It's nearly summer in Mercer Island and the sun is out (yeah!), which makes us think of solar energy. It seems like solar wouldn’t really work in the greater Seattle area with all the clouds and rain here, but truth is, you CAN have solar power at home in typically-rainy Western Washington.
It's Sunny in Mercer Island. Really.
The Seattle area actually gets more sunlight than Germany, "the world’s leading solar market," Seattle City Light tells us. So why isn't solar as popular here as it is in Germany? Cost of power. Electricity is relatively cheap here, which means installing a solar system to save on your electricity bill isn't quite as compelling as it is in Germany. That said, who actually wants to pay for electricity at all?
Isn’t Solar Super-Expensive?
Yes, it is expensive (to most of us) to install a solar array. But although the cost to install a solar system is high (Seattle City Light notes that a "typical 3,000 watt or 3 kilowatt (kW) system would cost $15,000 – $24,000 installed"), you can bring the cost down significantly with incentives, tax exemptions, and rebates from the federal government, Washington state, and others.
>Learn more about the cost of solar and how much you can save with rebates.
Find out what's happening in Mercer Islandfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
How Can You Reduce the Cost of Going Solar @ Home?
The cost of going solar can be reduced even further by participating in the Solarize Washington campaign! Solarize Washington is a Northwest SEED initiative that reduces the cost of home solar installations by bringing neighbors together with local sustainability groups and installers for significant discounts.
In a nutshell; "Combining incentives and the Solarize group discount, most program participants are able to recoup approximately 50% of their cost within one year." ~ Solarize Washington
Find out what's happening in Mercer Islandfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
How impressive is that?! In Central and South Seattle, they have already installed 885 kilowatts of solar. (Remember, a typical home system is 3 kilowatts.)
Incentives of Going Solar, Northwest SEED
> Learn more at an upcoming workshop
> Solarize Washington FAQs
Rolling Solar Into a Loan
If you're building, buying, or refinancing your current home, you can also try rolling the cost of installing a solar array into your mortgage to avoid paying for it out of pocket.
Finally, if you are thinking of going solar in the Seattle are, make sure you have a site that looks promising. You'll need full, unobstructed access to sunlight during most of the day through most of the year. Clouds don't count, but trees, other buildings, or even a utility pole can block the sun. Check with a solar professional when it’s time to select a site to make sure you can find a site that will work.