Solar And Free Electricity
A solar system will produce free electricity for your home, business, or farm for decades. In just a few years, your solar system can pay for itself. From then on, it’s decades of free electricity. The good news is that there's help available. Federal and state governments have made it easier to install solar through a series of incentives. Whether they’re tax credits, grants, or something else entirely, they’ll put money back in your pocket (free) as early as the first year you install your system.
So How Does Solar Power Work?
When sunlight hits the panel, known as a solar photovoltaic (PV) module, it is converted into an electrical current by silicon cells. This current is originally DC power, so an inverter then converts it to AC power, and then it’s ready to use in your home, office, or factory.
A PV system creates energy during the day and feeds any electricity that you don’t use onto the grid. Many homeowners can actually watch their meters running backwards! It’s called net metering (NEM).
When the sun is set, you pull power off of the grid instead, and the meter runs forward again. It is not uncommon to have a surplus of electricity produced by the end of the month. Your utility will often pay you for this surplus in credits, which you can then exchange for electricity from the grid in the future, instead of buying it at the retail price.
Solar Environmental Impact
In addition to helping you save money, using solar power helps you mitigate climate change. The electricity that you buy from your utility usually comes from fossil fuels like coal and natural gas. These energy sources emit harmful greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide that trap heat inside our atmosphere, causing our planet to become warmer.
With solar panels, you can instead harness clean, renewable energy directly from the sun and convert it to electricity. Switching to renewable energy sources like solar is the one of the best ways we’ll be able to get all the power we need while keeping the planet safe for future generations.