{[['
']]}
']]}
How to Calculate Your Savings with Solar Energy
Using solar panels instead of relying on an electrical grid can save homeowners and businesses money over the long term. Although solar panels are often expensive to purchase and install, they are cheap to maintain, meaning that owners have to pay little or nothing to draw electricity from them. By contrast, those who draw power from an electrical grid generally pay a utility company month after month, based on the amount of power used. Calculating the exact savings received from solar panels depends on a number of factors.
Instructions
- 1Multiply your average monthly electricity bill by the expected life of your solar panels. This number represents how much you would pay for electricity if you did not purchase the solar panels. Most solar panel manufacturers will provide an estimate of how long their products will last, which you should calculate in months. To get an accurate estimate of your average monthly electricity, take the numerical average of a full year's worth of bills to account for energy use in both warm and cold weather.
- 2Subtract from this number the cost of purchasing and installing the solar panels. Although some people choose to install solar panels themselves, most individuals without technical experience choose to hire a professional for the process. In nearly all cases, this number will be smaller than the number calculated in Step 1.
- Sponsored Links
- 3Subtract the expected lifetime cost of maintaining the solar panels. This can be a tricky number to calculate since it's difficult to estimate the repair and maintenance that the panels will require accurately, as well as the cost of these procedures. Try to gather as much information from the manufacturer as you can about what kind of upkeep can be expected. The number you calculate in this step represents your total savings on solar panels before tax credits.
- 4Add any tax credits that the state or federal government awards for the installation of solar panels. The federal government, as well as many state governments, will often allow owners of solar panels to claim a credit on their taxes. Whether a credit can be claimed and the exact amount of this credit depend on current laws. Adding this number to the number calculated in Step 3 will represent the total savings you will receive from drawing your energy from solar panels.
- 1
Post a Comment