If you are truly interested in adding solar energy to your life and home, then you have already done some in-depth research about the subject. In addition to absorbing facts and figures, you have probably started to get a feel for the advantages and disadvantages of solar energy as a way to power your home. Since a solar panel installation is a big investment, you will want to be able to answer the question, "Is solar power worth it?" Here are a few facts to mull over when considering whether going solar is the right choice for you.
Advantages of Solar Power
1. The most persuasive reason to consider solar energy, at least for the more green-minded, is that it is clean energy. Unlike the drilling and fracking that occurs on a regular basis in order to force the earth to give up its fossilized matter for us to burn as an energy source, the sun willingly bestows it warmth, light and energy-producing potential to earth and its inhabitants on a daily basis. Even investing in a small solar kit will go a long way toward reducing your carbon footprint compared to the rest of the industrialized world. Sunshine is an absolute renewable energy source, much more so than trees, which can take many years to adequately replace what has been taken. Solar is also much less dangerous--who wouldn't rather have a ray of sunshine fall on them than a large tree branch?
2. Sunlight is free! Sure, the dollar investment you make in that rooftop solar array can be pretty steep, but once in place...well, imagine not having to pay for oil or gas once the heating system has been installed. Overall, solar has a much higher initial price tag than a gas or oil system, but there is a payback in sight, since the "fuel" needed to run the system costs nothing. For those who purchase a grid-tied system (which is the majority of households), there is the extra bonus of being able to sell your excess electricity to the local utility. In actuality, you will be much like the utility--just on a smaller scale.
Disadvantages of Solar Power
Alas, there are some disadvantages to solar energy, however few. You will need to consider them, though, before you take the big step.
1. Costs are high, particularly for installation. Although costs per kilowatt are currently around $3 and predicted to fall to $1 or so within two years, the benefits of solar energy must be weighed against the price of a whole-household grid-tied system. For off-grid systems, extra expenses will be incurred in the area of energy storage, for which a battery bank will be necessary. Add to all this the cost of professional installation, which some sources estimate at approximately 40% of the cost of the solar energy system itself, and you are looking at an investment many times the price of a regular fossil fuel-based home energy system or per-kilowatt cost of buying electricity from the local utility. There is good news here, however. Federal, state and sometimes local tax incentives and rebates can help ameliorate the cost by quite a lot.
Other disadvantages of solar power include the fact that some don't like the appearance of solar panels, or there may be zoning bylaws against such installations. Hopefully, when it comes to reducing our dependence on foreign oil and other environmentally unfriendly energy sources such as nuclear energy, small issues such as looks and neighborhood symmetry will eventually be less of a concern than the obvious advantages of solar energy as a clean, green energy source.
Amanda Lacasse lives in a passive solar home and is looking into ways to segue into a more active solar lifestyle. Read more about all things solar by visiting http://SolarizedHome.com/.
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