Update: As of 16 August 2022 the federal tax credit for solar has been extended. This article has been updated to show the new rates.
Here are a couple of simple questions you need to answer before considering whether your home is a good candidate for solar power. First, do you own your home? If you rent, you can’t go solar, your landlord would have to be the one who decides to go solar. Second, is your average utility bill over $100? If not, you may not save anything by going solar. If you own your home and you pay an average of more than $100 for electricity every month, then your home may be a good candidate for solar power.
How to find out if your home is a good candidate for solar power
The first thing you need to find out is how much sun does your roof get? Are there any trees, or neighbors trees, creating shade on your roof? Would you be willing to trim or remove any trees that might shade your roof? These are all things to consider before going solar. As long as your roof is structurally sound, Freedom Forever will design a custom solar layout to suit your energy needs.
ITC tax credit available if you decide to go solar
When you go solar, if you buy your system, you may be eligible for the federal tax credit for solar power, also known as the Investment Tax Credit (ITC). To be able to collect the ITC, you must have paid some income tax at the end of the year. You have up to five years after you file the ITC to pay enough income tax to collect it. If you lease your solar system, the ITC for your system goes to the company you leased it from.
You should contact a qualified tax expert and consult with them. Neither Freedom Forever’s family of independent authorized dealers nor Freedom Forever itself can give you tax advice. A qualified tax professional will understand your situation and be able to give you the most relevant advice.
Buying vs. leasing solar power systems
The last big decision you’ll want to make when deciding to go solar is whether you should buy or lease your solar power system. Buying has advantages over leasing. Your savings will be higher if you buy your system and buying a solar system adds value to your home. Buying also makes you eligible for the ITC.
Freedom Forever Solar financing and leasing options
Leasing offers the sole benefit that it can save you money over doing nothing at all. If you pay over $100 a month for electricity and you can’t buy a system, leasing is still better than just sticking with the utility company.
Go solar with confidence thanks to Freedom’s 25-year performance guarantee
We guarantee that your solar power system will meet its promised production amount for 25 years. Freedom Forever guarantees that your solar system will produce the electricity promised in your contract with us. We will even pay you for any production shortfall that was the result of something that was our fault.
What we do if there is a problem. We monitor your system for 25 years. If we detect that its performance is falling short, we’ll contact you and send someone out to fix it. If the shortfall is caused by something that is our fault, we will compensate you for the shortfall. The amount of compensation you receive will be listed in your contract with us.