12 Best Solar Companies in Taos, NM (Mar 2023 Review)

The Cost and Benefits of Solar in Taos

Solar panels are powered by a free energy source — the sun — but before you can take advantage of this you will first need to pay to install your system. The installation cost is just one important factor you should take into account when looking into installing solar panels. How much it'll cost and how much you can save depend on things including:

• The type and model of solar panels you want to get: More efficient models are more highly priced, so that will determine your budget for your solar project.
• Incentives: One thing 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 a decent amount of money on your utility bills, which can lead to an average of $30,000 of savings over 20 years.
• Typical energy usage: The more power your home uses on average and the greater your current power bills are, the more benefits you'll see from making the switch to solar.
• The amount of sunlight your roof gets: If your roof doesn't get a lot of direct sunlight, your solar system won't be able to generate as much energy, which will leave you with lower savings on power bills than a roof that gets lots of sunlight.

Though a solar panel system costs a good 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, such as the size of your solar panel system and your current power bills.

Solar Incentives in Taos

In order to increase solar panel installation and usage, incentives are offered by the government — and even some utility companies — to help make going solar more economically viable and accessible. When you install solar panels on your house, you can claim the federal tax credit, or ITC. This credit currently reduces your tax bill by 30% of the cost of your solar panels. Additionally, there are often some local incentives that you can use to further save. For more information about incentives that apply to you, visit our our article on solar incentives.

Environmental Impact of Switching to Solar in Taos

There are a few big reasons why people are considering solar energy: to put more money in their bank account and to help the planet. You may be asking yourself — how much does going solar help the planet anyway? The more power your household uses, the the more the environment will benefit from you switching to solar as you won't need to rely on traditional energy sources as much. Once you go solar, your carbon emissions can be reduced by about 90 pounds every year. For those who are concerned about the environment, the upfront cost of solar is a small price to pay for the offset carbon emissions.