Monday, 22 April 2013

Is Solar Power Worth Buying?

By Riley Reye


The uptake of solar power has not really been greater than in recent years as compared with any other time in the past. There are far more manufacturers of panels and inverters than there previously was before. Panels these days cost about fifty percent what they use to one or two years ago. Government agencies are modifying legal guidelines to motivate the use of renewable energy. Local councils are including renewable energy into their building codes. Banks are providing 'green' loans specifically concentrating on the purchase of eco friendly domestic hot water systems, solar panels, water tanks etc. Solar panels are becoming part of the normal landscape in suburbs across the world. It seems so many people are getting on the solar train. Nevertheless just what is the benefit of solar power to the ordinary home user? Is solar power worth it?

This issue may be answered from a variety of angles. I will answer this question from three angles: practicality, monetary and environmental friendliness.

The likelihood is that you will be asking the benefit of photo voltaic question from a monetary point of view. Will solar pay off? This question should be answered, taking into account a variety of different elements. The key thing to consider is where you live in the world. Where you reside influences the amount of sunlight hours that your potential system will be exposed to. The nearer you live towards the poles, the less the quantity of sunshine hours you are exposed to in comparison to your counterparts near the equator. This equates to less electric power generation than your counterparts. Different goverments across the world have distinct financial incentives like tariffs or perhaps subsidies. Check out what your numerous levels of government are providing. Additionally, do your research and find what the cost is to set up a system. When calculating the time it will take to pay off the initial price of the install, take into account your electrical power usage, and the predicted rising cost of electricity into the future. On the basis of these aspects, you will definitely get more of an idea if solar power can pay itself off in the short term, in the long run, or if even at all.

You may be asking this question regarding the benefits of solar from an ecological point of view. That is, does solar power compared to other types of generation (coal for example), decrease the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere per kilowatt of electrical power produced? My prompt search around Google suggests that solar photovoltaic generates CO2 pollutants significantly less than electrical power generated by natural gas turbines, Diesel, coal and oil generators, by a factor of ten! In recent years, there has been a rapid technological improvement in the manufacturing of PV cells and solar panels, such that the ecological benefits of setting up solar power are becoming more and more obvious.

Thirdly, people are wondering about the effect that solar will have on them from a practical point of view. For instance, you might have a need to get electrical power to a remote region. The substantial decrease in price to install solar power has now made it a real, practical alternative when compared to other alternatives. Certainly in Australia, people are putting in stand-alone systems as the price to set up electrical power infrastructure like power poles and a transformer is considerable. You might be asking yourself what the maintenance expense is when you own a system. The majority of Photovoltaic systems are grid connected. These types of systems require little if any routine maintenance. When the sun is shining and the Photovoltaic system is producing sufficient electricity, excess electricity is fed back to the grid. At times when the household requires more electric power than the system can create, the electricity grid delivers what is required. The inverter and meter manage it all. Absolutely no interaction by the property owner is necessary. Although, remote stand-alone systems need a bit more attention. This can consist of the periodic operation of a diesel power generator when ever the battery packs of a standalone system are depleted because of a prolonged period of cloud cover.

When considering the over-all benefits of solar power, numerous factors must be thought through. This informative article has only started to skim the surface, taking a look at several wide-ranging elements.




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