subject: Going Solar And The Payback Benefits - What Really Matters? [print this page] The US government targets to have 10 million American homes and businesses using solar energy by the year 2020. The figure appears achievable, but the main challenge is encouraging people to go solar.
When it comes to switching to solar energy for residential needs, people want to know what will be the payback. There is a bigger picture here, and that is the need for local, state and federal policies to step in and remove barriers. It has been observed by solar energy experts as well as those in the solar business that for Americans to adopt a highly enthusiastic attitude about going solar, they need some sort of encouragement or incentives from the government. In other words, the need is to have national policies drafted to benefit the people adopting solar energy for their homes or businesses. If the government makes policies that will benefit the market, then consumers tend to adopt faster.
People need something better than reduced prices for solar adoption. In fact, price is not the concern for most people. In some cases, up to 90% of the gross cost of solar is taken care of by incentives. However, there are some costly barriers when it comes to solar installation. A recent report noted that there is an additional cost of $2,500 for a residential solar installation due to obstacles to acquire local permits. Other marketing barriers include wrong and misguided information on solar equipment and, an absence of a trusted name in solar energy services. If rebates and tax incentive eligibility are unclear even in the slightest, then it can be difficult for consumers to go solar.
Research has shown that people are not interested in knowing if they will save a lot of money 10 years from now, instead, they want to know how can they benefit and save right now. This makes payback a less valuable metric than one would think. Since solar energy costs have declined 60 percent since 1995, more people are starting to move towards going solar. The solar industry is showing the promise of taking off, despite the downturn in the economy.
People have to overcome barriers in going solar, and a major help in combating these barriers are free online services like SunMaths solar calculator. The calculator provides people with access to high-quality, unbiased information to make an informed decision about going solar.
