If you’ve been trying to figure out the best arguments to use to convince your wife, husband, pool-boy, grandmother, or anyone else why it makes sense to use solar power in your home, or you’re just curious about some of the benefits, then this is the post for you. Here comes my top 5 reasons and/or excuses for using solar power.

1 - The Environment

Why do these sorts of lists always start with the environmental benefits? Are they surprising anyone? It’s a bit like saying that smoking is bad for you isn’t it? I’m sure you know solar power is better for the environment then traditional energy sources, and that fact is not going to convince anyone to go solar to save the planet…if it would there would be no such thing as SUV’s. Whether we’re talking about climate change, or anything else environment related, people just don’t seem to be that motivated about those issues…So I won’t bother, we can do better anyway.

2 - Money

Here’s a reason people can really get behind. Who doesn’t want to save a bit of hard earned money, or even a big ol’ pile of money you barely worked for…money is money right? Saving money with solar is easy. Using a solar water heater, or supplementing your source of electricity with solar energy can save you big bucks, and is usually fairly easy to install. There are even government grants and tax breaks that you may be eligible for that could help with the cost of installation, which is good, because it still can be a bit pricey to start, but once it’s ready to go and producing that deliciously free solar energy for you, you’ll soon be thankful. Even if it doesn’t completely replace your traditional energy source, it’s bound to save you a bundle.

3 - Money Again

That’s right, people love money so much I figured it needed two spots on the list. Maybe the best part about producing your own solar energy for your home is that many energy providers now use meters that actually account for energy surpluses. So instead of just counting what you’re using, they actually keep track of the energy you’re dumping back into the grid, which they will pay you for. If you produce more energy for the grid than you’ve used from your traditional energy source you will actually be MAKING MONEY for using solar power. That’s a pretty sweet deal that I hope will be expanded to more areas, especially where the use of solar energy isn’t that high…I’m looking at you Atlantic Ocean!

4 - Self-sufficiency

Ever been in a blackout? Gone through the tedium of eating all the meat in the freezer in one day so it doesn’t get “wasted”, or had to clean out the fridge because something that thawed out smelled like a mental hospital’s bathroom? If you have solar power blackouts will be a thing of the past. While all your neighbours are scrambling to get a generator and enough gas to power it, you’ll be relaxing in front of your TV with a freshly brewed coffee, ignoring the phone calls from all the people who want to “borrow” your shower until the power comes back. Which happens to lead nicely (and not at all spontaneously) into the next reason on the list.

5 - Beat the Joneses at their own game

Have you ever bought a really great lawn mower, just to find out that the neighbor across the street got a better one? Or maybe you have a neighbor that drives a hybrid and gets that smug, ‘I’m so much more awesome than you because my car looks like it’s made of Lego and runs on the dreams of children’ look on their face? Well, if you’re using solar to offset your home energy use you can rest easy knowing that you are kicking their asses in the energy conservation game, and when you show them that the power company is paying YOU money, the resulting ego boost will exponentially increase your sex appeal, proven fact(in so much as I just made it up), as well as potentially make their head explode*.

So there you have it. Five excuses reasons to get some solar power flowing into your home, or your office maybe, or where ever you happen to enjoy using electricity…It’s pretty flexible really. I’m always curious about other people’s reasons for switching to solar power, so if you want to share yours, drop them in a comment. I’d love to hear from you.

*SolarHype.com is not responsible, legally or otherwise, for any damage or legal action arising from such a cranial eruption, though if you have footage, we’d love to see it.

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