Why Should You Go Solar?

Have you thought about going solar but somehow lacked the motivation to make the switch? Are you still undecided even after weighing the pro’s and con’s of going solar? Do you need a few more convincing reasons to finally make up your mind?

To help you out in making this important decision, we’ve put together a simple list to explain the benefits of going solar:

1. Reducing Electricity Bill

Electricity plays an indispensable role in our lives. Whether you’re a homeowner or a business owner, the electricity bill sure takes up a substantial portion of your monthly expenses. Taking this inevitable expense into account, why not lower the cost of electricity as much as possible by going solar then? When you use the free energy from the sun to power your electricity, you are able to save up to 50% on your electricity bill.

2. Increasing Property Value

As solar energy becomes the more favoured option in terms of energy source, the awareness among people to conserve electricity has also increased. According to multiple studies, people are now willing to pay a higher price for a solar-powered property. In other words, properties equipped with solar energy systems possess higher property values and are more favoured in today’s market.

3. Investing instead of Spending

Going solar does not stop at spending a large sum of money in the purchasing and installing the solar energy system, it’s an investment. If you think long term, solar panels generally come with a 25-year warranty. Along with the reduced electricity bill each month, you are investing into saving more as time goes by. The good news is, companies that undertake qualifying green technology projects for business or own consumption are also offered double tax incentives. The Malaysian government has shown great encouragement and support to these “green” companies via the implementation of the Green Incentive Tax Allowance (GITA) as well as Capital Allowance (CA).

4. Earning from Excess Power Produced

The Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC) Malaysia has introduced several solar PV initiatives to encourage Malaysia’s Renewable Energy (RE) uptake. One of them being the execution of the Net Energy Metering (NEM) Scheme. Effective January 2019, the NEM scheme allows excess solar PV generated energy to be sold back to the grid on a “unit-to-unit” offset basis. This means that every 1kWh sold to the grid will be offset against 1kWh consumed from the grid, instead of at a Displaced Cost basis previously. To put it simply, you can now earn by selling excess power produced back to TNB.

5. Protecting the Environment

You may have known about climate change and the environmental issues that affect us each day. What you may not know is that going solar is one of the best solution to these problems. Because solar energy is a renewable and clean source of energy, switching to solar effectively reduces our carbon footprint. To put things into perspective, a typical 12 kWp solar panel system will eliminate up to 10.5 metric tonnes of carbon emissions each year—the equivalent of planting almost 200 trees annually.

6. Utilizing the Gift of Strategic Location

It is true that Malaysia has the advantage of harnessing solar energy due to its proximity to the equator. Malaysia’s strategic geographical position gives us the opportunity to have abundant solar energy, with an average annual solar radiation of 4500 kWh/m2 and a daily average of 4 to 8 hours of sunshine. Therefore, powering our homes and businesses with solar would be fully utilizing the free and abundant gift of sunshine.

7. Demonstrating Commitment to Sustainable Development

The environment should never be a factor with which we compromise, let alone sacrifice, in the name of development. Today, many companies have realized the social and economic benefits of harnessing solar power. One thing is for sure, commitment to sustainability has become an important component of an organization’s corporate social responsibility. Moreover, consumers and communities are increasingly recognizing and rewarding businesses which choose to operate responsibly. Businesses having environmental credentials are granted better response in terms of improving business results, driving consumer purchasing decisions and creating goodwill.