Solar Home Example in New Jersey
Is New Jersey a Good State For Home Solar?
For almost ten years now, New Jersey has begun to really promote solar panels for homes. There are several very generous incentives and a New Jersey administered Solar Renewable Energy Credit program that help keep the investment costs of solar down which helps out alot. Currently, the state of New Jersey has more solar powered houses than any other state except for California, and this is a direct result of the rules and regulations for solar panels in New Jersey. Some of the factors that also come into effect like the average sunlight hours in NJ state, and the average price per kilo watt hour of electricity have also prompted residents to look into and eventually purchase solar power. So yes, New Jersey is definitely a great state for solar powered houses.
New Jersey Solar Powered House
Take a look at the house pictured above. This is exactly what is possible in New Jersey. This particular house has 28 solar panels. Each of the solar panels are 175 Sanyo solar panels. The total size of this solar system is a 4.9kW system. That is equal to 4,900 watts. Since the average amount of sunlight per day per year in this particular location is just about 5 hours per day, that means that about 624 kwh of electricity will be produced on average each month. That number takes into account the energy loss that occurs when the energy is converted from the solar panels into the electric panel of the house.
If average monthly solar power production at this New Jersey house is 624 kwh/month, that is equal to about 7,500 kwh each year from solar.
Solar Renewable Energy Credit Dollar Values for This System
The 7,500 kwh each year will equal about 7 1/2 SREC’s.(each SREC is 1000 kwh’s). The current sale price for 1 SREC in New Jersey is about $650. So the total value of one years SREC’s from a solar system of this size is approximately= $4,875 per year from SREC revenue (that is excellent, and will likely increase each year)
Overall Investment For Solar Panels in New Jersey
System Cost for this 4.9 KW Solar System in New Jersey: $35,000
Annual Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SREC) $4,875
Federal Tax Credit (30% of total system cost) $10,500
Annual Value of Electricity Produced/Saved $1,500
Expected Payback period for this solar system = About 5 years from purchase date
Summary For Solar Power In New Jersey:
Currently, New Jersey is one of the best places in the United States to own a solar system. The combination of the incentives, SREC’s, and high electricity costs make it a win win for solar owners. Some of the advantages of owning solar right now in New Jersey is the benefit of not being as affected by price increases with the utility companies moving forward. Also, being able to take advantage of the SREC program is also very lucrative right now.
