Savings on utility power bills is one of the prime reasons behind residential solar purchases in Durham. It inspires homeowners to invest in clean energy, despite the size of the investment and a 6-8-year break-even period. The potential savings accumulating into tens of thousands of dollars is as good a reason as any to invest in green energy.
But who decides how much savings you will make?
You can get some estimates from solar companies, but they may vary from one solar company to another. Some solar companies even inflate the potential savings to make solar more attractive to buyers.
So, how do you get an accurate estimate of your money savings? By doing it yourself, of course. Then you can compare your findings with the estimates of the solar companies and find out why they differ.
Things to Consider When Estimating Solar Savings
- Monthly Power Bills
A solar installation that’s designed in consideration of your power requirements fully meets your power requirements. So, you can stop worrying about the high utility bills you pay each month. When you add up these savings in monthly power bills over the year, you get annual savings in saved power bills.
- Incentives
Durham residents qualify for 4 government incentives – federal tax credit, netting tariff, sales tax exemption, and property tax exemption. Of these, the tax credit and netting tariff earnings are the most important.
The federal tax credit slashes the price of the solar system by as much as 26% in tax credits. The netting tariff, on the other hand, is based on the amount of solar energy you divert to the grid.
- Fixed Monthly Costs
If you set up a grid-tied solar system, then your monthly power bill will not go away entirely. You will incur nominal monthly power bills, which are usually the minimum fixed charges that utility companies levy on you for maintaining the power connection to the grid. You can get these charges from your current power bill as fixed charges.
- Cost Of Solar System
A new solar installation can cost around $3 per watt of installed capacity, including the equipment and service. You’ll have to account for this expense when arriving at your actual savings from going solar.
Compare Your Estimates with Solar Company Claims
Once you arrive at a savings estimate, you can compare your number with the claims made by solar companies. A quick search will fetch you many such claims and estimates online. Then, you can dig deeper and find out why your estimate deviates from theirs. This simple comparison will help you find out whether the solar companies are inflating the savings or not. Then, you can make a more informed decision about going solar.
