14 Best Solar Companies in Bloomington, MN (Jun 2022 Review)

The Cost and Benefits of Solar in Bloomington

Solar panels run off a free energy source — the sun — but to take advantage of this you first need to pay to install your panels. There are a few factors you should take into consideration when trying to figure out costs and your potential savings, such as:

• Your current electricity bills: Solar panels can noticeably decrease, or entirely eliminate, your utility bills. In Bloomington, you can save an average of $119 a month.
• Choice of solar panels: The kind of solar panels you are interested in getting 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.
• Energy consumption: Installing a solar system may be an expensive investment for homes that don't need a lot of energy a month.
• Incentives: The federal solar investment tax credit currently lets you reduce your taxes by 26% of the project cost. Your state and even local utility companies may also have incentives and rebates that you can use. Plus, you can save about $19,000 over 20 years on your utility bills, before factoring in incentives.

There are several wonderful benefits of solar even with the upfront cost of installation. It can help the planet and your wallet. In addition, it can raise the value of your home, resulting in even more benefits if you decide to sell your home later.

Solar Incentives in Bloomington

Since solar power is more sustainable than fossil fuels, there are some government incentives in place to encourage people to make the switch. These incentives normally include cash rebates, tax benefits and/or solar renewable energy credits. They can reduce the cost you pay for going solar by 26 to 50% in some cases. For comprehensive information about incentives that apply to you, check out the table below.

Environmental Impact of Switching to Solar in Bloomington

Switching to solar energy can have a positive impact on the environment. But you may be wondering — how much exactly can you help by using solar power? Adopting solar power is an impactful choice for the environment, because the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. is from burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat, and transportation — all of which can be powered by solar instead. Because 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 expect to reduce your carbon dioxide emissions by about 90 pounds each year. As you can see, investing in solar has so many other perks besides saving money. One of the most important ones is that you can help save the Earth too.