With over one million solar installations in the United States, it comes as no surprise that myths surrounding just about every aspect of solar started circulating. These myths might make you think solar is too expensive for a residential home or even impossible in the cloudy state of New Jersey.
However, these pieces of information could not be further from the truth. The three most popular myths that are simply not true include:
- Solar installations are expensive
- Solar installations are only for rural areas
- Solar installations are only for homeowners – no
- Solar technology is still not efficient enough
Myth #1: Solar Installations are Expensive
Simply put the myth that solar installations are expensive stems from outdated information. Year after year the cost of solar continues to drop at an ever-increasing pace. From 1998 to 2009 solar costs fell by 30 percent. This rate of decreasing costs only grew further in the following years. From 2009 to 2018, the costs of solar fell another 70 percent. Every single year solar hits an all time low. These falling costs can be seen in New Jersey and throughout the rest of the world.
The falling costs of solar only becomes more significant when you consider the tax incentives and subsidies for installing solar. The Federal Government and New Jersey State Governments has incentives they offer for solar installations. This further drops your costs for adding solar to your household or business. In NJ we have SRECs and Federally we have the 30% solar tax credit.
Myth #2: Solar Installations are Only for Rural Areas
Not only is solar becoming increasingly affordable, it’s also becoming easier to install without requiring massive amounts of land. We no longer live in a time when you need a large field to install massive solar panels before you can enjoy the benefits of solar energy. Nowadays, you can install solar panels directly onto any rooftop. The technology of today makes solar extremely feasible for anyone living in urban or suburban New Jersey. The average solar panel installed by Green Power Energy in NJ is over 330 watts!
Myth #3: Solar technology is still not efficient enough
Many people think that since the technology has continued to evolve, that it is still not advanced enough to take care of the energy usage in a home or business. In fact, most NJ solar installations by Green Power Energy offset the usage in the home 100%. We have seen usage evolve over time, but eventually solar will hit its max capacity. This concept is known as the Shockley–Queisser limit. This theory states that the max efficiency of solar cell is 30%. Currently solar is at about 20% per cell. So according to this concept the technology has already evolved to ⅔ the theoretical limit. We recommend installing solar now rather than waiting since most homes get covered at 100% anyway, and currently with NJ’s SRECs and the 30% solar tax credit, it may be the best financial environment to do so regardless of efficiencies.
