14 Best Solar Companies in Urbana, IL (Oct 2022 Review)

The Cost and Benefits of Solar in Urbana

Although solar panels can save you a good amount of money on energy bills over time, it's necessary to consider the upfront costs. Some significant things that influence the upfront cost and potential savings over time include:

• Incentives: Along with the federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which gives you a tax credit currently worth 30% of your total installation cost, your local government may offer additional tax exemptions, credits or rebates that can help you save even more. Excluding incentives, you can save an average of $14,000 over 20 years with your solar panels, too.
• How much sunlight your roof gets: If your rooftop doesn't see much direct sunlight, your solar panels won't be able to generate as much energy, which will leave you with lower savings on power bills than a roof that gets plenty of sunlight.
• Choice of solar panels: The kind of solar panels you choose will affect your total cost. High-efficiency monocrystalline panels are more expensive upfront but can also save you more money over the lifetime of your system. If space isn't a constraint for your project, you can go with a higher number of more affordable panels.
• Electricity consumption: The average home in Urbana uses a decent amount of, and therefore may save on their energy bills.

Even though a solar panel system costs a sizable chunk of money upfront, it can save you a considerable amount over the lifespan of your panels. The question of how much, though, depends on a number of factors, including the amount of daily direct sunlight available and your energy consumption.

Solar Incentives in Urbana

To increase solar panel installation and usage, incentives are offered by the government — and even some utility companies — to help make switching to solar power more financially viable and accessible. Everyone can take advantage of the federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which lets you claim 30% of how much your solar project cost when you file taxes, lowering the amount of taxes you owe that year. In addition, there may be some local incentives you can benefit from too. You can learn about the incentives you can take advantage of in the table below.

Environmental Impact of Switching to Solar in Urbana

An important reason so many consider switching to solar power is to help bring down their environmental impact. But how much can using solar energy instead of traditional energy actually affect the environment? Switching to solar power is an impactful choice for the environment, due to the fact that the greatest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the country is from burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat, and transportation — all of which can be powered by solar instead. When you go solar, your carbon dioxide emissions can be lowered by about 100 pounds a year. The perks of solar power are abundant — just like solar power is! That's why so many Urbana residents have been happy with committing to solar.