Expert Advice On Improving Your Home
Expert Advice On Improving Your Home
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Written By David Cusick
Last Updated February 2024
Solar is one of the most easily accessible forms of renewable energy for Harrisburg residents. Adopting solar energy can allow you to save money and shrink your carbon footprint, but you want to make sure you find a trustworthy installer. Luckily, we've reviewed the options and created a guide to the best and most reliable solar installation companies in Harrisburg.
Informative resources
Reliable customer support
Family-operated business
Clear pricing policy
Free quotes
Services Offered
Free quotes
Reliable customer support
Informative resources
Clear pricing policy
Services Offered
Reliable customer support
Free quotes
Clear pricing policy
Informative resources
Services Offered
Reliable customer support
Free quotes
Clear pricing policy
Informative resources
Prompt service delivery
Services Offered
Informative resources
Reliable customer support
Clear pricing policy
Free quotes
Services Offered
Today's Homeowner looks at dozens of datapoints on solar companies to come up with our data-driven rankings. It's not possible for a company to pay for preferential treatment in our rankings. We look at the following key factors in determining who should top our list:
Putting solar panels on your roof could cut your electricity payments while benefiting the planet by reducing your carbon footprint through renewable energy use. Key considerations when researching local solar installers are as follows.
Make sure you hire a licensed solar installer. This helps ensure that the work is done properly using current best installation practices. In Illinois, the state Commerce Commission issues licenses to distributed generation energy contractors, including home solar installers.
Check TrustPilot, the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Google Reviews, and other review sites to see what past customers have to say about local solar installers. Detailed reviews on these platforms can help you assess a provider's reliability and customer service. Avoid providers with few or mainly poor reviews.
Get free, detailed quotes from 3–5 solar companies. The quotes should outline all costs and identify the exact solar parts included. Looking at several quotes can help you find the option that best fits your budget.
Quality solar installations should have comprehensive workmanship and performance guarantees. The workmanship guarantee covers any installation issues such as poor alignment, poor wiring, or cracks in the panels. The performance guarantee promises a specific energy output level. Strong warranties indicate that a solar installer trusts its installations.
Switching to solar power can help decrease your energy expenses over time. Be sure to weigh these aspects when determining the cost and value of solar panels.
Harrisburg homeowners typically spend about $15,963 on home solar systems after federal tax refunds. Solar arrays in Harrisburg cost approximately $3,760 per kilowatt, with an average size of 6.1 kilowatts. An estimate from a local solar provider will include costs for labor, preliminary work, and permit fees, and will account for your system's size, capacity, and panel type. Some homeowners prefer to lease their solar panels in order to reduce upfront costs.
Incentive Type: Property Tax Incentive
Incentive Amount:
Varies
Generally speaking, a solar photovoltaic (PV) system can be used to power any household system or appliance that uses electricity. In the simplest case, you can use a solar water heating system.
With home solar PV, you can save money on your energy bill, lower your property's emissions, and be better prepared if there's an outage to the local grid.
Yes, you can use home solar energy alongside conventional power sources. In many areas, solar panels are designed to supplement your existing energy sources, which means you can reap the environmental benefits and savings of solar energy without having to completely switch over.
Generally speaking, your energy bills will significantly decrease after you install solar panels. This is because you're using the energy you generate for free rather than buying it from your power company. In Harrisburg, the average amount someone can save is $1,006 per year. With net metering programs offered by many utilities, you could ultimately make a profit from your system when your payback period is done.
Your payback period is the time to achieve an ROI on your solar panels. It will vary based on the average sunlight in your area, the rate your utility charges per kilowatt of power, and their rated capacity. Harrisburg gets quite a bit of sunlight per day, so an average payback period could last up to 15.9 years per 5 kW of capacity.
While solar energy might not be the best performing choice for some in dark or wet areas, the latest generation of equipment and energy storage systems could boost your property's solar viability enough to achieve a return on investment. A contractor could also recommend a different primary source of renewable energy like wind or geothermal to boost your generation.
Solar panels are gaining wider adoption for their high efficiency and low maintenance costs. Depending on how much sunlight your property receives, you may find they're the best performing source of renewable energy compared to others.
