13 Best Solar Companies in South Portland, ME (Feb 2023 Review)

The Cost and Benefits of Solar in South Portland

When picking a solar company, most homeowners or business owners care about the costs above all. The cost and possible savings vary depending on some key factors such as:

• Incentives: Something that can reduce the cost of 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 generate an average of $16,000 of savings over 20 years.
• The cost of energy for you: If your local power rates are high, there's a good chance you'll see a higher return on your investment in a solar panel system. In South Portland, you can save an average of $75 a month on your electricity bills.
• Typical energy usage: The more energy your household consumes on average and the steeper your current energy bills are, the more money you could save by making the switch to solar.
• Choice of solar panels: The type of solar panels you choose 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.

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

Solar Incentives in South Portland

One of the benefits of installing a solar panel system is earning federal and potentially state incentives. No matter what state you live in, you can take advantage of the federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which will allow you to claim 30% of how much you paid for your solar installation when you file taxes, lowering the amount of taxes you owe that year. In addition, there may be some local incentives that can save you some extra money too. Our article on solar incentives has more information on the incentives you can find in South Portland.

Environmental Impact of Switching to Solar in South Portland

Lots of people want to do their part to help the planet, which for many is the main motivation to install solar panels. But how much can switching to solar actually help the environment? Regardless of your location, you can help the planet by switching to solar energy, but homes that use lots of energy will have an even bigger impact. Although solar panel production releases carbon dioxide emissions, the panels make up for it by considerably lowering the amount of CO2 you would have released if you still used nonrenewable energy. In South Portland, you can reduce your carbon footprint by 40 pounds a year with solar panels. As you can see, investing in solar has so many other perks outside of saving money. One of the main ones is that you can help save the planet too.