11 Best Solar Companies in Champaign, IL (Aug 2022 Review)

The Cost and Benefits of Solar in Champaign

For the majority of homeowners, whether or not to invest in solar energy depends the most on the cost. Some key things that affect how much it will cost and how much you could save include:

• Typical energy usage: The more energy your household consumes on average and the higher your current energy bills are, the more benefits you'll see from switching to solar.
• The amount of sunlight your roof gets: This, and the configuration of your roof, affects affect how much electricity your solar panels can produce.
• Choice of solar panels: The kind of solar panels you need will affect your total cost. High-efficiency monocrystalline panels are more expensive upfront but can also lead to more savings over the lifetime of your system. If you don't need to maximize efficiency, you can go with a higher number of more affordable panels.
• Incentives: The federal solar investment tax credit, which can save you some money, allows you to deduct 26% of the cost of installing your solar panel system from your taxes. Additionally, not including incentives, you can save about $13,000 over 20 years on your energy bills.

Because of solar panels now being cheaper than ever as well as various solar incentives, they are a cost-effective investment for many homeowners.

Solar Incentives in Champaign

One of the benefits of installing a solar panel system is receiving incentives from the government. Everyone can take advantage of the federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which allows you to claim 26% of your project costs on your tax return, lowering the amount of taxes you owe that year. Plus, there may be some state and city incentives that stack with the ITC too. For detailed information about incentives that apply to you, see the table below.

Environmental Impact of Switching to Solar in Champaign

One of the best reasons to use solar energy is to cut your dependence on traditional energy sources like burning fossil fuels, which are destructive for the environment. But how much can using solar energy instead of traditional energy actually help the environment? In Champaign, where the energy generation produces a lot of greenhouse gasses, going solar can have a big effect on the environment since solar power has a lower carbon footprint. Since solar panels don't release carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere when producing electricity, they're a good alternative to traditional energy sources. In fact, you could expect to reduce your carbon dioxide emissions by about 100 pounds each year. If you want to do what you can for the environment, you'll no doubt understand that there are many benefits of adopting solar energy other than just saving money on electricity. You can also help protect the environment, which some would argue is worth more.