Solar Panels Need A Specific Roof Type
Solar panels work best when they are correctly attached to a roof. Yet, the roof requirements may be a little too tight. Aside from the needed roof space, your roof must NOT be one of these:
These roofs may not hold the solar panels total weight and can even hamper how much solar energy they can get because of the limited solar panel positions these roofs offer.
It is considered one of the worst disadvantages of solar energy systems because it limits who can install one.
Also, if you want solar panels, you may need to change your roofing, which will add to the high initial cost of solar panels.
You can also relocate your solar panel system, but it will yield different results with the roof-placed solar panels.
For a solar panel installation, the following roofs are needed for easier installation :
- Standing seam metal roofs
Big Size For Big Power
Solar power generators meant for light use are more lightweight than inverter generators and conventional generators. However, if you want to match the power of a solar generator to that of a conventional fuel-powered generator then the solar generator will be the heavier one.
In other words, how lightweight the generator is is directly related to how much power it holds. For light use, a solar power generator is the more portable option but as soon as you go for 1500 watts or more, inverter generators are the more lightweight option.
May Not Be Suitable For Some Properties
Solar-powered gates for driveways are best suited for areas that receive sun for at least eight hours a day throughout the year. They do not work well in predominantly rainy or cloudy areas. Position the solar panels in areas that receive maximum solar exposure to ensure enough solar energy is stored and the gate works efficiently.
Therefore, consult a professional to assess your property’s suitability for a solar-powered gate. They will advise on the size of solar panels, number of accessories, placement, and battery size depending on the size of the gate and number of daily operations if your property is eligible for a solar-powered gate for the driveway.
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Energy Independence From The Grid
If you have ever had to withstand days or weeks-long power outages the idea of being able to be in control of your own power system is ideal.
Alternatively, those who prefer to keep a house or cabin off-grid for whatever reason can install solar panels to create their own independent source of energy.
Whatever your reasoning, with the right equipment you can create your own independent clean energy system using solar panels. This generally requires the use of a solar battery system to store energy.
If this is your goal make sure to consult your solar installer to make sure you get all of the equipment you need to power your home if there is a grid-wide power outage.
Solar Energy Pros And Cons That Might Surprise You
Renewable Energy, Science and Technology
Everything has pros and conseven solar energy. Curious what could possibly be wrong with something that produces cleaner energy and lower electric bills? Well, you might be surprised. Read on to discover eight important advantages and disadvantages of solar energy.
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Its Better If You Own Your Home
Solar can be a profitable investment, but the payback math assumes youll be living in the same property for the full duration of the 25-year warranty.
It takes several years to break even on the initial cost of the system before you start to pocket the savings from your energy bill. Solar makes a lot less sense if you dont own your home, or have the urge to move within the next few years.
The good news is that because solar increases property values, you are likely to recoup your investment into the system when you go to sell your home. But most people who go solar do it because they want to be self-sufficient and generate their own electricity for the next few decades.
Think about whether youll stick around for a while in your current property before you make the long-term investment into solar.
Solar Energy Is An Intermittent Energy Source
There are three main reasons why solar is considered an intermittent source of power:
All of these factors have been used to argue that solar power cannot be relied on for base load or mission-critical applications. However, this is changing with the emergence of cost-effective battery solutions. Batteries allow homeowners to store their solar power and draw energy from the battery when their solar panels arent producing energy.
The most popular residential solar battery is the Tesla Powerwall, a 13.5 kWh lithium-ion battery. Other manufacturers, such as sonnen, LG, and , offer great solar batteries for home energy storage, as well.
Ongoing advances in battery storage are a sign that intermittency may not be a limitation on solar power for long.
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How Do You Store Solar Energy At Night
To store solar energy at night you need solar battery storage or a battery bank. To have enough solar energy to use at night, you need a home with a large system that can generate excess energy, supplying part of this energy to the battery bank.
When the night hours come, the solar panels will stop generating and the energy you use will come from the batteries. In off-grid homes, the solar battery bank is very important, since this will be your energy backup system for every day.
Solar Energy: An Overview
With the growing threat of climate change due to the excessive release of carbon emissions, many nations are looking to clean energy alternatives to replace traditional fossil fuels.
Of all the clean energy alternatives, solar has arguably been the most expensive though prices have been declining. However, after considering the pros and cons along with the expectation that prices will continue to decline, the future of solar energy is looking rather bright.
The pros of solar energy include that it is a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels and has a low impact on the environment and the potential for any country to produce it. The cons are that it only produces energy when the sun is shining, needs a significant amount of land, and that certain solar technologies require rare materials.
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It May Not Offer The Best Return If You Plan On Moving Soon
Solar energy is a long-term investment. It can take a few years for your system to generate enough electricity to fully pay for itself. But once it does, it generates pure savings so you can keep that money right in your pocket or reinvest it elsewhere.
If you plan on moving your business to a different location a few years after installing your solar system, you may want to hold off until youre settled in your new place. The longer you stay in your building to take advantage of that free electricity, the greater the return of the system for you.
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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Tax Advantages Of Solar Energy
In many countries, there are also significant tax benefits related to the installation of renewable energy devices.
Thus, in those countries, there is an additional financial incentive to switch from conventional to solar energy, especially if you own a house and the installation of solar panels is quite convenient and storage-efficient due to that.
They Contain Toxic Materials
Despite their air-cleaning qualities, solar panels are made with a concoction of toxic materials. Although these chemicals wont affect your home, the manufacture and waste stages of a panels life can release a lot of harmful chemicals into the atmosphere.
However, a study published by Nature Energy showed that the global environmental impact of creating solar panels is vastly outweighed by the environmental benefits of using them. Only 4% of the energy generated by a solar panel is offset by the energy required to create it making solar power one of the worlds cleanest renewable energies.
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Making The Right Decision About Solar Power
There are a lot of advantages to going solar, but itâs up to you to weigh the pros and cons of your particular goals and system.
If you are not sure if solar is right for you you can use our free solar calculator that will help you see if it makes financial sense and help guide you through the process.
Fewer Savings When Electricity Costs Are Low
The lower electricity prices are in your area the less financially viable solar is for your home.
For example in Hawaii where electricity prices are usually 20 cents or more per kWh, your solar panels quickly pay for themselves. In Louisiana, where electricity rates are typically below 8 cents per kWh it could take a significant amount of time for your panels to pay for themselves.
So unless you are looking to reduce your environmental impact and dependency on fossil fuels, you should think about the energy market in your area.
To help you determine your payback period and see average energy rates in your area we created a solar calculator that will help you decide if solar is right for you.
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Solar Is The Most Versatile Form Of Alternative Energy
Unlike other types of alternative energy like wind, which need wide open spaces with ample wind changes and large water sources for hydroelectric power, solar is a source of energy that can be implemented in almost every environment. While output is lower on cloudy days or in climates without as much regular sun exposure, solar panels are almost always a great investment.
Solar Panel Installations Can Be Expensive
As weve mentioned in a previous blog, investing in home solar panels is a bit like buying a car. Rooftop solar panels are a sizable investment. But, if you do your research, test drive a few, and make a smart and informed decision, your investment will provide great returns for many years.
However, for some, the end result might not be worth the investment of time and money, which is totally understandable. Even with the reduced 26% investment tax credit credit, the average price a solar installer charged $20,00010 for a 10 kWh system in 2021.
This is why we offer solar electricity plans for people who still want to benefit from going solar but cant afford the initial cost of installing panels.
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Solar Is An Intermittent Energy Source
If the cost is solars biggest downside, its intermittency is second in line.
Naturally, there is no solar collection during the night. This typically isnt a problem because people use the most electricity during the day.
However, during days of heavy overcast, the amount of solar energy produced from a solar power system is reduced heavily, if not completely to zero.
For many areas, wintertime weather brings solar efficiency down so far that its useless in mid-winter when its most needed for light and heat.
That makes most people look to alternative forms of energy to supplement solar needs. Things like natural gas heaters, small wind turbines, and grid-tie electrical panels help to keep the home running.
The more we have to rely on fossil fuels to make up for the inefficiency of solar panels, the more we increase our carbon footprint.
Lithium-ion battery production has ramped up in recent years, with a corresponding decline in price. Current inflation levels have put a damper on the market, but it should recover if inflation is also checked.
The main way that nations store solar energy is by using water batteries to store the energy. A solar power system is used to pump water up into a storage reservoir.
Later, when the energy is needed, the water runs down through turbines to generate the needed electricity. This is an extremely efficient way to store energy collected from a solar panel system.
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.
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Solar Can Improve The Value Of Your Home
Like many home improvements, installing solar panels in your home will almost certainly increase its resale value. Solar systems will make your property more attractive to future buyers because it will be more eco-friendly and have potential for energy savings.
A 2015 study by the Department of Energy that analyzed 22,000 home sales across eight states found that a PV system added around $15,000 to the value of the sale. So even if you move house before youve recouped your initial investment through savings on your monthly electricity bill, youll likely get most of it back with a higher sale price.
The benefits are less clear for businesses, but commercial properties with solar are equally attractive to investors, especially given that they allow potential buyers to control their future expenses.
Solar Energy Lessens The Strain On The Electric Grid
The power grid is really complex, but underpinning the entire system is the simple economic principle of supply and demand. Supply must always meet the demand, but there are times when demand is greater than the amount of electricity the grid has to give. If demand overtakes supply, long-term damage and widespread blackouts can occur.
Thats why solar energy is so important to diversifying the energy grid. If any one energy source fails, as was seen in the , having a wide variety of energy sources is one answer to preventing power failures like we saw.
The U.S. has enough solar capacity to power 17.1 million homes,7 approximately 2.3% of the total U.S. share of utility-scale electricity.8 We clearly still have a long way to go. However, over the coming years, its only going to get bigger. The U.S. Environmental Investigation Agency reported that solar rose by 16.1 GW in 2021 and an estimated 5.8 GW in 2022.9
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The High Initial Costs Of Installing Panels
The most commonly cited solar energy disadvantage, cost, is declining as the industry expands. The initial cost to buy and install the equipment is not cheap. Still, if cost is an issue, leasing options may reduce the amount of your initial outlay. If you do choose to buy, you will need to live in your home for a number of years before the system pays for itself. Its a long-term investment better suited to property owners than renters.
Solar Energy Is Weather Dependent
An undoubted disadvantage of solar energy is that this technology is not equally efficient around the world. While solar power can be generated on a cloudy day, some level of daylight is still required in order to harness the suns energy, and the amount of energy that can be produced varies greatly depending on many factors, such as the amount and quality of direct sunlight that the panels receive as well as the size, number, and locations of the panels themselves. Thus, in countries that receive limited sunlight throughout the year, alternative renewable resources like geothermal energy and hydropower might work better. In Iceland, an area with little sunlight and wind, for example, these two energy sources make up 27% and 73% respectively, allowing the country to generate 100% of its energy from renewables.
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Solar Power Wont Work At Night
As you may have guessed, solar power only works when the sun is out. This means that in most solar setups, you can only use solar during the day, and youll need to rely on other power sources at night.
This is not such a big issue for offices that only operate during the day, but homes and some businesses will need to rely on either the utility grid or other renewable energy systems such as home wind turbines overnight.
However, you can get around this problem by incorporating a battery into your solar system. This will store the excess power generated during the day that you can then use at night or on gloomy days when theres limited sunlight.
Luckily, there are plenty of storage solutions for homes and businesses start by taking a look at this guide to the seven best batteries for solar panels.
