Cost Savings - Solar Energy

Energy from the sun is free. However, capturing and using this free energy has associated costs, such as installing and maintaining the equipment needed to harness solar energy. To figure out how much solar electricity you could expect to produce visit www.nrel.gov/eis/imby/.

Tax incentives, as well Gulf Power's incentives, are available to help reduce upfront costs for customers ( 30% Federal Tax Credit is currently available through 2016).

There are many factors that affect the initial cost and subsequent savings, including location and size of the solar panels, weather conditions, actual monthly hot water usage and maintenance.

* Payback ranges were calculated using the Florida Solar Energy Center’s "Residential Solar Hot Water System Calculator", and based on an assumed system energy efficiency of 4.0, current local electric rates, and hot water usage patterns commonly referred to as high and low intensity.