15 Best Solar Companies in Rockford, IL (Jan 2023 Review)

The Cost and Benefits of Solar in Rockford

While solar panels can save you money on power bills over time, it's necessary to consider the upfront costs. Some significant things that influence how much it will cost and how much you could save include:

• The make and model of solar panels you're thinking of getting: Higher-efficiency panels cost more, so that will affect your budget for your solar project.
• Incentives: Something 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 on your energy bills, which can give you an average of $14,000 of savings over 20 years.
• How much energy costs for you: If your local power rates are high, there's a good chance you'll have a higher return on your investment in a solar system. In Rockford, you can save an average of $78 a month on your electricity bills.
• How much energy your home consumes: Households that consume lots of energy each month may call for more solar panels and, therefore, be more costly, but will also save more on their energy bills over time.

Although a solar panel system costs a sizable chunk of money upfront, it can save you a considerable amount in the long term. The question of how much, though, depends on several factors, such as the size of your house and incentives.

Solar Incentives in Rockford

Because solar power is better for the environment than traditional energy sources, there are a number of government incentives in place to encourage its adoption. These incentives mostly include cash rebates, tax credits and/or performance-based incentives. They can cut how much you end up spending on installing solar panels by 30%, upwards of 50% in some cases. Our article on solar incentives goes over more detailed information on the incentives you can benefit from in Rockford.

Environmental Impact of Switching to Solar in Rockford

There are lots of reasons to trade traditional energy for solar power, like saving on electricity bills and helping to lower your carbon footprint. Something many might be asking themselves is how much can they really help preserve the environment by going solar anyway? The amount of energy you use is a key factor to keep in mind. The more electricity your household consumes, the larger your impact when you go solar. While solar panel manufacturing emits carbon dioxide, the panels make up for it by greatly lowering the amount of CO2 you would have produced if you still used traditional energy. In Rockford, you can reduce your carbon footprint by 90 pounds a year with solar panels. Since solar power is abundant and makes electricity without a carbon footprint, installing solar panels is one easy step you can take to help the environment.