work well for many homeowners if they have a proper plan in place.
Like many North Americans you may have considered the idea of getting solar power at some point or another over the past decade. It is after all a hot topic and the advantages of solar energy are many.
This is why so many American’s have taken the leap and made the conversion. The truth is though, that it is not for everybody. There are a lot of good things that can come out of this decision but the effects have to be carefully considered to make the choice that best suits your home and your family.
Here are the three major considerations for you to examine when looking at solar energy for your home.
Your very first consideration, which you may be able to guess, is money. The outlay for an average family home in the US is about $20,000 to get all set up. Solar power house plans are down significantly from what they were only a few years back, and could be even lower if you look into grants and tax credits from the federal and state governments in your area.
If you have a lot of confidence in your ability to follow instructions and figure things out, solar panels can be made for about a third of the cost that they can be purchased for. This is good news for the crafty types out there. This is by far your biggest consideration, the initial outlay for the set up of the system.
Lifestyle is the next of the considerations that seems to arise after the question of money is met. Your lifestyle can be 100% the same as before if you would like it that way.
First off, the biggest way to consume less is to use less, but that doesn’t mean stop doing what you want. All it means is make sure that the appliances that you want to use, use less energy. If you have low consuming appliances in place and make sure there are no energy drains you will be fine.
Also you can stay connected to the current power system too and use freely as you wish without restraint. You can even give your excess energy back to the system to make sure that you offset any additional usage that you do have. This will keep the score even and keep you in the green.
The third component to really examine is the emotional side of things. If you feel good about helping the environment, as well as being independent in your power creation this may be a good solution for you. At the very least you may find that installing outdoor solar yard lighting is a good idea to start with.
Environmentally, the solar option is one of the best out there, leaving no carbon footprint in its creation, as well as being 100% renewable. This is good news! It also feels really good to know that regardless of what power prices do or don’t do you are covered. You collect your own power and that is that. This can be liberating to some.
Hopefully, these three points have given you some food for thought. If you have thought of solar at any point and continue to do so you will want to look at each item before you move forward with any further work to assess if the free energy options of solar is for you or not.
Return to the home page of Mad Progress
