18 Best Solar Companies in San Jose, CA (Aug 2022 Review)

The Cost and Benefits of Solar in San Jose

For most homeowners, whether or not you should invest in solar panels depends the most on the cost. There are several factors you should take into consideration when determining costs and your potential savings, such as:

• Incentives: The federal solar investment tax credit, which everyone qualifies for, allows you to deduct 26% of the cost of your solar system installation from your federal taxes. In addition, not including incentives, you can save about $32,000 over 20 years on your energy bills.
• How much power your household consumes: Households that consume plenty of energy each month may call for more solar panels and, as a result, be more expensive, but will also enjoy more savings over time.
• Your current electric bills: Solar panels can dramatically reduce, or entirely get rid of, your utility bills. In San Jose, you can save an average of $84 a month.
• The amount of sunlight your roof gets: Thanks to San Jose's very high amount of average daily sunlight, you should be able to save a lot on your energy bills.

Though a solar panel system costs a decent chunk of money upfront, it can save you thousands of dollars over time. The question of how much, though, depends on several factors, including the size of your solar panel system and your current power bills.

Solar Incentives in San Jose

Since solar power is a cleaner source of energy than traditional energy sources, there are a number of government incentives available to encourage people to make the switch. There are a lot of federal, state and local rebates and tax credits that can earn you some money in return after paying for a qualifying system. You can find out about the incentives available to you in the table below.

Environmental Impact of Switching to Solar in San Jose

There are a few important reasons why homeowners are interested in solar energy: to help their wallet and the environment. You may be asking yourself — how much do solar panels do for the planet anyway? The average person has a sizable carbon footprint. Between their car, which produces over 10,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions every year, and powering their home, it can be overwhelming to figure out what to do. Going solar is a simple thing you can do to help. Though making solar panels releases carbon dioxide emissions, the panels make up for it by considerably lowering the amount of CO2 you would have produced if you still used nonrenewable energy. In San Jose, you can reduce your carbon footprint by 50 pounds a year with solar panels. Since energy from the sun is abundant and produces electricity without a carbon footprint, adding solar panels to your home is one easy step you can take to help the environment.