Sunday, 15 September 2013

Important Things About Solar Panel Technology

By Jack Guy


The uptake of solar power has rarely been greater than in the past few years in comparison to any other instance in the past. There are more manufacturers of solar panels and even inverters than there ever was before. Panels now cost more or less one half of what they use to 1 or 2 years ago. Government agencies are modifying laws to encourage the utilization of sustainable energy. Regional councils are integrating renewable energy into their building codes. Financial institutions are offering 'green' mortgages particularly concentrating on the purchase of ecologically friendly domestic hot water systems, solar panel products, water tanks et cetera. Solar systems are becoming a part of the regular landscape in suburbs across the world. It seems so many people are getting on the solar train. Nevertheless what exactly is the benefit of solar power to the ordinary household user? Is solar power worth it?

The answer to this issue may be addressed in a variety of different ways - many ways in fact. This article will endeavor to provide the answers for individuals who are enquiring from an economic, ecological and a practical point of view.

Most people will likely be wondering about the benefit of solar energy from a financial point of view. Will solar power pay off? This question needs to be answered, taking into account a number of different factors. The greatest element affecting this answer is where you live in the world. Where you reside influences the quantity of sunshine hours that your potential solar panel system will receive. The closer you live in the direction of the poles, the less the quantity of sunshine hours you are exposed to in comparison to your counterparts near the equator. This equates to less electric power generation when compared with your counterparts. Individual goverments around the world have distinct financial incentives like tariffs or perhaps subsidies. Consider what your numerous levels of government are offering. Also, do your homework and find what the cost is to install a system. When determining the time it takes to pay off the original price of the install, consider your electricity usage, as well as the predicted rising cost of electricity into the future. Based on these factors, you will definitely get more of an idea if solar will pay itself off for the short term, in the long term, or if even at all.

Secondly, lots of people are enquiring about the benefit of solar from an environmentally friendly perspective. Is the quantity of embodied energy of solar technology less than or more than the embodied energy of other types of electricity generation? My investigation into that question found that the energy payback for solar power has decreased from the estimation of 20 years back in 1975, to currently a period of less than 3 years. In recent times, there has been a rapid technological improvement in the production of PV cells and solar panels, such that the ecological benefits of installing solar power are becoming a lot more obvious.

Thirdly, people are asking about the impact that solar power will have on them from a practical point of view. For instance, you might have a need to get electrical power to a remote spot. The substantial decrease in price to install solar power has now made it a great, practical alternative when compared to other alternate options. Evidently in Australia, people are installing stand-alone systems since the price to set up electrical power infrastructure like power poles and a transformer is significant. You may be asking yourself what the routine maintenance cost is when you own a system. Most PV systems are grid connected. These systems need little or no maintenance. When ever the sun is shining and the PV system is creating adequate electricity, excess electric power is fed back to the power grid. Some times whenever the residence requires more electric power than the system can produce, the energy grid provides what is required. The inverter as well as the meter manage it all. No interaction by the owner is necessary. However, isolated stand-alone systems need a little more attention. This might include the intermittent operation of a diesel power generator when the batteries of an isolated system have been drained because of an extended time period of cloud cover.

When it comes to the general important things about solar power, many aspects should be thought through. This informative article has only begun to skim the surface, looking at several broad aspects.




About the Author:



No comments: