18 Best Solar Companies in West Hanover, PA (Mar 2023 Review)

The Cost and Benefits of Solar in West Hanover

We get that for many homeowners, the decision to invest in solar hinges on installation costs. Some important things that determine the cost and possible savings include:

• How much you spend on energy: The average household in West Hanover pays around $990 a year on energy alone, so you could be looking at that much in savings.
• 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 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.
• Whether or not your roof gets a lot of direct sunlight: This, along with your roof configuration, affects affect how much power your solar panels can make.
• Incentives: Along with the federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which lets you deduct 30% of your total installation cost, your state or local government may offer additional tax exemptions, credits or rebates that will help you save even more. Not including incentives, you can save an average of $14,000 over the first 20 years with your system, too.

Though a solar panel system costs a decent chunk of money upfront, it can save you much more in the long term. The question of how much, though, depends on a number of factors, including the size of your solar panel system and your energy consumption.

Solar Incentives in West Hanover

In an effort to increase the number of homes and businesses that use solar power, federal and local governments — and even some utility companies — offer incentives to help make solar power more affordable and accessible. Regardless of where you live, you can take advantage of the federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which will let you claim 30% of how much your solar project cost when you file taxes, reducing the amount of taxes you owe that year. Plus, there may be some local incentives that stack with the ITC too. Our article on solar incentives has more in-depth information on the incentives you can benefit from in West Hanover.

Environmental Impact of Switching to Solar in West Hanover

There are tons of reasons to switch to solar energy, like saving some money on electricity bills and helping to reduce your carbon footprint. You may be curious — how much do solar panels help the planet anyway? If your household consumes a lot of energy, you can help the environment even more by switching to solar power. In West Hanover, the average resident can reduce their carbon footprint by 50 pounds a year after going solar. For people who are concerned about the environment, the upfront cost of solar is a small price to pay for reducing your carbon footprint.