Countless environmentally conscious homeowners are helping to save on their utility bills by installing solar panels in their roofs to help heat and cool their homes by using the sun’s ultraviolet rays.
Currently, utility rates have been increasingly and steadily climbing by roughly 6 percent per year, with an estimated 30 percent jump in the past three years alone. And due to the skyrocketing cost of home heating fuels, along with electricity, this trend does not look to be stopping anytime soon.
It may sound unbelievable but utility companies will pay a homeowner for their excess energy. Most participating utility companies employ a particular program that allows for the utility meter attached to a home to spin backwards in essence “banking” the home’s collective energy from the solar panels for future use.
According to the National Appraisal Institute, a homeowner could increase their homes value by $20 for every one dollar reduction in annual utility bills. This may not seem like a lot by itself but if you calculated it over the course of a year or five years, it adds up to be a quite substantial amount.
In addition to the savings calculated by the National Appraisal Institute, a homeowner could save on their yearly state and federal income tax. The federal government tax credit for solar panel installation increased dramatically in 2009 from years past. A homeowner could receive a federal tax credit of up to 40 percent of net system cost after state rebates are deducted. This credit is taken directly off the amount of income tax you owe.
The solar panels that are used on houses are large and can collect huge amounts of solar energy to help heat a home in winter and help cool a home in summer time. Somewhat smaller scaled down solar panels are also used on a traffic safety sign near hospitals and schools or along the highway where it would be difficult to obtain electricity or unsafe to use gasoline powered generators. Many of the solar panel safety signs contain flashing LED lights to help warn traffic of upcoming dangers.
Tags: environmentally conscious, safety sign, solar panel, solar panels