Solar energy is free. It will not go up in price and it won't run out.
Solar panels increase the value of your home.
It reduces your reliance on traditional energy sources and reduces your exposure to utility price increases.
The return on your investment is better than the stock market - 10% or higher with the current tax incentives and rebates available.

SRECs provide ongoing, future income generation.

Solar PV systems are scalable -- they can be as big or a small as you would like. You can even start small and add-on later. The systems typically cost $6.00 to $8.00 per watt. So a 3 kW system would cost around $18,000 to $24,000, depending on the complexity of the installation.

At current electricity rates, in PA it generally takes about 10 years for a solar electric (PV) system to pay for itself, while in NJ it's even faster -- that's a 10%+ return on your investment and better than anything you'll find at your bank or credit union. After that, you're creating electricity for your home for free, forever offsetting your energy expenses.

Rebates and Incentives

There is a federal income tax credit worth 30% of the cost of the solar energy system available to reduce the effective cost of a solar water heating system (there is no longer a cap on the tax credit and it can be carried forward).

In addition, for PA residents the PA Sunshine program provides a possible rebate of up to $0.75 per watt. In August 2011, the PA Sunshine program went into waitlist status. This means you may receive a check from the state at some point after installation is completed if money is released from other non-completed projects. Alternatively, Exact Solar has secured funding to provide you with an immediate, guaranteed $2,000 rebate off the price of your system if you'd rather not wait or rely on money becoming available from the PA Sunshine program. Either way, Exact Solar takes care of all required paperwork.

Note that the illustration to the right shows calculations for PV in Pennsylvania. We also have a cost and Return on Investment "Back of Napkin" illustration for New Jersey.