Solar Power And Going Green In Your Home

Solar energy is one of the hot topics in today’s marketplace. With government incentives at record levels-and some utilities paying you to switch to solar-now is the time to learn more and find out how you can save money with solar energy.

But what is solar energy? How does it work? Can it really generate electricity?

Solar energy reins-in the power of the sun. When sunlight hits photovoltaic cells (they look like giant computer chips made of silicon) the photons in the sunlight make all electrons to be released from the silicon. If you can catch those electrons, you have electricity.

Think of it like this: you are playing billiards (shooting pool) and you hit the cue ball into another ball. What happens? The white ball ricochets insets that other ball into motion as well.

When sunlight hits the solar cell, it ricochets off and pushes the electron in motion. Electricity is made of electrons. The more electrons you can set in motion-and rein-in-the additional electricity you can generate.

For an great article on solar energy and other green energy, visit this page at NASA http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/greenspace/clean-energy.html

So does this help you in your home? The government is fighting hard for solar energy. $20 billion dollars has been set away to help advocate solar energy throughout our country. The federal government as well as many state governments and utilities, will actually pay you to start utilizing solar energy.

Why would they do this? First, we want to lower our dependency on foreign oil. Second, burning fossil fuel is aweful for the environment. Solar energy, on the other hand, is absolutely clean. There are no byproducts. There are no carbon emissions. It is a extremely clean and pure way of generating electricity. Third, the government wants to develop the solar industry in this country which may create more and more jobs and opportunities.

Solar energy is not cheap, however. Solar energy for a house may cost $20,000. Do not stop reading this article! There is great news. The government and utilities may rebate you up to 70% of the price of the system. In this example, you could get tax credits and rebates for around $13,500. The end cost to you is $6000. If you were to finance this, you can pay about $50-$75 each month. You may say this much or more in your electric bill! Even if you don’t, you not only done something great for the environment, but have also increased the value of your home by about $20,000! If you’re going to resell your house, this not only adds value of nature house more desirable than other houses on the market.

There are also laws preventing local government from increasing your taxes when you add solar energy to your house. We cannot tell you specific tax advice-you must speak with your accountant or attorney.

SaveWithSolar.org offers great tips about solar energy and ways to save with solar power. Get the facts, including information on the solar energy incentives available in your state!