Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel conducted a survey from October 1st-13th of this year. It was conducted among 3,627 U.S. adults. The results were very interesting and show that US homeowners are strongly moving towards solar power for their homes.
Amid increased concerns about global climate change, most American adults are prioritizing developing alternative energy sources for the country such as solar or wind power rather than increasing U.S. exploration and production of fossil fuels (77% vs. 22%). The same Pew Research Center survey finds a growing share of homeowners are considering solar panels for home use.
What Were the Results
Of the respondents, 6% of homeowners have already installed solar panels at home. Another 46% say they have given serious thought to adding solar panels at their home in the past year. The share of homeowners considering getting solar panels is up from 40% in 2016 and has especially increased among those living in the South Atlantic states.
About half of homeowners in the South Atlantic states (51%) say they are considering installing solar panels, up 20 percentage points from 2016. Homeowners in other Southern states (the East and West South Central region) tend to express more interest in installing solar panels (45% in 2019 compared with 34% in 2016), though this 11 percentage point difference is not statistically significant. Just 3% of Southern homeowners say they have solar panels at their residence, a similar share as in 2016.
Southern states have favorable weather conditions for solar power. North Carolina, Georgia and Florida are among the national leaders in capacity from large-scale solar projects, such as solar panel farms, but not so for small-scale solar such as those for residential use.
Western homeowners are particularly likely to say they have already installed solar panels at home. Some 14% of homeowners in Pacific states and 17% of homeowners in the Mountain region have done so.
Who Leads the Country
But it is California that leads the country in electricity-generating capacity from small-scale solar power. As of September 2019, 43% of all electricity-generating capacity from small-scale solar in the US came from California, according to the EIA. California is expected to require solar panels on most new houses starting in 2020 (as we discussed in our last blog). Other Western states, such as Arizona and Hawaii, also rank among the leaders in small-scale solar power in the United States.
Homeowners point to a variety of reasons for considering solar panels. A large majority of homeowners who have already installed or have given serious thought to installing solar panels say they want to help the environment (87%). And almost all (96%) say they want to save money on utility bills. A recent report also found that installing solar panels can increase a home’s value.
A smaller majority of homeowners (67%) say getting a solar investment tax credit is a reason they have installed or would install solar power at home. A federal tax credit for solar projects has been in place since 2005 and is available to homeowners in some form through 2021 for residential projects.
Net 0 Energy Homes knows all of this info and will be the first to tell you that the energy tides are turning. If you are interested in solar solutions and you don’t live in a city like this, contact Net 0 Energy now.
Net 0 Energy Homes employs a highly experienced team of expert solar panel installers of domestic and commercial solar panel (PV) systems across South Florida, including West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Florida Keys, and the Bahamas.
We also provide and install radiant barrier attack shield, quality insulation, solar water heaters, solar pool heaters, and a myriad of other amazing products to keep your home’s heating and cooling costs as low as modern science will allow.
Net 0 Zero Energy solar electricity systems are made of high-quality US manufactured modules of top tier quality. While our solar water heating systems are manufactured by Solar Development Incorporated, Florida’s oldest solar manufacturer located in Palm Beach County since 1974.