Although the Northwest United states may not seem like an ideal place for solar, it is actually a great location for home solar panels. Higher latitudes, such as where the northwest of the united states sits, receive fewer annual hours of sunlight than places that most people would think about a good location for solar technology. However, home solar panels operate at a much greater efficiency in cooler climates like in the northwest and this makes it a great location for solar power.

The Northwest receives more than enough sunlight to meet the entire energy needs of your home. The long summer days during the many months of high solar hours provide plenty of solar technology. And although the Northwest faces long, overcast winters, even on dark winter days, home solar panels will still provide power to meet some, if not most of Solar panel installation in USa your energy needs. Places like Seattle and Portland which have long, boisterous winters, still provide enough solar technology for home solar panels to work. There are really no actual bad solar areas in the Northwest. Most of the Northwest actually receives up to 70% of the sunlight that the Los angeles area receives during the winter time. The Northwest also receives at least half as much solar technology as the desert areas of California and Arizona, and receives much more solar technology than Germany, which has made itself into one of the solar technology leaders of the world.

Germany gets much less sunlight than the Northwest receives but is producing 55% of the world’s solar panels and has high expectations of being 100% green in its national energy use by 2010. Germany has around 10% fewer annual hours of sunlight than Portland and Seattle, yet it is generating over half of the world’s solar technology. So if Germany has the capacity to produce so much solar technology with less light from the sun than what the Northwest receives, it is clear that home solar panels are a great investment in the Northwest area and can provide an affordable energy solution.

Bonus Programs for Home Solar panels in the Northwest

Wa and Oregon have some of the best bonus programs in the country for home solar panels. These state rewards make solar more financially attractive here than in the majority of the The southern area of United states. Every state in the Northwest offers rewards for solar technology development. Oregon, Idaho and Montana all offer low-interest loans and substantial tax credits for home solar panels. Wa now offers a production bonus of $0. 15/kilowatt-hour or more for electricity from solar technology, depending on where the technology was manufactured. Montana and Oregon also exempt solar systems from property tax assessment, while Idaho and Wa exempt solar system purchases from sales taxes. Many local utilities and regional organizations also provide additional rewards. An example is the Energy Trust of Oregon, that provides additional rebates and loans to customers of Oregon’s two largest utilities. Many utilities also offer additional rebates, loans, or production rewards for solar technology systems.

Wa has modeled its solar electric financial bonus programs on those of Germany because of the huge success of it’s solar power program. With the additional solar hours available in Eastern Wa, there are additional bonus programs available including the Chelan County’s SNAP program, which has led to an instant increase of solar installs occurring in Wenatchee over the past few years.

Net Metering for Home Solar panels in the Northwest

Utilities in all four Northwestern states offer net metering programs. Net metering is available from utilities throughout Oregon, Wa and is required legally for Montana utilities. Net metering makes it easy for customers to install home solar panels, because any extra power generated because of your home solar panels during the day is given back to the utility’s electrical grid for distribution to other customers. Then at night or any other time when you need more power than you are generating, you can draw power back from the utility grid.

Net metering allows customers to install home solar panels without necessity for expensive storage systems, and without wasting or losing any extra power generated when sunlight are at its peak. These programs also provide a simple, standard path for customers to use solar systems while retaining access to utility-supplied power.

In most net metering programs, the utility installations a special ‘dual-reading’ meter at the customers home that will keep track of the energy consumed by the home, and energy that is generated by the home solar panels. The customer is then invoiced only for the internet amount of electricity that they draw from the utility, effectively receiving the utility’s full retail price for the electricity that is generated from the home solar panels.