Solar energy is one of the hottest conversations in today’s marketplace. With government incentives at record highs-and even utilities paying you to convert to solar-now is the time to research more and find out how you can save money with solar energy.

But what is solar energy? How does it work? Can it really produce electricity?

Solar energy harnesses the power of the sun. When sunlight hits photovoltaic cells (they look like giant computer chips made of silicon) the photons in the sunlight make all electrons to be released from the silicon. If you can catch those electrons, you have electricity.

Think of it like this: you are playing billiards (shooting pool) and you hit the cue ball into another ball. What happens? The white ball bounces insets that other ball into motion as well.

When sunlight hits the solar cell, it bounces off and sets the electron in motion. Electricity is made of electrons. The more electrons you can push in motion-and rein-in-the more electricity you can generate.

For an interesting article on solar energy and other green energy, visit this page at NASA http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/greenspace/clean-energy.html

How does this help you in your house? The government is fighting hard for solar energy. $20 billion dollars has been put away to help advocate solar energy throughout our country. The federal government as well as other state governments and utilities, will actually pay you to start using solar energy.

Why would they do this? First, we want to reduce our dependency on foreign oil. Second, burning fossil fuel is terrible for the environment. Solar energy, on the other hand, is completely clean. There are no byproducts. There aren’t carbon emissions. It is a very clean and pure way of producing electricity. Third, the government hopes to develop the solar industry in this country which may create more and more jobs and opportunities.

Solar energy is not inexpensive, however. Solar energy for a house may cost $25,000. Do not stop reading this article! There is good news. The government and utilities may rebate you up to 70% of the price of the system. In this example, you would get tax credits and rebates for about $13,500. The net cost to you is $6000. If you were to finance this, you can pay about $50-$75 each month. You may say this much or more in your electric bill! Even if you don’t, you not only done something tremendously for the environment, but have also increased the value of your home by about $20,000! If you’re going to resell your house, this not only increases value of nature house more desirable than other homes on the market.

There are also laws preventing local government from raising your taxes when you add solar energy to your house. We cannot tell you specific tax advice-you must talk with your accountant or attorney.