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What are the benefits of going solar? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The state of Florida is one of the leading states in the union for encouraging it’s residents to go solar. Here’s a few of the <\/p>\n\n\n\n
- State Net Metering Laws-I’ll give a better explanation of what net metering is a little further down in the article, but just know for the moment that this is how your solar panels will eventually pay for themselves- and continue to pay you long afterward. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Statewide Interconnection Standards- Having statewide interconnection standards makes it faster, easier and cheaper to connect your solar power system to the grid, and Florida has strong statewide standards. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Performance Based Incentives- Incentive payments in Florida are based on the output of your solar system, and these credits can be applied to future electric bills, providing you free electricity even in months where you use more than you generate. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Florida Property Tax Exemption- Property taxes in Florida cannot be reassessed due to the addition of solar panels, meaning your property tax liability will not go up! <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Florida Sales Tax Exemption- Florida state sales taxes do not apply to the purchase of a solar power system, saving you a 6% increase in the price of your system, which could save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- 26% Federal Income Tax Credit- You are eligible to claim up to 26% of the total cost of your system as a credit toward your federal income tax liability. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
How much will the addition of solar panels increase my home\u2019s value?<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There are different ideas on how much solar panels increase the value of your home, and estimates are all over the place. As a practical matter, solar panels only increase the value of your home by the amount that a buyer is willing to pay for them. However, you can generally expect an increase of something like $10,000 on the low end, though some would say as much as $20,000. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What are the Effects of Net Metering on a Solar System?<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Net metering is the method by which your solar panels can generate excess energy and feed it back into the grid, thereby earning you credits toward future electric bills. Despite what many people believe, most utilities do not send you a check or make direct cash payments for excess energy generated by homeowners. However, they do quite often issue \u201ccredits\u201d (which go by different names in different states) towards future electric bills, effectively giving you \u201cfree\u201d electricity for the life of your solar panels. In other words, in months where your system generates more power than you use, you will accumulate kilowatt hours of credits toward months where you use more power than your system generates. In some cases, depending on a variety of factors such as the size of your system and your energy usage, you may essentially get \u201cfree\u201d electricity for years, never paying an electric bill at all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How much solar power do I need to power my home?<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Every user is different, but to be completely energy self sufficient, most people require between 5 and 7 kilowatts of solar panels. Some people may require even more, depending on a vast array of factors. If you have a large family, prefer cooler or warmer temperatures, have a lot of appliances plugged in at all times, size of your home, etc all factor in to how much power you need to generate to be completely self sufficient, but even on the high end most homes will never use more than 8 kw of power in a month. Standard solar panels come in 250 watts, meaning you will need at least 20 solar panels to approach being self sufficient, possibly as many as 32. Not every home has room for that many solar panels of course, so of course you\u2019ll need to consult with your solar installer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is the \u201cPayback\u201d period for Solar Panels in Lakeland?<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The \u201cpayback\u201d period for solar panels is the estimate on how long it will take for your solar power system to pay for itself, whether that\u2019s through net metering and solar energy credits, savings on energy bills, rebates, etc. In the state of Florida in general, the average payback period is somewhere around 9-10 years. However, depending on a very long list of variables, your payback period could be as fast as 5 years if your solar power system is big enough and you use enough electricity. Either way, whether it\u2019s 5 years, 10, or something in between, solar panels last around 25 years, meaning even in the longest payback estimates, your solar panels will have paid for themselves and be effectively \u201cearning\u201d you money for somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 years before they need replacement. This could lead to savings of anywhere between $30-80,000 depending on the size of your system and your home or business energy usage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How do I get solar panels installed in Lakeland? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Lakeland has the advantage of being kind of in the \u201cmiddle\u201d of Florida (if such a place exists). This means that there\u2019s a very good chance that you can get with a number of solar providers all across the state who would be happy to come do an installation in your area, especially ones from the Orlando or Tampa Bay area who are realistically just a couple of hours away. For the purposes of this article, we are going to concentrate on solar companies in the Lakeland and greater Lakeland area, but let it be known that there\u2019s a good chance you can get companies from all over the state of Florida to come to you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Company: Polk County Solar <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Address: 2199 Ontario Way, Lakeland, FL 33805<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Years in Business: ??<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Website: polksolarpanels.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reviews: None<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Business Quote: \u201cHere at Polk County Solar we operate based on the popular proverb \u201cGive a homeowner a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Good: Really nice looking website<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bad: Very little web presence outside of their own website- In fact, I couldn\u2019t find anything, even on the BBB website<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Summary: Looks like a good company according to their own website, although most everybody does. Can\u2019t find a lot of information about them out there, even on the BBB website. That being said, they certainly look like a reputable company, and their website shows a lot of their work and customer testimonials, so while I can\u2019t tell you much else about them, they\u2019re probably a good one to look into. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Company: Powur (Or Solar Sales?) <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Address: 1996 Crossroads Blvd, Winter Haven, FL 33881<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Years in Business: ??<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Website: solarpowerequity.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reviews: 4 \/ 5 Glassdoor (14 reviews), 4.1 \/ 5 Solarreviews (4 reviews) <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Business Quote: \u201cWe want to be a better energy provider. We want to save you money. We want to help you feel proud of how you power your home. And we want to get you all the best equipment, the best technology to set you up for the future. So those are your two options. And I leave it to you to choose. But I truly and sincerely hope that you go solar with Powur. Let us help you save money and accelerate a sustainable energy future for mankind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Good: Good website with lots of hard data right up front, good videos explaining things<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bad: Limited web presence, not a ton of reviews; Confusing name change, can\u2019t find them with the BBB<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Summary: So it\u2019s kind of hard to tell, but I think this company used to be called \u201cSolar Sales\u201d. The url given as the website for \u201cSolar Sales\u201d however redirects me to https:\/\/powur.com\/kevin.tison\/, which is a little strange because he\u2019s not the owner, apparently just a sales rep. The website is nice though, with some good video explanations of what the company offers. Their website says they\u2019ve completed \u201cover 5,000 successful installations\u201d and that \u201cmoney from every installation goes to preserving millions of acres of Amazon rainforest\u201d, and they claim they are the first solar company to offset \u201c100% of the emissions from the solar manufacturing process\u201d. So the company sounds great, but once again I can\u2019t find very much about them outside of their own website, so it\u2019s hard for me to do a very complete evaluation on them without that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Company: Solenergy <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Address: 4757 Highway 92 East Lakeland, Florida 33801<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Years in Business: 13<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Website: solenergyus.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reviews: None<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Business Quote: \u201cEmbracing and driving change are at the core of our company philosophy. So we always strive to be adventurous, creative and open-minded, from our process to our products. We value building open and honest relationships\u2014and treating customers and employees with genuine respect and appreciation for their confidence in us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Good: Great looking website, 13 years in business<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bad: Phantom company. Can\u2019t find anything about them outside of their own website<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Summary: Solenergy is another great looking company with lots of good stuff on their website including an extensive blog with some very interesting articles like \u201cAre Solar Savings Calculators Accurate?\u201d and \u201cThe Truth About Lakeland Electric\u201d. The website also offers all the regular stuff, all of which looks very nice and is well put together, but just like the other companies I\u2019ve reviewed in this article, I simply can\u2019t find a lot of evidence of this company\u2019s existence outside their own website. So there\u2019s only so much I can tell you about them going off the little bit of information I have- Everything looks good, but do your research!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Company: Orbit Energy & Power <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Address: 1512 George Jenkins Blvd, Lakeland, FL 33815<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Years in Business: 4<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Website: https:\/\/www.orbitenergy.us\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reviews: 3.35 \/ 5 Better Business Bureau (17 reviews)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Business Quote: \u201cOur Team exists for the purpose of making our world a more environmentally friendly planet through every single renewable energy project that we deploy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Good: Great looking website, appears to be a very active company<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bad: LOTS of complaints with the BBB (12)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Summary: This company boasts an excellent website which you can check out at your leisure, with a lot of great information and customer reviews and testimonials, but the real story with this one is with the Better Business Bureau. Normally when doing these reviews, most companies have no complaints at all filed against them, and on the high end a company may have 3. These folks, as a 4 year old company, have 12. In the last 3 years, 7 of those in the last year. As always, this does not mean the company is a bad one- but it is a very worrisome sign. You can view the complaints for yourself at https:\/\/www.bbb.org\/us\/nj\/sewell\/profile\/solar-installation\/orbit-energy-power-0221-90190999\/complaints, but they cover a variety of topics. This is probably the most I\u2019ve ever seen against one company, but I will also say that they have been diligent about trying to respond to the complaints and satisfy the unsatisfied. So by all means feel free to look into this company, but just be aware there have apparently been a number of issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Final Word: <\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
So in the end, Lakeland has numerous solar companies right at home. Yes, you can look outside, because as I said before there are plenty of companies that are willing to travel to do an installation. But by all means, check out some of the companies I reviewed above or any of the others that I didn\u2019t before making a decision. In the end you\u2019re going to need maintenance done, and using a local company will always make that easier.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How Much do Solar Panels Cost in Lakeland, Florida? Solar panels in Lakeland are averaging a little bit higher than solar panels in other parts of Florida, coming in somewhere between $2.50 and $2.55 per watt. To put that in perspective, an average commercial solar panel usually comes in 250 watt denominations, putting the price… Continue reading Solar Panel Installation Lakeland FL<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-solar-installation","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wgsi.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wgsi.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wgsi.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wgsi.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wgsi.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=944"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/wgsi.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/944\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1029,"href":"https:\/\/wgsi.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/944\/revisions\/1029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wgsi.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wgsi.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wgsi.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- 26% Federal Income Tax Credit- You are eligible to claim up to 26% of the total cost of your system as a credit toward your federal income tax liability. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Florida Sales Tax Exemption- Florida state sales taxes do not apply to the purchase of a solar power system, saving you a 6% increase in the price of your system, which could save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Florida Property Tax Exemption- Property taxes in Florida cannot be reassessed due to the addition of solar panels, meaning your property tax liability will not go up! <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Performance Based Incentives- Incentive payments in Florida are based on the output of your solar system, and these credits can be applied to future electric bills, providing you free electricity even in months where you use more than you generate. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Statewide Interconnection Standards- Having statewide interconnection standards makes it faster, easier and cheaper to connect your solar power system to the grid, and Florida has strong statewide standards. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n