16 Best Solar Companies in Blacksburg, VA (Dec 2022 Review)

The Cost and Benefits of Solar in Blacksburg

Solar panels run off a free energy source — the sun — but before you can take advantage of this you will need to pay to install your panels. Some key things that affect the upfront cost and potential savings over time include:

• Incentives: The federal solar investment tax credit currently allows you to lower your taxes by 30% of the project cost. Your state and even local utility companies may also have incentives and rebates that you can benefit from. Plus, you can save about $19,000 over 20 years on your utility bills, not including incentives.
• Your city: This influences how much sunlight your roof receives, which helps determine how many panels you need.
• Typical energy usage: The more power your home consumes on average and the larger your current power bills are, the more benefits you'll see from going solar.
• Choice of solar panels: The kind of solar panels you get 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.

Thanks to the cost of solar panels being lower than before as well as local and federal solar incentives, they are a cost-effective investment for many homeowners.

Solar Incentives in Blacksburg

In order 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 switching to solar power more economical and accessible. State and city solar incentives depend on the location and, sometimes, utility company. A lot of states offer rebates for solar panels, in addition to the federal solar tax credit. Our article on solar incentives has more information on the incentives you can take advantage of in Blacksburg.

Environmental Impact of Switching to Solar in Blacksburg

One of the reasons so many homeowners are thinking of switching to solar power is to help lower their environmental impact. Many homeowners might be wondering how much exactly they can impact the environment by switching to solar in Blacksburg, though. In a city like Blacksburg where energy use is particularly high, installing solar panels is a good plan for homeowners who are worried about the state of the planet. If you go solar, your carbon footprint can be reduced by about 90 pounds every year. As you can see, using solar power has so many other rewards outside of saving money. One of the primary ones is that you can help save the environment too.