Have you been thinking about installing solar panels for a while now? Well now is the time to take the plunge! The new year is shaping up to be a great one for solar energy thanks to incentives like the federal solar tax credit, which will save you 30% on your solar installation costs.
Boston Solar has been installing residential solar panel systems in Massachusetts for over 11 years. We’ve been watching solar trends closely for over a decade and believe 2024 will be a great year for solar.
Keep reading to find out what you’ll get out of a solar panel installation in 2024.
It’s no secret that Massachusetts has some of the highest electricity rates in the country. According to the US Energy Information Administration, the average cost of electricity in Massachusetts is 28 cents per kWh as of September 2023, while the national average is just 16.29 cents per kWh. Those numbers have been rising, too. In September of 2022, the average cost of electricity in Massachusetts was 27.56 cents per kWh.
Solar panels generate electricity using free energy from the sun. They significantly reduce your reliance on the electric grid and can reduce or even eliminate your electric bills for the next 25-30 years or longer.
When you think about how much you spend on electricity and whether solar is worth it, you can’t just think about what you pay now. You also have to consider how much your rates will go up in the future due to inflation and price hikes. When you install solar panels, you lock in what you’re paying for electricity so you don’t get burned by rate increases. That fact alone makes solar panels worth the cost for most homeowners.
Solar incentives like the federal solar tax credit reduce the cost of a solar panel installation so you can recoup your investment faster.
You can save 30% on solar panels in 2024 with the federal solar tax credit. The solar tax credit reduces what you owe when you file your taxes by 30% of your total solar installation costs, so you can recoup a large percentage of your investment as soon as you file your taxes for the year you install your solar panels.
If you want to make a real contribution to the fight against climate change, installing home solar panels is one of the best things you can do. Massachusetts is working on cleaning up its grid, but right now, most of the power consumed in Massachusetts is produced by burning fossil fuels. Installing solar panels significantly reduces your reliance on the electric grid, cutting carbon emissions. It’s one of the most impactful ways for an individual to make a difference.
The electric grid isn’t just expensive—it’s also unreliable. Extreme weather conditions have been putting the electric grid to the test this year, and we expect it to get worse. Installing solar panels with battery storage will help.
One of the biggest misconceptions about solar panels is that they will keep your lights on during a power outage. Unfortunately, solar panels alone don’t work during a power outage. When the grid goes down, any solar panel system that is connected to the grid will go down, too.
The exception is solar panel and battery systems.
Solar batteries allow your solar panels to temporarily disconnect from the grid during a power outage. During the day, your solar panels will power your home as normal. At night, you can use stored energy in your battery to keep essentials running until the sun comes up or the grid turns back on.
If you’re deciding whether you should get solar panels on your roof in 2024, financing is probably one of the first things you consider. There are a few different ways to pay for solar panels and they each have their pros and cons.
Buying your solar panels outright with a cash payment or financing them with a solar loan is a great option for homeowners who can make an upfront investment. When you buy or finance your solar panels, you are the owner, which means you will receive the solar tax credit and any other incentives your installation qualifies for.
A solar lease or Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) is the most affordable way to go solar and a great option if you don’t want to make an upfront payment. When you enter a PPA, a financial institution will pay for your solar panel installation and you’ll owe a fixed monthly payment. Your monthly payment should be lower than what you currently spend on electricity, so you’re saving money and using clean energy.
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