Solar panels generate electricity so all electricity you generate yourself, you don't have to pay for anymore. But wait, there is more.
You save money by having solar panels installed in a few different ways. All power you self generate is power you don't have to buy anymore from your local utility company. Solar has also Federal and sometimes local tax credit. Solar also has something called an SREC or other local incentives that make you save money.
Avoided Electricity cost
Your home consumes power and you currently buy that power from your local utility company. They charge you a certain rate (in $/kWh read dollars per killowhatthours) and then they also charge you transmission costs, taxes and other fees adding up to your total monthly utility bill.
With solar panels installed, you produce your own power, so your utility bill goes down in the same amount as the power you self-generate
Federal tax credit
The U.S. Federal Government has passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) and you can claim a 30% tax credit on your solar installation project. Read more about "How can I claim the new 305 Tax Credit.
Local incentives
There are many local incentives to go solar. They range from extra tax credits to property tax exemptions etc Lookup the County or City where you live here and these pages have local incentives mentioned. Be careful, the local government changes their incentives regularly now that solar and home batteries are so popular.
SREC - Solar Renewable Energy Credit
SREC is a green certificate you can claim for each MWh (megawatthour) you produce. You can sell that and depending on many factors you get some money in your bank account. This SREC income can go from a few hundred dollars a year in income to many thousands of dollars a year in income. This can be really significant amount of money. It's not uncommon for some sales people to not mention SREC and claim them instead of the solar end customer getting them. You really should know about this and ask your solar sales rep to explain it to you once more. Read a more in-depth article about What the hec is an SREC?