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Solar energy is one of the hottest conversations in today’s marketplace. With government incentives at record levels-and some 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 generate electricity?

Solar energy reins-in the power of the sun. When sunlight hits photovoltaic cells (they look like large computer chips made of silicon) the photons in the sunlight cause all electrons to be freed from the silicon. If you can catch those electrons, you get 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 ricochets making that other ball into motion as well.

When sunlight hits the solar cell, it ricochets off and pushes the electron in motion. Electricity is made of electrons. The more electrons you can push in motion-and harness-the additional electricity you can generate.

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

So does this help you in your home? The government is pushing hard for solar energy. $20 billion dollars has been set aside to help advocate solar energy throughout our country. The federal government as well as other state governments and utilities, will literally pay you to start using solar energy.

Why do 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 absolutely clean. There are no byproducts. There aren’t carbon emissions. It is a extremely clean and pure way of producing electricity. Third, the government hopes to create the solar industry in this country which will create more and more jobs and opportunities.

Solar energy is not cheap, however. Solar energy for a home can cost $25,000. Do not stop reading this article! There is great 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 $14,000. The end price to you is $6000. If you were to finance this, you may 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 home more desirable than other houses on the market.

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