Here's how much homeowners could be saving by using solar panels

Written by Posted On Wednesday, 19 September 2018 12:53

Earlier this year, California made headlines by passing a new mandate which requires all newly constructed homes to have solar panels. While this will not go into effect for roughly two years, it is a landmark mandate that shows that California is committed to renewable energy, no matter the cost. But with that in mind, a new study from California-based solar energy company Greenshine New Energy, shows how much homeowners can save over time by using solar panels.

Solar panels can be expensive upfront with the original purchase and the installation fee. But, as this study shows, there can be significant monthly savings on electricity bills for homes that use solar panels compared to homes who do not. The study looked at a typical American new construction home and the amount of energy it could produce with 18 solar panels in various cities throughout the United States.

According to the study, cities in California would have electricity bills of nearly nothing if they used solar panels. The 6 cheapest cities for monthly costs are all in California and would be Sacramento ($0.87), Los Angeles ($0.91), San Francisco ($1.07), San Jose ($1.09), Riverside ($1.13), and San Diego ($1.14). When you do the math, those annual costs come to $10.44, $10.92, $12.84, $13.08, $13.56, and $13.68, respectively. Imagine only paying around a dollar each month on your electric bill.

Naturally, the yearly savings for those cities would be quite a hefty sum. They would be: Sacramento ($802.87), Los Angeles ($842.40), San Francisco ($991.44), San Jose ($1,010.23), Riverside ($1,041.98), and San Diego ($1,059.48). Those are quite some savings. While some of those cities are in the top five for annual savings, New York City is the one that would have the highest at $1,490.40 per year.

Interestingly, Seattle, WA has the lowest savings of any city analyzed. They come in at a yearly savings of $498.96, which, while significant, isn’t nearly as much as many of the other cities in the study. Washington does offer a number of solar incentives which would certainly help in the overall cost and savings for homeowners who want solar powered homes.

As solar panels become cheaper and more accessible, they are becoming more appealing and more of a viable option for homeowners. California made a statement when they unanimously passed their mandate for new construction. Whether other states will follow suit or not is another question, but solar panels for homes are a way to save quite a bit on the electricity bill each month.

Rate this item
(0 votes)

Realty Times

From buying and selling advice for consumers to money-making tips for Agents, our content, updated daily, has made Realty Times® a must-read, and see, for anyone involved in Real Estate.

Joomla! Debug Console

Session

Profile Information

Memory Usage

Database Queries