16 Best Solar Companies in Austin, MN (Mar 2023 Review)

The Cost and Benefits of Solar in Austin

We get that for lots of homeowners, the choice to invest in solar highly depends on installation costs. There are several factors you should take into consideration when trying to determine costs and your potential savings, such as:

• How much energy costs for you: The typical family in Austin shells out around $1,400 a year on power alone, so you could end up with that much in savings.
• Incentives: The federal solar investment tax credit currently allows you to decrease your taxes by 30% of the project cost. Your state and even local utility companies may also have various incentives that you can benefit from. In addition, you can save about $18,000 over 20 years on your utility bills, not including incentives.
• The model of solar panel system you can purchase: This hinges on how much you're willing to invest upfront.
• The amount of sunlight your home gets: Because of Austin's relatively low amount of average daily sunlight, you might not see as many savings on your electric bills.

Though a solar panel system costs a decent chunk of money upfront, it can save you a considerable amount in the long term. The question of how much, though, depends on a number of factors, like the kind of solar panels you get and incentives.

Solar Incentives in Austin

To increase the number of homes and businesses that use solar power, federal, state and local governments — and even some utility companies — offer incentives to help make switching to solar power more affordable and accessible. Local solar incentive programs vary by location and, sometimes, utility company. A lot of states offer rebates for solar power, in addition to the federal solar tax credit. In our article on solar incentives, you can see the incentives you qualify for in Austin.

Environmental Impact of Switching to Solar in Austin

One of the best reasons to switch to solar energy is to reduce your reliance on nonrenewable energy sources like burning fossil fuels, which are destructive for the environment. You may be trying to figure out — how much does going solar do for the planet anyway? The more energy you use, the better off the planet will be from you switching to solar since you won't need to use as much nonrenewable energy. Since solar panels don't release carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere when creating electricity, they're a good swap for traditional energy sources. In fact, you could lower your carbon dioxide emissions by about 90 pounds each year. If you care about the environment, you'll most likely understand that there are many advantages to adopting solar power other than just saving money on bills. You can also help preserve the environment, which some would argue is invaluable.