It’s the holiday season, and the promotions and deals for products of all sorts are on the rise. Many of them are for extraneous products that, frankly, create more harm than good. But you can also find some for truly useful, consumer- and planet-friendly products. One of the top such products out there is a solar power system.

We’ve written about solar power and why you should go solar many times. It’s one of our favorite subjects. But if you are considering solar, the big question that often arises is which company or which solar panels to go with.

One of my absolute favorite solar power companies is SunPower*, and it just rose a little higher via a marketing campaign I love. It is offering a free solar power system (worth $16,000) to one lucky winner of a sweepstakes it is running.

And it’s not just any system, but a system using the most-efficient solar panels on the market, and some of the most reliable as well. Actually, they have been ranked the most reliable by the highly respected Fraunhofer ISE. SunPower’s warranty also goes for 25 years, rather than the typical 20 years, and it guarantees the most power of any on the market. As you can see, SunPower is fond of being #1… or just really freakin’ good at making solar cells and solar panels.

Regarding the sweepstakes, note that you must own a home in California, New York, Hawaii, Arizona, or Colorado to qualify. If you don’t fit the bill, give some thought to friends or family living in these states. What a sweet present a home solar power system would be!

If you don’t qualify or don’t win, there are still some very big reasons to go solar. Solar power generally saves a homeowner tens of thousands of dollars just over the course of two decades, sometimes within a decade. When you consider that SunPower panels only lose 0.25% of their power, on average, over their first 25 years, what you’re probably getting is something closer to electricity for life. Furthermore, if you decide to sell your house, research has shown that a solar power system can increase the value of your home.

Solar panel prices have dropped off a cliff in recent years, and they continue to decline but not at nearly the rate. Meanwhile, there are big solar incentives from the government that are coming close to expiration. The federal government is offering a 30% federal tax credit, and there are many state and local incentives available as well. Taking advantage of both low solar panel prices and government incentives is only logical, and now is a good time to do that.

For these reasons, solar power has been growing at a tremendous clip in recent years. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, a solar power system is installed in the United States every 3.2 minutes, and there are now nearly 150,000 people working in the solar field.

If you have more questions about the sweepstakes or solar power in general, I’m sure SunPower has the answers. You can also connect with the company on Twitter and Facebook, and learn more there.

Alongside a bicycle or electric vehicle, there may be no other single product that compares to solar power when it comes to benefiting the plant and the customer. So, if you haven’t already done so (and are eligible), try to win yourself a solar power system. Also, if you know anyone in the eligible states, be sure to pass on the opportunity!

*This article has been supported by SunPower. Also, I own SunPower stock (like I said, it’s one of my favorite solar companies).