Month: October 2018

Amazing Solar Energy Facts

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Humans have recognized and utilized the power of the sun for a long long time, but it is only in the last thirty years or so that solar energy has come to the forefront of the energy revolution. Now recognized as a totally viable source of energy across the globe, solar panels are big business. Whether powering huge industrial buildings or a humble two-up two-down residential property, solar panels take power directly from the sun to eliminate the need for the sourcing of energy from non-renewable sources. We all know that solar energy is a great solution to our energy needs going forward, but there are plenty of things most of us don’t know about this wonderful source of energy.

Solar Panel Price Drop

Although solar panels are becoming more popular, they still only make up a fraction of the generated energy in the world, with most energy still being sourced from fossil fuels. Thankfully, the price of having solar panels fitted has dropped dramatically over the last few years, so we can expect the trend to change dramatically in the future. In many European countries, including Britain, energy created from the use of solar panels can be sold back to the national grid. This, of course, means that owners of panels can earn an income from their panels, while generating free energy for themselves.

Solar Power

Solar panels have huge power. If the Sahara Desert were completely covered in solar panels, this dry, hot, and particularly sunny part of the world would generate enough energy to power everything in the whole world for 30 years! Just a kilowatt of solar energy also allows you to effectively avoid creating 300lbs of carbon through the use of normal energy sources. Carbon is the element which is said to cause the greenhouse effect. Energy experts have also surmised that if everyone the world over changed to using solar power, enough power would be created to fuel the world 5,000 times.

Creative Energy

Leonardo da Vinci is credited as being the first person to harness the power of the sun to effectively create solar panels. He successfully boiled water by reflecting rays of sunshine against concave mirrors. More recently, photovoltaic technology was first developed in America, but surprisingly, their limited use of the energy source accounts for just 6% of the world’s solar energy use. Surprisingly, Germany, with a fairly poor sunshine record, is known for being the largest producer of solar energy in the world.

Solar Effective

Solar power is the most effective form of energy in terms of actual yield, creating more than both fossil fuel and nuclear power. This is, of course, a massively important fact, and one that should persuade us all that it’s an extremely good and responsible idea to investigate the possibility of using solar power if it’s at all possible for us to do so. The cost of having solar panels is still high, but most people find that they make their money back in the long run. When you consider that solar power is the best thing for the environment and the best thing for your pocket, it should only be a matter of time before everyone is changing.

Energy Incentives for Individuals in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

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With 2010 almost over, the IRS reminds taxpayers to take advantage of the numerous tax breaks made available earlier this year in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

The recovery law provides tax incentives for first-time home buyers, people purchasing new cars, those interested in making their home more energy efficient and parents and students paying for college. But all of these incentives have expiration dates so taxpayers should take advantage of them while they can.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides tax incentives for individuals to invest in energy-efficient products.

Treatment of Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit as a Personal Credit Allowed Against AMT: Starting in 2009, the new law allows the Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit, including the tax credit for purchasing hybrid vehicles, to be applied against the Alternative Minimum Tax. Prior to the new law, the Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit could not be used to offset the AMT. This means the credit could not be taken if a taxpayer owed AMT or was reduced for some taxpayers who did not owe AMT.

Conversion Kits: The new law also provided a tax credit for plug-in electric drive conversion kits. The credit is equal to 10 percent of the cost of converting a vehicle to a qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle and placed in service after February 17, 2009. The maximum amount of the credit is $4,000. The credit does not apply to conversions made after December 31, 2011. A taxpayer may claim this credit even if the taxpayer claimed a hybrid vehicle credit for the same vehicle in an earlier year.

Plug-In Electric Vehicle Credit: The new law also creates a special tax credit for two types of plug-in vehicles certain low-speed electric vehicles and two-or three wheeled vehicles. The amount of credit is 10% of the cost of the vehicle, up to a maximum credit of $2,500 for purchases made after February 17, 2009, and before January 1, 2012. To qualify, a vehicle must be either a low speed vehicle propelled by an electric motor that draws electricity from a battery with a capacity of 4 kilowatt hours or more or be a two-or three-wheeled vehicle propelled by an electric motor that draws electricity from a battery with the capacity of 2.5 kilowatt hours. A taxpayer may not claim this credit if the plug-in electric drive vehicle credit allowable.

Plug-In Electric Drive Vehicle Credit: The new law modifies the credit for qualified plug-electric drive vehicles purchased after December 31, 2009. To qualify, vehicles must be newly purchased after December 31, 2009. To qualify, vehicles must be newly purchased, have four or more wheels, have a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 14,000 pounds, and draw propulsion using a battery with at least four kilowatt hours that can be recharged from an external source of electricity. The minimum amount of credit for kilowatt hours that can be recharged from an external source of electricity. The minimum amount of the credit for qualified plug-in electric drive vehicles is $2,500 and the credit tops out at $7,500, depending on the battery capacity. The full amount of the credit will be reduced with respect to a manufacturer’s vehicles after the manufacturer has sold at least 200,000 vehicles.

Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit: This nonrefundable energy tax credit will help individual taxpayers pay for qualified residential alternative energy equipment, such as solar hot water heaters, geothermal heat pumps and wind turbines. The new law removes some of the previously imposed maximum amount and allows for a credit equal to 30% of the cost of qualified property.

Residential Energy Property Credit: The new law increases the energy tax credit for homeowners who make energy efficient improvements to their existing homes. The new law increases the credit rate to 30% of the cost of all qualifying improvements and raises the maximum credit limit to $1,500 for improvements placed in service in 2009 and 2010.

The credit applies to improvements such as adding insulation, energy efficient exterior windows and energy-efficient heating and air conditioning systems.

A similar credit was available for 2007, but was not available in 2008. Homeowners should be aware that the standards in the new law are higher than the standards for the credit that was available in 2007 for products that qualify as “energy efficient” for purposes of this tax credit.

For property purchased before June 1, 2009, homeowners generally can rely on the manufacturers’ certifications and Energy Star labels that were available at the time for those products. Manufacturers have been advised that they should not continue to provide certifications for property that fails to meet the new standards. The IRS has issued a notice that will allow manufacturers to certify that their products meet the new standards. Please note, not all ENERGY STAR qualified products qualify for a tax credit. For detailed information about qualifying improvements, visit the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Star Web site.