The thought of using the sun to provide electric power and breaking ties with your electric company sounds wonderful. Not receiving a monthly electric bill and helping to preserve the environment at the same time obviously spells major improvement. Still the entire aspects of using solar systems must be carefully evaluated before the final decision is made.
The first consideration is the initial cost of installing a solar energy system large enough to provide adequate supplies of power. The cost per 1,000 kilowatts of power is roughly $10,000. In the U.S., there are federal tax credits and state incentives to offset this initial cost. With the correct size
solar panels solar power can be used twenty-four hours a day seven days a week.
Even though solar power use can be constant, the system must have a back-up source in case of extended periods of bad weather, resulting in sunlight not penetrating the clouds. In addition, the amount of sunlight received is not constant. Factors affecting the amount are location, time of day, time year and weather conditions.
Another possible disadvantage of using solar power is the fact that solar panels require a relatively large area for installation in order to achieve good levels of efficiency.
Some may consider that converting energy
solar energy into usable electricity a disadvantage. Energy produced by solar panels is in the form of direct current. Converters must convert this direct current into alternating current in order to use it. As technology improves this factor and other disadvantages become less.
Currently solar energy is cheaper and more viable than ever before. There are many advantages of using solar energy. Solar energy is clean. Solar power systems are low maintenance and operate silently. The solar source is never-ending. Technology is constantly improving, so the cost of installations will improve. Solar energy doesn’t harm the environment.