Shining a light on savings

By Anna Lockhart.  

With solar energy, there are multiple incentives for building owners to take advantage of, and even in some cases, make money! Find out what the experts have to say about investing in the right solar panel system.  

In a recent episode of the AskARoofer podcast, hosts Megan Ellsworth and Lauren White sat down with Founder and CEO of S-5!, Rob Haddock, and Mark Gies. In this special conversation, they discuss solar energy benefits and why home and building owners should install solar panels to reduce energy consumption and get some of their money back in the process!  

With over fifteen years in the solar industry, Mark has quite a bit of knowledge and insight into the benefits of solar energy, how to get the most out of your solar panel system and how to get started. The one critical piece of advice he has for first time solar buyers? Find the right contractor. He shared, “They will look over your roof, work with you on a good plan to do it and provide a bid. And once you find that right person, they really will do right for you, and do all the work needed and lead you along the right path. So, the steps are straightforward, it's just really making sure you find that right person, that right team to help you with.”  

Rob added, “One thing to remember is that even some of the better solar contractors don't know a lot about roofing. So, it's really a key find if you find one who does know a lot about roofing.” By ensuring that the team you hire to take care of the solar panel system installation process is both capable in the areas of roofing as well as solar, you can be rest assured that you’ll be getting the most out of this investment.  

Once you’ve found the right team for the job, it’s smooth sailing! For many business owners, investing in solar energy can be a great opportunity to take advantage of incentives and rebates. “There's no better time than now to do this. And there's always been what's called the ITC, which is your investment tax credit, that's been going on for over a decade now. ITC is now guaranteed for 10 more years through 2033,” Mark explained. “Along with that is now big thing, that allows nonprofits to take advantage of that 30% through cash grants. And then besides that, now there's a domestic content adder, so that if 40% of your solar system is made in the U.S., you get another extra 10% of cash back of your system.” 

He continued, “There's different access to that money depending on where you are and what's going on. Besides that, states have their own incentives, and more utilities are doing incentives for people to put in solar. And then another big one is the USDA, another federal agency. You don't really realize it; they have what's called a REAP program. It varies from quarter to quarter, but you can get a big chunk, upwards of 50% back if you are in a rural area.” 

With so many possibilities and incentives to stack up, there’s truly no better time than now for building owners to look into applying solar to their buildings as their primary energy source. In some cases, these incentives can even help get nearly the entire system paid for by just having the right combination of incentives from different sources added together.  

So really, why wait? As solar becomes more popular and appealing across the board for both home and building owners, and the incentives increase, there’s a great opportunity for owners to earn back some of the money they normally would be putting into their energy expenses.  

Read the transcript or Listen to the podcast to learn more about installing solar and getting paid for it!