Residential solar panels: Pros and cons

Residential solar panels have many pros and only a few cons. In just the past few years, the rapidly falling cost of solar panels has made going solar even more beneficial than ever. Homeowners who install solar panel systems today are likely to see returns on their investment of 100% to 150% over a 25-year period. Going solar is also one of the best things you can do to add value to your home. Thanks to both of those facts, the pros of going solar now significantly outweigh the cons.

Get the FAQ’s of going solar with Freedom Forever

The pros of installing solar panels for your home

Free electricity. The average homeowner will recoup the cost of a home solar power system in about 8 to 10 years. Top-of-the-line home solar panel systems are guaranteed to last for 25 years. That leaves 15+ years where a homeowner enjoys free electricity for their home, In addition, the homeowner gets possible earnings from selling the excess electricity their system generates to the power company*. Home solar systems use well-established technology; they are reliable. Homeowners with solar power can look forward to enjoying decades of free electricity.

* In states where net metering is available, not available in all 50 states

Freedom from rising utility rates. As the cost of electricity rises, the solar homeowner benefits in two ways. One is that they ’ve effectively locked in the cost of powering their home for at least the next 25 years. Rising utility rates do not adversely affect their budget because they also raise the value of the power you sell to the utility company. That has the effect of gradually increasing your return on investment!

Adds value to your home. According to the US Energy Information Administration, homeowners in California can get a 90% immediate return on investment. That is on top of the annual savings on energy that come from solar power. So whether you sell your home or keep it, you’ll come out ahead by going solar. Additionally, as electric rates continue to rise, homes with home solar power systems are sure to become even more attractive to home buyers.

Lots of financing options available

As solar power system has shown itself to be an incredibly safe investment. Lots of financing companies have come up with innovative and flexible ways to finance home solar power systems. The advent of multiple financing plans has made solar available to a wider-than-ever range of homeowners.

Ease of use. When the sun shines, your system generates power. The only maintenance it needs is the occasional cleaning of your panels. Dust builds up over time and will obviously reduce the amount of sunshine that gets through to the panels, where the electricity is generated. Other than that, homeowners should regularly monitor their system to ensure it is generating power. If your system breaks and you’re not monitoring it, you won’t know it’s down until you get your next utility bill. That could be a lot higher than you were expecting!

Freedom Forever™ customers get an additional piece-of-mind with our 25-year performance guarantee. Your system will generate the amount of power we promise that it will for a full 25 years. If it ever breaks, we’ll notify you, come out and fix it, and reimburse you for any lost energy savings if the failure was our fault. Freedom Forever is one of the only home solar power companies that fully guarantees the performance of your system for 25 years.*

The cons

High upfront investment. Prices for solar panels have fallen rapidly in recent years and they continue to decline. Some of the cost of solar panels is affected by politics. Solar, like all types of energy, receives some support in the form of grants and tax rebates. Nobody can know for sure what’s going to happen with support for solar. Your best bet is to assess your situation and determine if solar makes financial sense to you. If it does, then you’ve found the right time to go solar.

Space requirements. The amount of power a solar system can generate is based on the power density, or watts per square meter, that a solar panel can produce. Furthermore, the ability of the system to generate power depends on two things: First is being aligned accurately with the sun. Second is a lack of obstructions to sunlight reaching the panels. The Freedom Forever’s network of independent professional solar energy dealers will help you figure out if you have enough space on your roof or property to properly situate a solar power system.

Solar systems are hard to move. We’ve all heard the old adage about wealth: “You can’t take it with you.” This can also be said for solar power systems. Each solar power system is designed to fit a particular house. Moving a system could require a complete redesign of the system to fit the new house. Thankfully, solar adds value to a home roughly equal to the cost of the system. This makes it easy to get the money you invested in your system back out of your home through the increased sale price, rather than by physically taking the system with you when you move.

Freedom Forever will help you maximize the pros of solar and beat the cons

Solar power is a great investment. As shown above, its pros definitely outweigh its cons. The Freedom Forever’s network of independent professional dealers are experts at ensuring that homeowners come out ahead. We make sure you get the most from your investment in solar. Our independent dealers are experts at designing solar systems that generate the maximum amount of power for the most economical investment possible.