It’s never been a better time to make the investment in solar panels than right now. It’s the right decision both financially and socially. Listed below are 7 reasons why you should get a solar installation quote right now:

1. The Price of Components Have Gone Down – There has been a 10 year trend of decreasing solar component costs, ending right now with the lowest solar panels prices the industry has ever seen. The lower price of solar panels can be attributed to reduced manufacturing costs and an oversupply in the market. As innovations continue, this will also drive the costs of inverters, mounting systems, and other balance of system components.

2. Incentives Have Never Been Better – New England, including Massachusetts and Connecticut, has some of the most lucrative solar incentives in the country and the highest electricity prices. With the introduction of SRECs, Massachusetts has the second best payback on a solar investment in the country behind New Jersey. The 30% federal tax credit, which was once limited to a $2,000 credit limit, has no cap until 2016.

3. Solar Policies Could Change – U.S. Government policies have been very supportive of the solar industry in recent years. This could change if there is a swing in political power in the legislature or when a new administration is put in place. Cap and trade programs have been a hot topic of conversation lately. If the passage of carbon legislation happens, it would force many companies who use oil and gas to buy carbon credits, thus increasing the price of alternative energy sources.

4. Electricity Prices are Going Up – In the last 5 to 10 years, the price of electricity has risen by an average of 7 to 11% in Connecticut and Massachusetts. While prices have gone up, so has electricity demand as the number of consumer of electronic devices per household has increased. An investment in solar will protect you from these price increases. As electric rates rise, solar is getting closer and closer to reaching grid parity.

5. It’s Good for The Environment – Solar is a sustainable energy decision. A hypothetical 5kW PV array in New England should produce the equivalent energy of 10 to 12 barrels of oil each year and save 10,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions. These offsets are equivalent to planting about 20 mature trees each year, or driving your car about 7,000 miles less than you typically would in a year.

6. We Should Create a Better World for your Kids – As our children go up, you can’t help but think about the world they are going to have to live in. It’s up to all of us to make sure it’s still a good place to live with sufficient and clean energy choices. Energy from the sun is abundantly available all over the earth and will not run out for millions of years. The solar energy striking the earth in one year is almost 1,500 times all of man’s annual energy needs! It does not have to be mined, drilled for, refined, or transported around the world.

7. Stop Fueling the Demand for Fossil Fuels – Our country has an addiction to fossil fuels that threatens both our national and economic security. As a nation, we let more than $1 billion go to foreign countries to finance our oil needs. This is money that sometimes goes to enemies who pose a threat to our country. From the very first day it is installed and commissioned, a PV system will produce clean, green electricity. Whatever a system produces reduces its owner’s need to purchase “dirty” electricity produced by burning fossil fuels.