Despite the popularity of solar since the turn of the century, there is still a lot of misinformation floating about the internet about what is and what’s not of solar energy.
We want to help demystify some myths about solar energy and outline the top solar energy pros and cons to help you make better decisions for embracing solar and renewable energy.
Advantage 1 — Solar Can Reduce Your Electric Bill
A solar installation’s main goal is to generate electricity from sunlight.
By investing in a solar system for your home, you can generate electricity that your home appliances can consume immediately.
As long as the solar panels are generating electricity, you are less dependent on the grid to supply electricity to your home.
This has a direct impact on reducing the consumption of electricity from the grid, which reduces the electric bill you receive each month.
Advantage 2 — It Protects You Against Rising Electric Prices
The price of electricity has steadily increased over the past few decades, and most homeowners would agree the prices will only increase in the future.
While most people feel the pain of expensive electricity over time, a solar owner like you can continue to consume the electricity produced by your solar modules.
In fact, the higher the electricity prices become, the higher the value of solar energy produced to offset the power bill.
By consuming the power you generate yourself, you are protected from rising power prices in the future.
Advantage 3 — Solar Panels Last a Long Time
The technology of solar panels has evolved over more than 50 years of history, with all the field experiences fed back to optimise mass production processes.
This feedback loop of the solar industry led us to develop higher quality components and create more reliable solar panels through rigorous testing.
A modern solar panel is expected to generate solar energy reliably for more than 25 years.
So you can be comfortable knowing your investment will continue to add value to your home for a long time. As added proof, we wrote a blog post of our WINAICO installation from 2012 at the Desert Knowledge Solar Central. Click this link to view the live performance of our system.
Every WINAICO module installed in Europe and Australia automatically receive “3 in 1” insurance from the largest insurance providers in the world.
The “3 in 1” insurance covers the site owner from all unforeseen loss due to damage or destruction of the insured assets, interruption of service and loss of yield, to give you complete peace of mind.
Advantage 4 — Solar Panels Require Very Low Maintenance
Solar modules installed on your rooftop do not have moving parts, so they do not wear and tear as your car does.
The most effective way to keep your solar panels producing energy at the optimal level is to clean them periodically.
WINAICO panels’ unique corner keys can drain water away to make sure no pools of water stays on your panel to leave dirty watermarks.
An occasional rainy day coupled with water sprays a few times per year can make sure your modules do not become shaded by dust and leaves.
Advantage 5 — Solar Is Cheaper Than You Think
Two forces are helping you in reducing the cost of solar installations:
- Modern production best practices of cutting-edge solar cells
- The levelised cost of energy (LCOE)
As solar manufacturers around the world invest in the latest production lines and continue to fine-tune production throughput, the cost of producing solar modules continues to drop every year.
LCOE is spreading the cost of solar installation against the lifetime energy production of your system, measured in $/kWh.
As solar panels increase in efficiency and last longer, they produce more energy throughout their useful lifetime.
The result is a very low LCOE that helps you become independent of the electricity grid, and protect you from high energy prices.
Advantage 6 — Solar Provides Steady and Measurable Return
Advances in mass-producing solar panels plus decades of proven solar installations have shown that solar systems can produce energy consistently over a long time.
Through a manufacturing philosophy focused on quality and precision, WINAICO can provide an industry-leading 25-year linear power guarantee.
The power guarantee allows an investor like you to measure the steady and expected return on your investment.
Advantage 7 — It’s a Good Way to Give Back to Your Community
Most residential solar installations are grid-connected, so you can sell excess energy back to the grid when your solar panels are producing more than your appliances can consume.
Not only is selling energy back to the grid a great source of passive income, but it also increases the portion of renewable energy in the grid’s energy portfolio.
You are essentially making the energy generation of your city greener and more environmentally friendly.
Now we have outlined the advantages of solar, you may be interested in hearing some disadvantages of solar before making an investment decision.
Disadvantage 1 — Solar Requires a High Upfront Investment
Unlike the expenditure of paying for electricity bills based on your consumption, solar energy requires a high upfront investment.
You need to purchase high-quality components such as solar modules, inverters, and the mounting system to make sure your installation can operate reliably over its lifetime.
After the initial purchase, with regular care and maintenance, you will enjoy a stable supply of green electricity from the sun.
Disadvantage 2 — It Is an Intermittent Power Source
The instantaneous power outputs of your solar panels depend directly on the sun’s intensity.
As we all know the sunlight fluctuates throughout the day, based on weather, cloud coverage, and time, the energy produced by your installation also fluctuates from time to time.
During the evenings, when we tend to use the most power-hungry appliances, solar energy production is almost non-existent, and you might depend solely on the electric grid to keep your lights on.
Disadvantage 3 — Solar Installations Require a Lot of Space
A typical solar module is 1.7m long by 1m wide, and you may need to buy 20 or more modules to get adequate electricity production to cover your home consumption.
So it usually takes a big roof to install all the panels you need.
Disadvantage 4 — Not All Roofs Are Ideal for Solar Panels
You need to install solar panels on sun-facing roofs to get the most energy production every day.
This means a south-facing rooftop in the northern hemisphere or a north-facing rooftop in the southern hemisphere are ideal for residential installations.
If you take into account trees, chimneys, and other shading obstacles, you are left with less than 50% of perfect roof space for installing solar.
But if you live in an area with an especially high cost of energy, you may still afford to install modules on every part of your rooftop to offset a large electricity bill.
Disadvantage 5 — You Can’t Take the Panels With You When You Move
In the same way decorations, home improvements and the swimming pool can not be removed when you leave, you can’t take your solar installations with you when you move.
Therefore, we strongly advise you to only install solar when you expect to stay in the same residential property for many years.
That way, you can enjoy the most energy savings from your installation
Now you understand the pros and cons of solar energy, you can make a more informed decision about investing in renewable energy.
Contact us to add high-efficiency solar modules on your rooftop.
Originally published at https://www.winaico.com.au on July 1, 2020.
