15 Best Solar Companies in Los Angeles, CA (May 2022 Review)

The Cost and Benefits of Solar in Los Angeles

Even though solar panels can help save you a good amount of money on utility bills over time, it's necessary to know the upfront costs. Some important things that affect the cost and possible savings include:

• The kind of solar panels you can purchase: This depends on what your budget is.
• Incentives: Tax-paying citizens who purchase and install a solar energy system this year can save 26% of their installation costs by taking advantage of the federal solar investment tax credit. You can also save about $30,000 on your utility bills over 20 years excluding incentives.
• How much sunlight your roof gets: This, and the configuration of your roof, affects affect how much energy your solar panels can produce.
• Electricity consumption: The average home in Los Angeles doesn't use much energy, and as a result may not see as many savings on their power bills.

Although a solar panel system costs a sizable chunk of money upfront, it can save you much more in the long term. The question of how much, though, depends on a number of factors, like the amount of daily direct sunlight available and incentives.

Solar Incentives in Los Angeles

If you're planning on making the switch to solar power, several government incentives and subsidies can drastically reduce the installation costs and expedite the return on your investment. When you install a solar panel system on your house, you can claim the federal tax credit, or ITC. This credit currently reduces your tax bill by 26% of the cost of your solar panels. In addition, there are often some regional incentives that you can use to further save. Take a look at the table below to find out what incentives are available to you.

Environmental Impact of Switching to Solar in Los Angeles

Lots of people want to do what they can to help the environment, which in many cases is the primary motivation to install solar panels. But — how much exactly can you help the planet by using solar power? Switching to solar power is a sustainable choice for the environment, because the greatest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the nation is from burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat, and transportation — all of which can be powered by solar instead. Though solar panel manufacturing emits carbon dioxide, the panels make up for it by considerably decreasing the amount of CO2 you would have produced if you still used nonrenewable energy. In Los Angeles, you can reduce your carbon footprint by 50 pounds a year with solar panels. For people who are worried about the environment, the upfront cost of solar is a small price to pay for reducing your carbon footprint.