You may have been told that if something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. But nine out of 10 Americans can't be wrong, right?
A Forbes Home survey asked people who had installed solar panels at home if they were happy with the technology, and the findings were encouraging.
Satisfaction was reported among 89.6% of solar panel owners, while 82% said they would recommend them to others. It's not difficult to see why.
With energy prices soaring because of a number of geopolitical factors, homeowners and renters have been looking at more affordable options to power their property. Solar panels are one such way to do so, providing free, clean, renewable energy on a daily basis. According to Forbes, the average household can save between $1,000 and $2,500 a year on electricity bills after switching to solar.
The technology harnesses light energy from the sun, much like plants do, and converts that into electricity with the help of an inverter. The energy can be used almost immediately or stored in batteries for use when the sun has dipped below the horizon.
Solar panels provide peak performance on clear days, of course, but even in cloudy conditions, they can still provide power — albeit less efficiently. One of the pervading myths about the technology is it only benefits those who live in sunny climates, but you can still welcome wattage when the clouds creep in.
When presented with an array of reasons for why they installed solar panels, respondents were asked to select all that applied. While cost savings was an unsurprisingly popular motivation (66.3%), 73% said that energy independence was a key factor.
Producing your own energy rather than relying on the grid gives you more control, leaving you less at the whim of electricity companies' price rises.
What's more, domestic energy generation helps disaster-proof your property, allowing you to keep the lights on when the grid goes down in extreme weather conditions — which are becoming stronger and longer-lasting as a result of a warming climate that's exacerbated by the pollution produced by dirty fuel-reliant energy companies.
Environmental concerns (50.2%), aesthetics (42%), and increased property value (39.9%) were other popular motivations behind installing panels.
But government incentives were also a big draw, with 56.3% saying this encouraged them to switch to solar. The Inflation Reduction Act provides discounts or tax rebates for people looking to invest in domestic renewable energy, while a number of states offer their own benefits, too. The nonprofit organization Rewiring America can help you sort through the incentives, and EnergySage makes it easy to save money by comparing quotes from local installers.
With the way the tech has improved and the incentives have begun taking shape, there's never been a better time to put panels on your property. If you get an installation from a licensed and reputable contractor, you'll likely end up as one of the nine of the next 10 giving a thumbs-up on solar.
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