Understanding Solar Incentives

When it’s winter in Chicago, it’s nice to remember the sun is out there and can be an incredible asset when it comes to solar power. Illinois is poised to become one of the nation’s leaders in new solar installations in the next few years.

Here are a few resources to help you explain the changing landscape of solar power to your clients.

For homeowners, federal taxes will provide a 26% credit of the cost of installing solar mitigate. Newly implemented incentives on the Illinois state level can roughly cover an additional 15 to 30% of the sticker price, though the calculation for IL’s incentives is more nuanced and varies with the size of the installation. For an explanation of how the state’s incentive’s work, take a look here. How can you use this information to bring more value for your clients? Google has developed a fantastic tool to determine whether a roof is a good candidate for solar. Go back through your past sales for single-family homes and see if your clients’ homes might benefit from solar panels. If their house is a good match, send them the information on the tax credits and rebates. If it works out, you helped your client receive thousands of dollars in savings AND helped to eliminate the amount of emissions in the air. What if your clients live in condo buildings without roof rights? Or, what if their house doesn’t get very good natural light? There are new state programs rolling out to help everyone benefit from solar power. Community Solar allows renters and homeowners to use solar energy in their homes without installing panels on their property. Any ComEd customer will be able to lease solar panels at offsite locations and use the power generated to offset their electricity bill. The program is still ironing out the specifics, but the good news is there has been plenty of interest on the development side. Community Solar received more bids for projects than it could accommodate. Once the program is up and running, make sure to educate your clients on how they can power their home or condo with Community Solar.

Interested in learning more about solar? Check out our upcoming class:

• Buying and Selling Homes with Solar: A Guide for REALTORS® | Thursday, February 27