8 Reasons Why You Should Go Solar in Texas

While the pandemic continues to impact our usual daily routines, at least one thing has remained the same here in Texas: the sun still shine its rays generously on us in the Lone Star State. With all the time we are spending indoors, it's no surprise that we may be finding ourselves thinking more about our homes and what we might do to improve them.

With summer finally upon us, homeowners cannot afford to miss out on the best time to install a solar energy system on their home: NOW.

Here are a few tremendous benefits of installing a solar energy system for your home - perks that you will see right away and in the long run.

Solar panels are a great investment, no matter where they're installed.

1. Increase Your Energy Independence

With a solar energy system for your home, you are producing your own power by taking advantage of the sun’s free and abundant energy! Solar energy systems today can often produce enough energy to fulfill 100% or more of your energy usage demands, making you far less dependent on energy distributed from the grid by your utility. With an increasingly affordable suite of products available to accompany your solar energy system, including battery storage and power generators, your home can truly become more energy independent.

2. Eliminate Your Power Bill

Increased energy independence from the grid with your solar energy system means guaranteed savings on your monthly energy bill. The best part? You start saving right away when your system is installed.

Homeowners with monthly energy bills over $100/month, which is below average in Texas, find themselves saving thousands of dollars even within the first year. As the rates that your utility charges for electricity increase from year to year, so do your savings.

3. Have Freedom and Control Over Your Electricity Bill

Electricity usage rises dramatically during the hot Texas summer. That means that our electricity bill can get astronomically high.

By planning to install a solar energy system now, ahead of the summer heat, your system will take advantage of longer daylight hours to produce energy for your home and literally save you instantly from towering energy bills now and forever.

The best part? You start saving right away when your system is installed.

4. Qualify for Tax Breaks and Rebates in Texas

Aside from the plentiful supply of sunshine that we get here in Texas, the state is also very solar-friendly. Utilities throughout the state have established financial incentive programs to help homeowners like you save immediately when purchasing a solar energy system. Rebates can help reduce the cost of a system up to several thousand dollars. Utilities often allocate a finite budget towards funding rebates that are awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis. Therefore, the sooner you plan to have a solar energy system installed, the better!

Plus, many utilities provide energy bill credits to homeowners for their solar production, leading to even further savings.

5. Going Solar Costs Less Now Than Ever Before

The most substantial incentive available for residential solar energy systems is the federal solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which allows you to deduct 26% of the cost of installing a solar energy system from your federal taxes.

In Texas, depending on the size of your system, this tax credit often ranges between $4000-$9000, representing significant savings on the net cost of your solar energy system. The tax credit drops to 22% in 2021 and 10% in 2022 - so you could be missing out on hundreds to thousands of dollars in potential savings by waiting for a little too long!

6. Flexible Financing Options are Available

Solar energy’s affordability has increased drastically over the years, and so have the options to finance your solar energy system with zero money down! Banks, credit unions, and numerous financial partners have made obtaining financing for your solar energy system very simple and easy and with favorable terms and competitive interest rates.

We here at NuWatt Energy provide our customers with honest and transparent guidance to finding the financing option best suited for them.

7. Increase the Value of Your Home

At NuWatt Energy, we have discovered that for approximately every $1 a solar energy system saves you on your energy bill, the value of your home goes up by $5. Going solar is not only a sound investment towards great savings on your energy bill but also toward the value of your home.

In addition, Zillow Economic research has found that homes with solar-energy systems sold for 4.1% more on average than comparable homes without solar power. For the median-valued home, that translates to an additional $9,274.

Solar energy’s affordability has increased drastically over the years and is more affordable now than ever before.

8. Join Other Homeowners in Saving Thousands

With the price of solar decreasing significantly over the past few years, the amount of annual new solar installations in Texas has doubled since 2018 and nearly 80% of the state’s solar production capacity has been installed just in the last two years.

Texas homeowners have helped power this incredible momentum towards sustainable energy. During the current pandemic, 67% of Texas homeowners have become more interested in solar.