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Last Year for Full 30% Solar Federal Tax Credit

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by Lauren Dansey

This is the last year for the 30% Federal Tax Credit for solar.

The 30% Federal Tax Credit for solar installations has been a great incentive for people to add solar power to their homes or businesses. But as they say, all good things must come to an end. This is the last year that the full 30% tax credit will be available when you add solar to your home. The tax credit decreases to 26% in 2020, then goes down to 22% in 2021. Starting in 2022, the federal tax credit disappears for residential solar.

If you were considering adding solar power to your home, now is the time to do it, while you can still take advantage of the 30% tax credit. There is an IRS safe harbor in place, and as long as you have a signed contract with a solar installer and a 5% down payment in place by December 31st of this year, you then have until January 1, 2024 to complete the solar installation and put it into service.

Solar Heating for the Pool – Working Great

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by Altra Web Team

by Lauren Dansey

The final installation for our two solar pool heating systems was completed last week, and we couldn’t be happier with the performance.  We installed two systems, a rooftop system (the dark panels below the solar electrical panels on our roof), and an in-deck solar heating system (underneath the concrete around the pool.)  The system begins to pump warm water into the pool as early as 8am, and continues until late in the afternoon. (We do have an ideal south-facing roof.)  We set the desired temperature, and a separate pump operates whenever the water in the solar panels is hotter than the pool temperature.  It shuts off when the desired temperature is reached.  The system pumps out an amazing amount of hot water — the kids are getting exercise by positioning themselves where the water comes into the pool and swimming against the current.

The in-deck pool heating system has an added advantage, also.  The concrete around the pool used to be too hot to walk on during hot afternoons, but now with the cooler water circulating underneath it, the concrete is much cooler.  The heat is carried to the pool.

The goal is to not use the pool heater at all.  We’re going to be careful to use a pool cover at night when the weather gets colder, and between that and the solar heating systems, we’ll see how warm we can keep the pool.

For more information about solar pool heating, call us at 805-497-9808, or fill out the contact sheet on our website.