We have found farmers to be long-term thinkers and planners (moreso than many other kinds of business people) so, in general, people in agriculture are more attuned to the long-term financial benefits of solar. With lots of barn roof space and open ground space, many farmers have a very good solar potential. We have built many successful agricultural solar systems, at a cost that beats our competitors. Increasingly, the most successful farmers and agricultural thought leaders are going solar!
What solar power can do for your farm:
Insulate your operation against rising energy costs
Work side by side with utility power to lower and stabilize energy costs
Pay for itself and then some (20+ years of free electricity)
Generate profits from your home, barn, and outbuilding rooftops
Increase the value of your farm property
Turn this year’s farm revenue into a long-term asset with strong tax benefits
Gain energy independence with power that pays you…
What can we do to help you capture these benefits?
We’ll help you determine whether solar can lower your long-term energy costs.
If so, we’ll design/install the best clean solar energy system for your operation.
What about the costs of solar for my farm?
Here is a “base case” example of current solar costs. This is only an example. Every system we build is customized to the site and energy needs of each customer, so here is one example you can use to get a general sense of solar costs and payback.
20.16 kilowatt solar electric system on a barn roof, total installed cost, with 250-foot trenching:
for 30 years of secure power & protection against rising energy rates!
Annual utility savings $2,600—30 year lifetime utility savings $129,000
Lifetime operations & maintenance cost $15,400
Lifetime cost of fuel $0—it comes up every morning!
A 20.16kW solar electric system produces about 23,600 kWh of clean electricity in the first year year. Because it is grid-connected, solar does not change the way you use electricity—you can power everything you do now:
Milking pumps
Grain dryers
Grinders
Barn fans
Barn lighting
Anything you now run on grid power runs exactly the same on solar power. The only difference is—you’ll see long-term savings in your electricity costs!
With over 400 successful installations and many repeat customers, we are licensed, insured, and bonded—with designers and installers who are NABCEP-certified to the highest standard in our industry. So call us today at 877-OWN-SOLAR (877-696-7652) extension 59.
Interested homeowners often begin looking into solar by going on the web. There are many good resources on the web for investigating solar, for gathering basic information, and for beginning the process of considering whether a PV solar electric system is a good choice for you. You’ll find some good links below for continuing your research.
Here are some basic qualifiers for solar — if you answer “yes” to one or more of these questions, then solar is worth investigating further:
Do you own your home?
Do you pay high electric bills? More than $100 in the average month?
Are your electric bills higher in the summer than in the winter?
Is your house unshaded or only lightly shaded (by trees or other nearby structures)?
Does your house have a large roof surface facing south, southeast, or southwest?
Does your property have open, unshaded ground near the house (within 100 feet)?
If the answer to one or more of these questions is “yes,” then you may be a good candidate for solar.
Here are a few questions that answering “yes” means you are a prime candidate for solar:
Does your house have a large, open, unshaded roof facing directly south?
Does your house (or garage) have a standing-seam metal roof?
Do you think your electric rates are likely to rise in the next 5-20 years?
Do you plan to be in your home for the next 10+ years?
Are you green-leaning? Do you want to take steps to live a greener lifestyle?
Are you concerned about power outages? Would you like to have power during grid blackouts?
If you can answer “yes” to any of these questions, you should definitely take a good, hard look at solar. You can begin by getting in touch with us through our web form:
Interested homeowners often begin looking into solar by going on the web. There are many good resources on the web for investigating solar, for gathering basic information, and for beginning the process of considering whether a PV solar electric system is a good choice for you. You’ll find some good links below for continuing your research.
Here are some basic qualifiers for solar — if you answer “yes” to one or more of these questions, then solar is worth investigating further:
Do you own your home?
Do you pay high electric bills? More than $100 in the average month?
Are your electric bills higher in the summer than in the winter?
Is your house unshaded or only lightly shaded (by trees or other nearby structures)?
Does your house have a large roof surface facing south, southeast, or southwest?
Does your property have open, unshaded ground near the house (within 100 feet)?
If the answer to one or more of these questions is “yes,” then you may be a good candidate for solar.
Here are a few questions that answering “yes” means you are a prime candidate for solar:
Does your house have a large, open, unshaded roof facing directly south?
Does your house (or garage) have a standing-seam metal roof?
Do you think your electric rates are likely to rise in the next 5-20 years?
Do you plan to be in your home for the next 10+ years?
Are you green-leaning? Do you want to take steps to live a greener lifestyle?
Are you concerned about power outages? Would you like to have power during grid blackouts?
If you can answer “yes” to any of these questions, you should definitely take a good, hard look at solar. You can begin by getting in touch with us through our web form:
A home energy rating applies a number score to a home’s energy efficiency, using the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index.
The HERS Index is the nationally-recognized scoring system for measuring a home’s energy performance. The HERS Index Score can be described as a sort of miles-per-gallon (MPG) sticker for houses, with long-term energy performance rated on a scale of highly-wasteful (a high score) or energy effective (a lower score). You can learn more about getting a HERS Index Score for your home here. The index is administered by RESNET (the Residential Energy Services Network).
If you add solar — particularly if you can achieve net-zero status — you can dramatically improve your HERS score. This can raise your home’s resale value AND make it easier to get a mortgage. Lenders now know that energy-efficient homes — including those using solar — have a much lower mortgage default risk. 32% lower, according to a study by The University of North Carolina’s Center for Community Capital and the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT). The combination of energy efficiency and solar raises your home’s profile as a low-risk investment. RESNET Executive Director Steve Baden said of the study, “This is a real game changer. The finding that the lower the HERS Score, the lower the mortgage risk should increase consumer, builder, lender, real estate agent and appraiser confidence.”
A widely-accepted guideline for solar impact on home resale value reasons that for every $1 your home saves in annual energy cost , its value rises by $20. Saving $1,500 a year by using solar panels could mean a $30,000 increase in home value.
Take a look at these illustrations of a worst and best HERS scores. The worst-case “150” score means the house is bleeding energy and money. The best-case “0” score means the home is net-zero, producing as much energy as it uses, eliminating its owner’s electric bill, saving over $2,000 each year. You can use the live-action scale here.
WORST CASE — BLEEDING WATTS AND DOLLARS
BEST CASE — PRODUCING ALL IT USES — TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE SAVINGS
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