Solar Energy Pros And Cons: The Top Benefits/drawbacks
What are the main pros and cons of solar power? We break down solars best benefits and most common drawbacks.
Solar Panels Are Dependent On Sunlight
Its obvious that solar panels need sunlight to generate electricity. They wont produce electricity at night when you need it for light and they can be inefficient during storms and gloomy days. Your solar energy system needs batteries if you plan to fully depend on solar energy to power your home.
Batteries are one of the more expensive components of your system. Unlike solar panels, they do wear out and need careful maintenance to lengthen their lives. Comparing wind power vs. solar power, wind will keep generating electricity at night and during storms, as long as there is enough wind. Many people use both in residential systems.
Solar Is A Profitable Investment
If you buy a grid-tie system , you can expect your investment into solar to turn a profit in the long run.
Assuming the national average cost of electricity, it would take about 6.08 years to recoup your investment into a $10,000 system. Beyond that point, you start to generate a profit from your system.
In fact, over the 25-year life of the solar panel warranty, we estimate you would earn $31,031 on energy bills after clearing the initial payback period.
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Is Solar Power Worth It
Once you’ve worked through all of these calculations, you’ll likely end up with a single numberthe number of years it will take for a solar system to pay for itself in savings from your energy bills. If you live in a sunny part of the country and have high utility bills at the moment, you could be looking at a system that will reach this point in five years. Other homeowners may have to wait 10 or 20 years to reach this point.
In other words, most homeowners will eventually see a benefit from a solar power system it might just take decades for this to be realized. Whether it is worth installing such a system therefore often comes down to a number of much less technical factors than those we’ve listed above: how long you are going to stay in your home, the subsidies available in your area, and simply whether you want to do your bit for the environment.
Pro Proven And Reliable
Solar energy is a proven system and reliable. There are no moving parts, solar panels are becoming increasingly efficient and the technology is very much a known quantity. Its a technology that is steadily developing and not standing still either.
Solar panels are becoming more efficient, production is becoming cheaper and more efficient and supporting technologies are also steadily improving.
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Solar Doesnt Work For Every Roof Type
Not every room will work well with solar panels. Orientation matters. If your roof doesn’t face the sun, you wont be able to capture enough solar energy. Roofs that angle into the sun tend to work better than flat roofs.
Roofing materials like asphalt shingles, metal and tiles make installing solar panels easier. If your room is made with other materials, installation may be more expensive. Part of what makes energy-efficient roofs is their ability to support solar panels.
Frequently Asked Questions About Solar Energy
As you consider making an investment in solar energy, its important to weigh the pros and cons as they relate to your home, geography and climate, and unique needs. Check out a few of the most common questions we get from buyers to learn more:
What are the top advantages of solar energy?
The top advantages of solar energy are that it reduces electricity bills, increases the value of your home, cuts back on carbon emissions, protects against rising electricity costs, and it helps you earn money back on your investment.
What are the top disadvantages of solar energy?
Disadvantages of solar energy include a high initial cost, an inability to work on every roof type, and it may be difficult to find a local installer depending on where you live.
Is solar energy good for the environment?
Solar is a form of renewable energy that has numerous environmental benefits and leads to cleaner water and air. The only factor that some consider to be a downside is that that there is a lack of recycling options for solar panels. Learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of renewable energy on our blog, and see what solar panel recycling options are available to you.
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What Are The Pros And Cons Of Using Solar Energy For Your Home
Using solar energy for your home will save you money, increase your home value, help you become energy independent, and will decrease your carbon footprint. However, the large solar panels may alienate potential buyers. Furthermore, some HOA agreements may not allow you to install solar panels on your home.
You Can Gain Control Over Rising Energy Costs
Theres no denying that energy costs are rising and will most likely keep doing so in the future. Your home or business electricity bill can be a significant expense, and one that you have little control over.
Installing your own solar system means that after the initial cost of installation, youll only need to pay modest maintenance costs, so you dont need to worry about the cost of your electricity sky-rocketing.
Add to this that the cost of setting up a solar system is cheaper than ever. Systems are significantly more affordable than they were even a few years ago, and theres a range of tax rebates and government incentives to further reduce costs.
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Tough To Find Quality Solar Companies
Unfortunately, many local solar companies havent been in business for very long, and they might not stick with solar in the future if they decide theres money to be made selling another product. Because solar is a quickly growing industry, many solar companies are out there with pushy sales reps and aggressive sales tactics as they try to capture a slice of the market.
It can also be hard to compare solar companies by looking at reviews, because most people only work with a single solar company, so they cant offer a review that compares different options and helps find the best one.
Before deciding on a solar company, you should perform some due diligence to find out if its products and services are reliable, by considering factors such as:
- Number of years in the industry
- Customer reviews and ratings
Eliminate Your Electric Bill
Who doesnt love one less bill coming out of their paycheck? With a properly sized system, you can drastically reduce or completely eliminate your electric bill.
Even if you extend your payback period by taking out a loan to finance your project, you still enjoy reduced electricity costs from the moment you flip the switch on your PV system.
This is the most exciting part of solar for many people: bringing the system online and watching their power bill disappear.
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Pro: Solar Energy Is Accessible In Remote Areas
Find out how much a solar roof can save you in your area
The cost of installing and maintaining solar energy panels is high in the beginning, but for areas that arent able to receive electricity the traditional way, adding these can be a huge benefit. Some areas are remote and off the grid, so electric companies cannot add a grid matrix to install electricity. These areas use the solar power so that they might use devices such as a microwave, washer and dryer, and the Internet. In some states, its debatable whether or not solar can beat the grid in terms of cost, but as far as remote off-grid locations are concerned, solar almost always beats a diesel or gas-fired generator.
Solar Energy Pros And Cons: Is Solar Right For You
In this EcoWatch guide on solar energy pros and cons, youll learn:
- How you can reduce electric bills and carbon emissions
- How much you could save from solar
- What are the pros and cons of solar
EcoWatch has helped many homeowners learn about of solar energy and will help you decide whether going solar is the right choice for you.
Why You Can Trust EcoWatch
We work with a panel of solar experts to create unbiased reviews that empower you to make the right choice for your home. No other site has covered renewables as long as us, which means we have more data and insider information than other sites.
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As more and more homeowners make the switch to solar power, you may be considering putting panels on your own roof. But before you purchase a home solar system, you should consider the major solar energy pros and cons.
Using the sun as a clean energy source minimizes your carbon footprint while reducing your households monthly electric bills. However, making the switch to renewable energy isnt always the best choice for all homeowners.
Lets take a closer look at the pros and cons of solar energy.
- Most efficient panels on the market
- National coverage
- Cradle to Cradle sustainability certification
- Great warranty coverage
- Customer service varies by local dealer
Services Offered
- Doesn’t offer solar batteries
Services Offered
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Look Into Financial Support
These costly companions can put a strain on your purse strings, but there are numerous government schemes that can swoop to the rescue:
- The Smart Export Guarantee A replacement scheme for the Feed-in Tariff. The SEG enables low-carbon electricity households to receive payments for the surplus energy they export back to the grid
- The Renewable Heat Incentive For homeowners looking to invest in solar thermal panels. The RHI encourages homeowners to invest in renewable heat technology by helping them pay for it, sending payments quarterly over a seven-year period.
Pro Renewable Clean Energy Source
The ability to generate clean energy without impacting the environment is a primary reason people are moving to solar. The sun is an unlimited source of energy and once the solar panels have been manufactured and installed, they deliver clean, renewable energy at no cost to the environment.
Considering the alternatives are nuclear power, gas or coal-powered power stations, solar panels make perfect sense no matter how you look at them.
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Pros And Cons Of Solar Panels On Roofs In Texas
Texas is known for bright, hot summers and warm weather year-round. Why not make all that sunlight work for you? You can install solar panels on your roof in order to use solar energy to power your home. Solar energy is a popular emerging option for energy, especially as society discusses moving towards alternative energy options. After all, the sun is easily a renewable resource. But are there any downsides to installing solar panels on your roof? In todays blog, well break down the pros and cons of solar panels on roofs in Texas, as well as how solar panels can work for you.
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Con: It Might Not Work So Well In Your Area
Areas closer to the equator have far greater potential for producing solar electricity than those closer to the poles, and areas with consistent sun have greater solar potential then areas that are frequently overcast. Luckily, most of the United States has a great potential for solar energy, as you can see in this map of global solar radiation from the United Nations Environment Programme. For the absolute best solar resources in the United States, think southwest.
Find out how much a solar roof can save you in your area
New Mexico and Arizona are red hot with solar potential, and California, Nevada, Texas, Utah, and Colorado also have large areas highly favorable for PV development. If you live in one of these states, consider this point as a pro on your checklist. Also, another point you should consider is air pollution. Using solar power, you disconnect from the grid, thus generating less demand which is generally met by coal power plants. In effects, this ultimately reduces pollution. But if youre living in a polluted area in the first places, youll experience poorer performance than otherwise because black carbons spewed by power plants combine to form haze and smog. These greatly reduce the amount of available sunlight by blocking the sun. In 1985, Atsumu Ohmura discovered that the amount of sunshine on Earth had dimmed by 10% between the 1960s and 1980s. In addition, over the past 50 years, the average sunlight reduction was 3% per decade.
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Con Can Put Buyers Off
While many buyers view solar panels positively, not everyone does. Some view them as an eyesore and wont buy a house with them on. Thats especially true if they are mounted on the front of the house in full view of the neighbours.
Many buyers will look past the visuals to the practicality and its these buyers you will need to attract. Be prepared for some to not be able to look past the panels though.
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Excess Power Can Be Sold Back Into The Grid
When youre not using the energy generated by your solar panels, its either stored in a battery or put back into the grid, for which youll receive compensation called a feed-in tariff. Feed-in tariffs are set by your retailer and some have even been known to set payment amounts to more than 20 cents per kilowatt hour exported. However, unless you have quite a few panels, you probably wont be making a killing from that money. Instead, itll help lower your power bills, even if only slightly.
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Solar Storage Is Expensive
You can use solar energy right away, or you can store it in large batteries. The solar energy can charge the solar batteries used in off-grid solar systems to use the power at night. It is expensive, but a good solution for using solar energy all day long.
In most cases, it is wiser to use solar energy during the day and take power from the grid during the night. Therefore, you need to connect your solar system to the grid. Luckily your energy demand is usually higher during the day so that you can meet most of it with solar energy.
Solar Energy Storage Is Expensive
Heres the hard reality: Energy storage devices for rooftop solar panels cost thousands and thousands of dollars. Perhaps the most advanced product on the market today, Teslas Powerwall costs around $7,200 as of April 2021 for one solar battery and how many you need depends on your current electricity bills Additionally, Tesla only sells the Powerwall to those who also buy solar panels.
The reason why solar storage and energy storage in general is so expensive is that its uncharted territory. In 2010, you would have paid $40,000 for an average residential solar system, whereas todaythe price is half that.11 Were optimistic that 10 years from now, solar storage along with the panels themselves will cost even less than they are today.
This is why most rooftop solar owners currently opt for a net metering setup. With this arrangement, your retail electricity provider agrees to buy excess solar power off your hands. Chariot Energy happens to be one of those providers! During peak generating hours, the excess solar energy you generate and dont use is added to the grid. In turn, your electricity company will pay you for the energy you supplement to your local area.
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Solar Systems May Harm The Environment
Although solar has many benefits for the environment, from no carbon emissions to reduced air pollution, it can have its drawbacks too. Manufacturing solar panels uses chemicals and energy, and when solar panels go to landfill, the toxic materials they contain can leach out as they break down.
Additionally, transporting supplies and the finished product usually involves using fossil fuels and generates greenhouse emissions.
Its important to weigh up these potential negative impacts on the environment with the eco benefits of using solar energy. In general, using solar power to replace environmentally harmful sources of electricity such as coal will offset the negative impacts of solar production over the long term.
Solar Energy Can Generate Electricity In Any Climate
Despite hearsay, one of the great benefits of solar panels is they work anywhere and in any climate on Earth. Whether its rain, snow, light hail, sleet or even a hurricane, solar panels still generate electricity if even a slight amount of sunlight hits the panel.
In fact, snow is actually beneficial to solar panel efficiency. While heavy snowfall can present a weight problem for solar panels, light to moderate snow has actually proven to slide the dirt, grime and debris off of the panels as it melts. Plus, solar panels are more efficient in cold weather, meaning that they are able to generate more electricity with greater effectiveness than solar arrays in hotter areas
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