Finding the best contractors and products to suit your needs can be complicated and costly, especially when you're trying to navigate the green energy marketplace.
Luckily, there are now companies online who can help with that. One of the best is EnergySage, which provides a free service for homeowners and renters to help guide you with educational resources, price comparisons, and what the site calls Energy Advisors to assist you along the way.
The scoop
Solar power can help households reduce their carbon footprint, save on electricity bills, and potentially earn money selling extra energy back to the grid. However, there are a lot of details to consider, and most of us need a helping hand to get things rolling.
EnergySage provides an online portal to help you find the right products and get estimates on how much you'll spend and potentially save while connecting you with local contractors to submit quotes and do the work.
"We are dedicated to providing knowledge and transparency that empower people to make the best choices for themselves, their families, and their homes," the company's president and COO Charlie Hadlow told The Cool Down.
You can use the site's calculators for quick estimates on solar setups and peruse the online marketplace to compare deals. EnergySage prides itself on being transparent about the process and related costs, plus it doesn't require a phone number to use the service.
How it's helping
By installing a solar panel system for your home, you're joining a global movement to improve the environment while gaining a bit of energy independence. Using electricity from cleaner, sustainable sources like the sun reduces our reliance on burning dirty fuels, resulting in cleaner air and less planet-warming pollution.
EnergySage has also done the legal legwork and cut through the red tape to increase the financial savings for your project. Following its guidance, you can leverage government rebates and incentives for eco-friendly upgrades to your home.
As it explains, the federal solar tax credit (or investment tax credit) lets you claim 30% of a new solar panel installation as a credit to your tax bill. It says that typical EnergySage Marketplace users can save nearly $10,000 this way.
Plus, the organization has put together a collection of useful guides and tips for you to read through so you'll be more informed about the whole process. The company isn't limited to solar installations either; it also fills you in on heat pumps, battery systems, and EV charging stations.
What everyone's saying
Users across the internet have shared some personal experiences with the service.
"60.9 kWh is damn good starting past noon. Thanks to Next Generation Solar, LLC and EnergySage for making the learning curve pretty easy," according to a commenter on the company's Facebook page.
"I actually had a fairly good experience. Submitted out for quotes. I forget the exact cost [per watt], but it came out to about $25k before incentives for a 10kW system," someone on Reddit's r/Solar channel stated.
"I had a great experience," another Redditor detailed. "I had a lot of quotes. I narrowed down to the final three and picked the best one. Couldn't be happier."
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