Solar energy installations pay off quickly in some regions

As Americans around the country look for ways to cut down on their electricity costs or try to find ways to lower their carbon footprint, many are turning to home solar panel installations, which promise reliability, sustainability and lower costs.

However, some are turned off to the idea due to fears of astronomical installation costs. But this is beginning to change, The Wall Street Journal Reports.

Some areas of the country are seeing much lower solar installation costs than others, which is driving members of these communities to increasingly adopt the clean energy source. Clean Power Research recently ran theoretical scenarios to determine the best places to install solar panels based on how quickly users can recoup their initial expenditures. After all the data was accounted for, the group found that New York was the best – and cheapest – place to install a home solar panel.

According to the news source, the solar energy system that was hypothetically installed onto a home in Brooklyn paid itself off in only five years, mostly due to the state's progressive solar incentives.

According to the New York Solar Energy Industries Association, residential incentives include $1.75 per watt up to a maximum of 7 kilowatts per site per meter. The incentive also will not exceed 50 percent of total installed system costs.