Until the Sun expands so much it swallows the earth—something that won’t happen for billions of years—it’s hard to over-extol the virtues of solar power energy. It’s something that simply is. Every day without fail, that massive ball of fire and gas powers all of life on Planet Earth.

For the person considering switching from fossil fuels to solar power as an energy source, the many advantages can seem clear: Solar energy is sustainable, and it keeps getting cheaper. However, the advantages of solar power energy extend far beyond those reasons and others commonly held in the popular imagination.

From an uptick in home value to making a little scratch on the side, solar energy truly is a multi-faceted boon to those who embrace it. Here are three lesser-known advantages of solar power just as impressive as those everybody already knows about.

It Increases Your Home’s Value

When people are looking to purchase a home, they take a lot into consideration. Are the schools good? Does it have enough space? How much will utilities cost over the course of a year?

More and more, homebuyers are asking: Does it come with solar panels? A home outfitted to provide its own solar power is becoming an increasingly attractive option. Saving on utilities and reducing one’s carbon footprint at the same time, it turns out, is a massively appealing selling point.

A study undertaken by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in 2006 found that houses with solar panels sold 20% faster than houses without. They also sold at a price that was 17% higher. In 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s findings were similar: Houses with solar power brought in an average of $17,000 more than non-solar powered homes.

You Can Make Money

Most utility companies have programs in place to buy back any electricity your solar panels produce that you don’t use. Sent back to the grid, that extra electricity can then be used by you or someone else in the future. When that happens, you get compensated in credits paid out by the utility company.

Known as Net Energy Metering (NEM), the practice has been standard and incentivized throughout the country, and it’s coming to an end. However, many states (including California—slated to end in July, 2017) will grandfather in any household that buys solar panels and signs up before the program is terminated. NEM for those households will then continue another two decades.

Peak Demand is at Peak Production

Traditional utility companies tend to follow the marketplace laws of supply and demand. When demand rises, supply is used more quickly, which yields higher prices for energy. So, the times when you use the most energy are the times when you also pay the most for it.

Solar power energy is different. Overall demand throughout a society is at its peak when solar energy production is at its peak. Were a society or utility company to invest in a vast solar energy production effort, the largest supply of energy would coincide with the time of greatest demand.

It’s almost as if people and solar power energy were made for each other.

As these three less-bandied-about advantages show, the benefits of solar power aren’t just myriad; they can also be surprising.

If you’d like to find out how installing solar panels on your roof can help you drive your electric bill down to zero, contact us today for a free quote.