In this post, we are going to cover some the main Advantages and Disadvantages Solar Energy and the industry as a whole. The benefits of solar energy are spread far and wide. Benefits of solar panels have broad implications, including financial, social and environmental factors. Many of these are well known, many of these are not; we will investigate each one thoroughly. Industry often does not talk about the loss of solar energy, but we are going to change some issues related to some 'flaws' industry and solar panels themselves.
What is Solar Energy?
Global growth in energy costs has led to finding many alternative and sustainable fuel sources. Today there are several options available including wind, solar and hydro electricity. Of the three, solar is growing fastest, and almost everyone can learn to catch their power to do things like cooking; Lighting, heating, and many other domestic work. For two main reasons for investing in the exploitation of the sun, it is necessary to heat the water and generate energy to generate electricity. According to the definition, solar energy is the energy received from the sun. Energy can be used directly in the heat and light houses or it can be converted into electricity using solar energy technologies such as solar panels. People are investing rapidly in solar energy to save pocket expenses and get rid of dangerous and expensive power lines. As our non-renewable resources are set to decline in the years to come, it is important for us to move towards renewable sources of energy like wind, hydro power, biomass and tidal. The main advantage of solar power is that it can be easily deployed by both home and business users because there is no huge set required in it the case of air or geothermal power. Worldwide need of energy is mainly fossil fuels: covered with oil, natural gas and coal. But lately, the solar energy technology has been improved: solar cells are six times more efficient today than they were 30 years ago.
Advantages and Disadvantages Solar Energy
Solar energy not only benefits the individual owners but also benefits the environment. Solar energy is one of the most commonly used renewable energy sources. Now we can discuss about the Advantages and Disadvantages Solar Energy as Follow:
Advantages of Solar Energy
Solar energy remains popular because it is a renewable and clean source of energy. With the hope these advantages that eventually nation can use solar energy to reduce global warming so that its popularity can be ensured.
1. Renewable
Solar energy is a true renewable resource. All areas of the world have the potential to collect some amount of solar energy and solar energy is available for collection every day.
2. Clean
Solar energy is non-polluting. It does not create greenhouse gases, such as oil based energy does, nor does it create waste that must be stored, such as nuclear energy. It is very quiet to reduce the sound pollution necessary to convert the energy into useful form. Unlike other renewable energy sources such as wind and hydro electric power, residential-size solar power systems have little effect on the surrounding environment.
3. It can improve our health
The pollution caused by using coal and natural gas plants is linked with breathing problems, neurological damage, cancer and other serious problems. These negative health impacts don't happen when we use solar energy technologies, once the solar cells can't emit gases or generate debris.
4. Jobs
Fossil fuel technologies are typically mechanized. Solar panels need always humans to install them. This means that more jobs are created for each unit of electricity.
5. High return of the investment
Solar energy system produces energy for more than 30 years. When maintenance is required, costs are low because they use modular components, which are made up of many individual solar arrays. Even if some cell is damaged, the rest can typically continue to operate.
6. Energy Storage
In many developing countries there is no power grid. There, additional benefits of solar energy system can be used: their degradation availability and utility. Thus, free village power supply can be installed for larger cities without grid underground.
7. Low Maintenance
There is no moving part of solar panels and requires very little maintenance beyond regular cleaning. Without moving parts to break and replace, after the initial costs of installing the panels, maintenance and repair costs are very reasonable.
8. Solar Reduces An Expense
Solar will reduce your electricity bill and give you control over a certain cost.
9. Solar Provides Protection from Rising Electric Rates
With solar, your electricity rate will remain the same for the life of the system. You no longer need to be concerned about rising electric rates.
10. You Can Quickly Recover A Large Portion of the Installation Cost in Year One
The 30% federal tax credit allows you to recieve 30% of the systems cost back on your owed federal taxes in year one. In addition, businesses and farms can quickly recover a large portion of the installation cost by taking advantage of 100% accelerated depreciation and various grants, such as the USDA REAP Grant.
11. Solar Will Grow Your Bottom Line
The savings generated by a solar system will drop straight to your bottom line. Compare that to revenue growth where only a portion drops to your bottom line. For example, a $10k growth in revenue with 10% margins will only add $1,000 to your bottom line. $10k of savings from solar will add $10k to your bottom line.
12. Its Sustainable
As long as the sun shines, your solar system will produce clean energy. Plus, saving on your electric bill will free up your budget so you can reinvest in the future of your business, farm, and home.
13. Its A Set and Forget Solution
There are no moving parts to a solar system, so the maintenance and upkeep will be minimal. After installation is complete and the system is energized, you can just sit back and let it go to work.
Disadvantages of Solar Power
Due to some important deficiencies, solar energy remains rare in many countries:
1. Cost
The main problem of using solar energy mainly involves the cost. Despite advances in technology, solar panels are almost prohibitively expensive. Even when the cost of the panels is ignored, the system required to store the energy for use can also be quite costly.
2. Weather Dependent
Although some solar energy can be collected in later days, efficient solar energy collection is dependent on sunlight. Even a few cloudy days can have a large affect on an energy system, particularly once that fact that solar energy cannot be collected at night is taken into account.
3. Geographic Limitations
While some areas will benefit by adopting solar energy, other parts of the world will get very little benefit from existing solar systems. Solar panels still require direct sunlight to collect large amounts of electricity, and there are few days in many areas of the world that will efficiently power a system.
4. If the Electric Grid Goes Down, Your Solar System Will Shut Down
Due to safety regulations for grid-tied solar systems, each system must be installed with rapid shut down components that will keep electricity from back feeding into the grid. This means if the electric grid goes down for any period of time, your system will shut down until power is restored to the grid. This is required by law to protect those who are working on the electric lines.
5. The Upfront Cost Can Be Intimidating
Solar is a significant investment that requires up-front capital or access to financing in order to save over the long-term.
6. Solar energy is an intermittent energy source
There are three aspects of the intermittent nature of solar power;
- Firstly the sun doesn't shine at night and so solar panels don't generate power at night.
- Secondly, the sun shines with different intensity and different times of year and different times of each day; and
- Cloud cover can have a significant effect on the amount of energy produced by solar panels
All of these factors have meant that to date the prevailing wisdom is that solar power can not be relied on for baseload or for mission-critical applications.
7. Energy Storage is Expensive
Energy storage systems such as the Tesla Power wall home solar battery will help smoother out demand and load, making solar power more stable, but these technologies are also expensive. Fortunately, there is a good correspondence between solar energy and our reach for human energy demand. Our demand for electricity is in the middle of the day, which happens at the same time, when there is very sunlight!
8. Associated with Pollution
While solar energy is definitely less polluting than fossil fuels, some problems exist. Some manufacturing processes are associated with greenhouse gas emissions. Nitrogen trifluoride and sulfur hexafluoride has been traced back to the production of solar panels. These are some of the most powerful greenhouse gases and have many thousand times impact on global warming compared to carbon dioxide. Transportation and installation of solar energy systems can also indirectly cause pollution.
9. Exotic Materials
Some solar cells require materials that are expensive and rare. This thin film is particularly true for solar cells which are based on Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) or Copper Indium Gallium Selenoid (CIGS).
10. Requires Space
Given the power density, or watts per square meter (W / M2), how much power can be obtained from a fixed area of the fixed assets of the energy source, it is necessary. Low power density indicates that much of the real estate is required to provide what we demand at a fair price. The global average power density for solar radiation is 170 w / m for. It is more than any other renewable energy source, but is not comparable to oil, gas and nuclear energy.
11. Solar doesn't move house
One of the disadvantages with installing solar panels on your home is that it is expensive to move them should you decide to move. The net metering agreement with your utility is fixed to the property. However, in practice solar panels add value to a home and so even if you do move you are likely to see the value of your investment in solar panels reflected in higher sale price. It is much easier if your purchase the solar panels outright if you do move because with a lease or PPA you need to the new owner to agree to take over the agreement.
12. Sunshine Is Required
Solar panels need sunlight to produce power. Your system will produce little to no power on cloudy days and at night. At that time, the power is removed from the grid. Net Metering allows you to switch from solar power to grid power depending on the production of your solar system.
13. Space is Required
Open space is required for solar. In most instances, the solar system is utilizing unused space on your roof. However, some situations may need a ground mount to be installed in an area that could be used for other activities
14. Curb Appeal
Depending on the placement, type of panels used, and quality of the installation, solar systems can standout and be unattractive. However, there are a few things you can do to take advantage of solar energy savings while still keeping your business, farm, or home looking great.
15. Solar doesn't work at night
The biggest loss of solar energy is not stable. To produce solar electricity there must be sunlight. Therefore, energy should be used in red storage or other places. Regardless of the daily fluctuations, there is less sunlight and sun radiation when the solar output is reduced during the winter months.
16. Solar Inefficiency
One very common criticism is that solar power production is relatively inefficient. Currently, the wider solar panel efficiency - how much of the energy of the sun can turn into electrical energy - about 22%. This means that a large amount of surface area is required to produce enough electricity. However, efficiency has developed dramatically over the past five years, and solar panel efficiency should be continuously increased over the next five years. At present, low efficiency is a relevant loss of solar.
17. Storing Solar
Solar energy storage technology has not yet reached its potential. While many solar drip feed batteries are available, they are currently expensive and heavier, and smaller scale homes are more suitable for solar panels than large solar farms.
18. Solar panels are bulky
This is especially true for high efficiency, traditional silicon crystalline wafer solar module. These are large solar panels that are covered in glass. New technology thin-film solar modules are very less heavy, and have recently been developed in the form of applications such as solar roof tiles and "amorphous" flexible solar modules. The decline is that thin-film is currently less efficient than crystalline wafer solar.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Solar Energy for Residential Use
Although the benefits of solar energy as a personal unit are quite complex, the use of solar power is rarely possible for residential purposes. The cost of a system to service a home and store energy for use when the panels cannot produce energy is prohibitive for most common homeowners. Even if budgetary constrictions are disregarded, it is often difficult to find a technician who can complete repairs if they are needed.
However, for those homeowners who are interested in supporting and using solar energy, a solar powered roof vent or attic fan should be strongly considered. Atari fans, no matter how they operate, can save significant amounts of energy through helping to reduce the temperature within a home. Solar powered driven attic fans, though slightly more expensive than power-driven units, are energy-saving after being illustrated in the purchase incredibly cost effective. Solar powered operated outdoor lights are also incredibly popular for homeowners interested in solar energy. In some situations, they are the only reasonable choice to illuminate an area. They are also popular with homeowners who do not want to add to the electrical load of their homes.
Final Considerations
While the advantages and disadvantages of solar energy at a national level are complicated, the advantages of adopting small bits of this technique are clear while considering their home. If you are interested in large scale applications of solar energy and want to try to stay out of the energy grid, then look for the professional, seek a professional who will be able to guide you through the process.