-
100 Rooftops Challenge
Join us - promoting solar installations in our community. - 58
How Solar PV works
Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels capture the sun’s light and turn it into electricity.
This electricity flows down into an inverter, which converts the electricity from the panels into a form your home can use, powering the lights and appliances of your home. Any excess power produced can be sent out onto the utility grid.
At night, when the sun isn’t out, your home pulls in electricity from the grid. However, during the day, your solar PV system really has a chance to shine.
The Real Savings of Solar Power
You may have heard that solar PV is an expensive technology. This is simply untrue when you consider the generous tax credits available, and look at things from a larger perspective.
First, the tax credits: there is a generous 30% federal tax credit (unlimited amount), and a 35% NC state tax credit (max. $10,500).
Now let’s look at why it makes sense to invest the remainder. To do this, we need to consider the total financial and environmental cost of obtaining your electricity from polluting sources such as coal and oil:
- Your electricity rates are going up partly because your utility company uses that income to fund new coal and oil plants.
- These plants require years to build and even more years of maintenance and upkeep, things that don’t apply to a solar PV array.
- Then there is the financial and environmental cost of harvesting the coal or oil that goes into the power plant, whereas solar energy is always clean, free, and does no harm to the environment.
