The Spirit of Earth Day Can Improve Your Finances in These 3 Ways
It’s becoming clear that living more sustainably can not only have earth-saving benefits, but financial ones as well.
Photo via Brooklyn SolarWorks
With Earth Day’s increasing popularity every year — and relevance — it’s becoming clear that efforts to live more sustainably can not only have earth-saving benefits, but financial ones as well.
Take solar energy for example. The benefits of solar panels are both macro and micro. Here are three of them:
Reduce energy costs
Skip purchasing natural gas and electricity powered by fossil fuels. Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems allow you to convert the sun’s energy into electricity in your own home.
With net metering, Con Edison gives you retail energy credits on your electric bill. In other words, your home is like a mini power plant exporting excess energy to the grid.
And once you install solar panels, making your household all-electric is easy. Solar panels are frequently followed by air-source heat pumps, electric hot water heaters, and induction cooktops. It all means you can stop worrying about what’s happening with oil supply in the Mideast, or in Alaska, or utility rate hikes.
Increase your home’s value
Put simply, installing solar energy panels increases the value of your home. Why are buyers attracted to properties with environmentally friendly features? It’s not only because of the benefits to the environment.
A 2019 Zillow study found that homes with solar panels in NYC sell for 5.4 percent more on average than comparable homes without them — an additional $37,800 on the median sales price in NYC.
Recently, a couple in Sunset Park electrified their row house with solar panels, a heat pump mini-split, and a heat pump water heater. In one year they saved $1,510 on electricity and $2,748 on gas.
Get financial incentives
Solar installation is heavily incentivized by the government on the federal, state, and local levels. This means that not only will you see cost savings in the long run, but you’ll also see savings on the initial investment of your solar installation.
The tax incentives available to New York solar adopters are among the most competitive in the country. Through a federal income tax credit, state solar tax credit, a state rebate, a local property tax abatement, and other incentives, a New York City homeowner can see their up front contract price reduced by around 75 percent.
To learn more about the benefits of installing solar or to schedule a consultation, contact Brooklyn SolarWorks.
[Photos by Brooklyn SolarWorks]
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