The official start of winter is still about a month away, but many Americans are already cranking up the heat in their homes amid freezing temperatures.
Now, some people on Twitter are claiming that President Joe Biden told Americans who are concerned about their heating bills this winter that they should buy solar panels for their homes. Two of these posts have been shared thousands of times each.
“Joe Biden says if people are concerned about their heating bills this winter they should buy solar panels for their house,” one post with more than 12,000 likes claims.
The post shares a video clip of President Biden saying: “If you want to install solar panels on the roof, you can get a tax credit for 30% of the cost and it will bring down the cost of installation by about $7,500.” The video has more than 900,000 views.
THE QUESTION
Did President Biden advise people who are concerned about winter heating bills to buy solar panels?
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
No, President Biden didn’t advise people who are concerned about winter heating bills to buy solar panels.
WHAT WE FOUND
People on social media shared Biden’s comments about solar panels out of context. The president was addressing energy incentives included in the Inflation Reduction Act during a meeting with business and labor leaders. He was not telling Americans who are concerned about their heating bills this winter to install solar panels, as the viral posts claim.
Using TinEye, a reverse image search tool, VERIFY traced the video clips shared on Twitter back to a Nov. 18 meeting to discuss the economy at the White House.
A video of Biden’s remarks is available on C-SPAN’s website. The White House also has a full transcript on its website.
During his opening remarks, Biden said he called together the group of business and labor leaders to “discuss progress in building the economy from the bottom up and middle out.”
The president spoke later about benefits included in the Inflation Reduction Act, including lowering the costs of some prescription drugs for people with Medicare, such as a $35 cap on insulin prices, and tax credits for energy efficient home improvements.
“In six short weeks, Americans are going to start to feel the effects of the Inflation Reduction Act,” Biden said during the meeting.
At about 5:49 into his remarks, Biden begins talking about energy incentives included in the Inflation Reduction Act.
He mentions a tax credit of up to $3,200 available to people who make their homes more energy efficient starting Jan. 1, 2023, along with tax credits for installing new windows, doors, heat pumps and electrical panels.
Then, at about 6:35 into his remarks, Biden addresses a tax credit for solar panels.
“If you want to install solar panels on your roof, you can get a tax credit for 30% of the cost. It’ll bring down the cost of installation by about $7,500,” he said. “And when you get to keep saving money on your electric bills for the remainder of the year, it’s about $300 a year on average.”
The first sentence of that quote is exactly what Biden says at the end of the viral videos circulating on social media.
The posts claim Biden was suggesting solar panels as a solution for people struggling to pay their heating bills. Though he discussed how consumers can save broadly with energy-efficient incentives, he didn't propose these changes as an immediate solution for heating a home.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
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