What are the advantages of solar energy?
- The energy source is renewable – Sunlight is the source and the sun is shining even when the day is cloudy, providing a diminished, but still viable source of energy. Storage batteries that are charged by the system will provide energy for the nighttime needs.
- Power company costs may be virtually eliminated – Modern systems can provide enough energy to provide all the requirements for a modern residence; heating, cooling, hot water, running electrical appliances, computers and the television.
- May replace both electricity and natural gas – Instead of a house powered by both electricity and natural gas, a home may be all-electric with the power supplied by solar energy.
- The energy source doesn’t consume natural resources to operate – Minimal or zero usage of non-renewable natural resources; natural gas and the fuel to operate power stations help to preserve our environment.
- Power outages will be a thing of the past – The home will always have energy, even in “brown-outs” as the system requires no outside energy sources.
- An in-grid, photovoltaic system will develop positive cash-flow in three to five years and can payback many times the initial cost over the life of the system
- A simple home system will augment the electricity drawn from the grid – Even the less costly and simple systems will pay for themselves through energy savings.
- An elaborate and more expensive system may supply all the electrical needs.
- A house built with solar energy incorporated in the design is the best application.
- Maintenance of the system is minimal and not costly – Most maintenance may be accomplished by the homeowner or by an annual check up by the professional installer.
Some of the negatives of solar panels for homes:
- An “add-on” solar system will not be very efficient without major modifications to the building envelope – Older homes may not be very well designed to get the best use from a solar system, so costly modifications may be required.
- Initial costs may be high – “You get what you pay for” as more panels and sophistication in a solar system will generate more power. An in-grid system may cost between $8,000 and $75,000. Positive cash-flow may be achieved in just a few years with the properly designed and applied system.
- In geographical areas with a low solar-index, solar power systems will have to be larger and more elaborate (and expensive) to accommodate the needs of an average size house.
Interest in the renewable energy provided by the Sun began with the first energy crisis in the early seventies. By the mid nineteen-seventies the primary residential application was to provide hot water for the plumbing system, the intent of which was to reduce the amount of electricity drawn from the power company grid. These crude systems contributed as much as a twenty-five percent reduction to the monthly electric bill.
In the current times, solar panels for homes can provide a lot more than hot water for a shower or a load of laundry. Systems have become very sophisticated and while hot water is still one of the primary uses for a basic residential installation, solar-generated electricity can supply some, if not all, of the electrical needs. A home designed for solar-electric power may not need any natural gas connections at all, thus eliminating the monthly bills from both gas and electric power companies.
More elaborate and much more expensive photovoltaic systems may supply more than one hundred percent of the electrical power usage of a modern house. A grid-tie system; one tied into the power company’s electrical grid; may actually generate excess electrical power that the power company buys from the home owner for resale during peak requirements.
