Personal finance

How You Can Save Money with Renewable Energy

Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar are much cleaner in comparison to fossil fuels. They allow generation of electricity at a much lower cost and you can save considerable amounts of money by installing renewable energy systems in your home.

One of the major concerns for individuals investing in renewable energy is whether the savings from implementing renewable energy alternatives will offset the initial cost in the long run. Will the investment in alternative energy source spay-back later down the road? Does an investment in solar or wind energy represent a good financial decision?

Here, you will find out how switching to a clean source of energy such as solar power can result in cost savings for you.

Cost-Saving Benefits of Renewable Energy for Individuals

Installing a renewable energy system to power your home is a money-saving strategy in lots of ways. It will allow you to reduce your carbon footprint in the environment. In addition, it will result in significant cost savings in generating electricity. Here are four cost-saving benefits of installing solar or wind renewable energy systems to generate electricity.

1. Reduced Electricity Bills

The foremost benefit of using clean energy is that it will result in significantly reduced electricity bills. Energy obtained from the sun and wind is generally free. You won’t have to pay any taxes on energy obtained from renewable sources.

Net savings due to installing alternative energy systems can amount to a large sum over the design life of the system. The exact savings depend on the size of the system and usage pattern of electricity. If you rely mainly on clean energy sources for meeting your power needs, the savings can be substantially higher.

2. Feed-in Tariff

Another way you can save through investing in clean energy sources is through the use of a system called feed-in-tariff. Feed-in-tariff is an incentive system to encourage homeowners to generate ‘green’ energy. Individuals are paid at a specific rate for energy generated through clean alternative energy sources such as solar and wind. The best thing about this scheme is that the income is totally tax-free.

The feed-in-tariff is offered in most of the developed countries including the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia and other member countries of the European Union.

Individuals in the UK that generate electricity through solar panels are paid between 36.1 p and 41.3p per kWh. Electricity generated through turbines is paid at a lower rate between 26.7 and 34.5 per kWh. In addition, individuals receive an extra of 3p per kWh that is fed back to the grid.

Also, most states in the US offer feed-in-tariff at rates ranging from 1 cent per kWh to 2 cents per kWh. The payments are capped up to a certain period that ranges from 10 to 20 years.

3. Tax Incentives and Grants

Individuals are also offered tax incentives for investment in renewable sources. The tax incentives make alternative energy sources more affordable for individuals. This results in increased savings from investing in renewable energy.

4. Increased Home Value

Investment in clean sources of energy in residential properties can result in an increase in the value of those homes. If you ever decide to sell your home, installed wind energy systems or solar panels will boost the value of your property and increase the likelihood of a sale. You can inform the buyer about savings due to using alternative clean energy. They will be impressed by the fact that they can benefit from increased cost savings in the long run.

5. Switch to Green Energy

According to Dispatch Weekly, UK is really embracing Green Energy in 2018. Companies such as Octopus Energy have been named 2018 uSwitch Energy Supplier of the Year. Readers can get a £50 credits if they sign up using this Octopus Energy affiliate link.

Take Away

Investment in clean energy results in reduced energy bills. Alternative energy sources are not subjected to price fluctuations as evident in fossil fuels sources. In addition, you can benefit from tax incentives and grants by switching to renewable energy. The amount that is invested in converting to cleaner energy like wind and solar will be recovered after a few years.

Apart from cost savings, you can also feel at ease knowing that you will contribute to making the earth less polluted and contributing to a cleaner environment. Generating electricity from fossil fuel sources result in the emission of dangerous gasses that have been linked to heart attacks, lung diseases, cancer, premature death, and many other ailments. No harmful elements are released to the atmosphere when electricity is generated through clean energy sources like solar and wind.

If you are thinking of investing in clean sources of energy, make sure that you perform a cost & benefits analysis first. Consider employing the services of an accountant to prepare a report showing the expenses and savings in the long run. On average, installing clean energy source result in savings of 7% to 10%for individuals. The exact savings depend on different factors such as the number of panels installed, the feed-in-tariff rate, tax incentives, and grants offered by the presiding government in the location of installation.

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