Think About Electric Cars When Buying Solar
March 18, 2019, Yardley, Pennsylvania. As we enter 2019, two clean energy trends have begun to intersect across the U.S. and locally in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. A growing number of homeowners are shedding their high electricity costs by going solar, and more people are buying electric vehicles (EV) to avoid increasing pump prices.
Both purchases work together to save a family thousands in power and fuel costs, while helping owners cut a huge portion of their personal carbon emissions. Solar energy systems give homeowners the ability to produce their own power and potentially reduce their electric bills to near zero. EVs give owners the chance to break the fossil fuel bond and eliminate gas purchases while being less expensive to own and operate for every 12,000 miles or more traveled.
Buying one or both is becoming more popular as a way to fast-track the reduction of a household’s carbon footprint and save the most money. The more homes that go solar, the less fossil fuels will need to be burned. And by properly engineering a rooftop solar energy system, an EV can be effectively charged with solar power, making the investment even more fossil free.
Solar power and EV are perfect together in this way. By design, the rooftop solar energy system would be sized to generate enough power to cover the additional charging load as well as a household’s routine energy needs. Each charging cycle is in effect a clean energy chargen.
A solar buyer doesn’t necessarily need to purchase an EV at the same time as their solar energy system. The average EV usage requires about as much electricity for charging as a hot water heater for a family of four. So, a solar installer can simply design the system to accommodate this. Buying an EV and adding an EV charger later becomes quick and easy. If needed, more solar panels can also easily be added at that time.
Whether or not an electric vehicle is being considered, going solar this year is the best way to lock in the highest savings. The first step in the sunsetting of the federal investment tax credit begins on January 1, 2020, reducing the deduction by 4%, from 30% to 26%. Those who buy in 2019 have the best chance to maximize lifetime solar savings.