Solar Power and Green Energy in Your Home
Solar energy is one of the hottest topics in today’s marketplace. With government incentives at record levels-and even utilities paying you to switch to solar-now is the time to learn more and find out how you can save money with solar energy.
But what is solar energy? How does it work? Can it really produce electricity?
Solar energy harnesses the power of the sun. When sunlight hits photovoltaic cells (they look like giant computer chips made of silicon) the photons in the sunlight cause all electrons to be released from the silicon. If you can catch those electrons, you get electricity.
Think of it like this: you are playing billiards (shooting pool) and you shoot the cue ball into another ball. What happens? The white ball ricochets insets that other ball into motion as well.
When sunlight hits the solar cell, it ricochets off and pushes the electron in motion. Electricity is made of electrons. The more electrons you can push in motion-and harness-the additional electricity you can generate.
For an great article on solar energy and other green energy, visit this page at NASA http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/greenspace/clean-energy.html
How does this help you in your house? The government is fighting hard for solar energy. $20 billion dollars has been put away to help promote solar energy throughout our country. The federal government as well as many state governments and utilities, will literally pay you to start using solar energy.
Why would they do this? First, we want to reduce our dependency on foreign oil. Second, burning fossil fuel is terrible for the environment. Solar energy, on the other hand, is absolutely clean. There are no byproducts. There are no carbon emissions. It is a extremely clean and pure method of producing electricity. Third, the government wants to develop the solar industry in this country which will create more and more jobs and opportunities.
Solar energy is not cheap, however. Solar energy for a house can cost $25,000. Do not stop reading this article! There is good news. The government and utilities will rebate you up to 70% of the price of the system. In this example, you would get tax credits and rebates for about $14,000. The net price to you is $6000. If you were to finance this, you can pay about $50-$75 per month. You may say this much or more in your electric bill! Even if you don’t, you not only done something great for the environment, but have also increased the value of your house by about $20,000! If you’re going to resell your home, this not only increases value of nature house more desirable than other houses on the market.
There are also laws preventing local government from raising your taxes when you add solar energy to your home. We cannot give you specific tax advice-you must consult with your accountant or attorney.
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