Should Your Next Home Improvement be the Move to Solar?

“Too high-tech,” “too complicated,” and “too expensive.” Those are words many would use to describe solar panels. Despite having been around for decades, solar panels are, to many consumers, too “Space Age” for the average home. Given the current economic crisis and growing uncertainty around the supply of traditional sources of energy, however, solar panels are making a surge onto the mainstream home improvement market. Solar technology advances have made solar panels more efficient, less intrusive, and less expensive than their clunky predecessors. While each consumer’s situation will be unique, homeowners would be wise to at least consider solar panels for their potential as cost-saving, value-adding, and environmentally-conscious additions to the home.

The possibilities for using solar panels at home are endless, so a consumer should decide what he or she is hoping to achieve. Are you looking to slightly offset future energy costs and make a symbolic first-step into the alternative energy world, or are you hoping to get closer to energy self-sufficiency and move away from “the grid?” More and more homes are being built or retrofitted for energy self-sufficiency using solar panels, but these homes, or the lifestyles of the families that live in them, may be unique (an entirely solar-powered home, for example, is not likely to have an HVAC system). For families used to the comforts of 24/7 access to washing machines, TVs, computers, and energy intensive kitchen appliances, solar sufficiency is unrealistic. It is not unrealistic, however, to think that you could address a portion of your lighting needs, for example, with solar panels.

The upfront cost may be a shocker, but, as with many home renovation expenses, money spent now on solar panels is money saved in the future. Lower electricity bills mean the investment will pay for itself in time, and tax-credits are available to blunt the shock of upfront costs. Consult the DSIRE database of federal and state tax incentives.

As with other home renovation and repair projects, impact on the future price of your home should also be factored into economic consideration of a solar project. The current emphasis on “going green” seems unlikely to wane in the near future, and this bodes well for home renovations and improvements that take environmental impact into account. Renovations of the green type should deliver increasingly higher returns as our energy situation becomes more troublesome. Just look to shopping trends: the current surge in all things “green” has proven that buyers will pay more for products they feel contribute to a more secure environmental future. The same will hold true for home buyers.

Solar panels will not be for everyone. Certain cities, such as Denver, actually record more sunny days on average than cities in other parts of the country, and even different home plots in the same city can have different levels of access to precious solar energy. Additionally, if you live in a more temperate climate, you may not reap savings sufficient enough to “pay back” the cost of the panels.

Solar panels have the potential to deliver great benefits to the homeowner: lowered energy costs and participation in the movement to protect the earth. Each homeowner will have to consider his or her particular situation and decide whether these benefits outweigh the substantial costs, but, with the economy, and the earth, in trouble, this is a decision worth facing.