Bright News Ahead: Sunshine, Savings, and a Spring Full of Solar

You’ve likely seen solar panels on homes and buildings in your community. But perhaps you wondered: How do those panels convert sunlight into electricity to power homes?

First, the sun shines onto the solar panels, whether they’re located on a roof or on the ground. The panels absorb this solar energy, essentially turning sunlight into an electrical current. Next, an inverter (which often resembles a large internet modem) converts this power into electricity that moves through your home’s electrical panel. The electricity flows through the panel to power your home, from lights and appliances to charging your electric vehicle.

Your electric meter will track the amount of energy produced by the solar panels. The electricity generated from solar panels offsets the electricity used from the grid, which creates savings on your electric bill.

With ILSFA, the program ensures savings on electric bills by providing incentives to approved solar companies. Those incentives make solar projects more affordable, creating electric bill savings you can count on! Learn about your options with ILSFA.

Across Illinois, residents are saving money with Illinois Solar for All. But we understand that going solar can be a big decision: Grassroots Educators are here to help. Grassroots Educators are a key part of the program. They are trusted representatives of non-profit community-based organizations with a deep understanding of ILSFA. In the video, you’ll hear how a Grassroots Education organization has helped a house of worship save nearly 80% on its electricity bills after installing solar panels!

Grassroots Educators connect with residents one-on-one, host free community events, and answer your questions—they ensure that you understand the program and your options, including how much you can expect to save on your electric bills. Grassroots Educators are standing by to support you, too! Connect with your local Grassroots Educator today to learn how you can save with solar.

Illinois Solar for All is a state program that ensures income-eligible residents save money on their electric bills, whether through solar installations or community solar subscriptions. ILSFA connects residents with a marketplace of vetted solar companies that follow the program’s guidelines. Ultimately, the program ensures that income-eligible residents have access to solar with little to no upfront costs, ensured savings, curated support, and consumer protections.

Approved Vendors are the solar companies that design and install your solar project. Residents can select an Approved Vendor of their choice from the program’s directory and work with that vendor to determine the type of solar project that is right for them. ILSFA provides incentives to Approved Vendors, enabling them to ensure you pay less for electricity from your system or community solar subscription. It’s these protections and savings requirements that really make it worth it for income-eligible residents to get solar through the ILSFA program. Illinois Shines, ILSFA’s sister state solar incentive program, also has vetted Approved Vendors that can provide options to go solar to households that aren’t eligible for ILSFA.

Do you have more burning questions? We have the answers! Submit your questions directly to our team, and we’ll address them in future newsletters.