Pros and Cons of Solar Panels
For the energy-conscious or environmentally-savvy homeowner, solar panels represent a commitment to improve your home. But they’re not a good choice for every home. These pros and cons of a solar panel installation can help you decide if you want to pursue them for your Wilmington-area home.
Pros
- Renewable energy — Energy is a political, ideological, and practical concern for many people. For those homeowners, having a renewable source of energy is a benefit in and of itself.
- Lower energy bills — Because you’re taking care of the production of energy on your own property, you’ll pay less to utilities companies for the energy you use. For some households, it could help eliminate energy bills altogether!
- Incentives — Because moving to sustainable, renewable energy has garnered national discussion, many incentives are available to help homeowners install solar generators. These may take the form of grants, tax breaks, neighborhood group buys on solar installation, or other kinds of assistance.
- Reduced dependency on the grid — Solar power can insulate you from changing energy prices, and from grid failures due to storms or high demand.
Cons
- Expense — Even with incentives available, solar panel installation can cost a great deal of money. Whether or not it’s worth it in the long term depends on your home’s energy use patterns, your future plans, and many other factors.
- Inconsistent power — While solar power is viable in places without sunlight 365 days a year, the amount of power being generated does vary by climate and weather — not to mention landscaping and neighboring buildings.
- Aesthetics — Many homeowners don’t like the look of black solar panels on the roof of their houses, and HOAs may have regulations complicating installation.
- Renovations needed — If you’re adding solar panels onto an existing home, your roof and wiring may need renovation in order to support the panels.
At Sobieski Services, Inc., our goal is to help our customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey learn more about energy and home comfort issues — especially HVAC and plumbing issues — so that they can save money and live in healthier, more comfortable homes.
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