18 Best Solar Companies in Oak Park, IL (Mar 2023 Review)

The Cost and Benefits of Solar in Oak Park

Solar panels are powered by a free energy source — the sun — but to take advantage of this you will first need to pay to set up your panels. There are several factors you should consider when trying to figure out costs and your potential savings, including:

• Your energy consumption: If your family uses a lot of energy, you'll benefit more from switching to solar.
• Your current electricity bills: Solar panels can dramatically decrease, or completely eliminate, your utility bills. In Oak Park, you can save an average of $75 a month.
• Incentives: One thing that can save you money on your solar project is the solar investment tax credit (ITC), which is a tax credit that's equal to a percentage of the project cost. You can also save a decent amount of money on your power bills, which can give you an average of $13,000 of savings over 20 years.
• The kind of solar panel system you can buy: This is dependent on how much you're willing to spend upfront.

There are several wonderful benefits of solar in spite of the initial cost of installation. It can help the planet and your bank account. Plus, it can increase the value of your home, leading to even more benefits if you want to sell your home later.

Solar Incentives in Oak Park

To increase the adoption of solar power, federal, state and local governments — and even some utility companies — offer incentives to help make solar power more economically viable and accessible. These incentives typically take the form of cash rebates, tax credits and/or performance-based incentives. They can cut how much you pay for going solar by 30%, upwards of 50% depending on your location. In our article on solar incentives, you can read about the incentives you qualify for near you.

Environmental Impact of Switching to Solar in Oak Park

If you're planning on adding solar panels to your home, one of the primary reasons why may be to lower your reliance on nonrenewable energy. A question many people might have in mind is how much can they really help the environment by going solar anyway? In a city like Oak Park where commute times can be very long, going solar can help offset some of your carbon dioxide emissions from driving a lot. In Oak Park, the average household can reduce their carbon footprint by 90 pounds a year once they go solar. Since solar power is renewable and produces electricity without releasing carbon emissions, installing solar panels is one easy step you can take to help the planet.