Installing home solar panels is not for the faint of heart. But, in the right situation, solar panels can be a great addition to any home. The advantages of installing solar panels for the home are obvious: free, carbon-neutral power. Once the panels are installed, the electricity they generate comes from the sun and costs nothing. Since no fossil fuels are burned, furthermore, the power is clean and doesn’t contribute at all to global climate change. From the purely positive standpoint, solar panels for homes make a great deal of sense.

Even better, a variety of tax credits are available (as of 2009) that can help pay for some or all of the cost of installing solar panels for homes. It’s unlikely, however, that more than a third of the total cost of the panels for home will be covered by tax credits and, since the credits are non-refundable, you have to have a decent tax liability before they kick in. 

The disadvantages of solar panels for home, however, are also evident in many cases. First, their expensive. Even with government assistance, the cost of a typical group of solar power panels for a typical home will cost at least $10,000. Also, solar power panels for homes only work when the sun is shinning. Most of the time, they won’t generate power.

Even if you install the very best and most expensive solar power panels for the home, you probably won’t be able to go “off the grid.” Instead, you’ll just be able to cut your power bill a little. The panels will cost a good deal to maintain and, unless you like climbing up on your roof (which is dangerous, particularly if you aren’t trained), you’ll have to pay for professional cleaning or have an expensive automated cleaning system installed. Solar power panels for homes also need to be maintained so, over the years, you may well end up spending as much or more as you would on electricity from the power company. Installing panels in your home can also make other people upset.

Some homeowners’ associations consider them unsightly and simply won’t allow solar power panels for homes at all. In other cases, it may be possible to install solar power panels on a home but not on the ground. (In some cases, the roof of a house may not be the best single place to install solar power panels.) Even if you can install solar power panels for the home and mount them on the ground, furthermore, there’s a significant loss of yard or other open space that you may not want to put up with. That said, there are plenty of good reasons to strongly consider installing solar power panels for the home in your home.

Simply having your own ability to generate power can give you a feeling of freedom and independence. Also, of course, you’re free of the tight grip that monopoly power companies impose on most American consumers.