Solar energy is an emerging market in the Shenandoah Valley. Businesses and individuals are recognizing the opportunity to reduce electricity costs by investing in solar panels and other alternative sources of power.
By using sustainable energy sources, Shenandoah Valley residents are able to reduce air pollution, pollution of the Shenandoah River, and other natural resources.
Installation costs of solar panels are also on the way down. In the past few years, the price has dropped dramatically and allowed home installations to recover their investment in less than ten years in some cases. Some of these installations also allow homeowners to sell excess, unused power back to their electrical utility company, which also reduces their home ownership costs.
One key thing to remember when considering installation of a solar panel system is the length of time you plan to stay in the residence after installation. Since installation costs are continually dropping, unless you plan to stay in the residence for ten years or more, you will most likely not recover the cost of installing the panels and other equipment if you sell your residence in less than ten years.
Solar energy can be used for many different applications. In addition to solar power toolboxes, and stored electricity, solar energy can be stored as heat in water or used to heat air that is then cycled through a home for an auxiliary heat source.