Your Solar and Your Wallet
Going solar is going to save you money, especially considering the current market. The graph below was constructed with data from a local customer's 4kW system. Right now, you're probably buying electricity from the regional utility, which is projected to increase over time (about 3.4% annually). However, you can avoid this extra cost, in addition to capitalizing on some other time sensitive benefits, by installing solar now.
Total Cost over 25-Year Period
The Breakdown
If you install now, the Solar Investment TaX Credit allows you a 30% tax credit for the cost of your system. This means your system pays for itself up to four years faster, increasing your long-term savings even more. However, the ITC is being phased out, dropping to 26% in 2020, and then to 0% by 2023. All good things must come to an end.
The California Public Utilities Commission's Net Energy Metering continuation earlier this year has solidified solar owners' ability to give energy back to the grid at retail price. Thus, opposed to trends in other states, California utilities continue to remain solar-friendly.
For businesses interested in owning solar, the 30% ITC applies with the same phase-out structure for residential owners, but will rest at 10% come 2023. Additionally, commercial systems can currently take advantage of 50% bonus depreciation on their system. Similarly, though, this will drop to 40% in 2018 and eventually to 0% in 2020, meaning business owners have an even smaller window in which to act.
Those looking to build a new home can jump onto the New Solar Homes Program (NHSP) to grab an additional rebate for the cost of their system. NHSP will phase out in the near future as well. For more information, contact us directly about savings for your project.
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