Advantages And Disadvantages Of Solar Power For Homeowners

What are the advantages and disadvantages of solar power for homeowners and why should we invest in solar panels to capture the energy from the sun.

There is a growing awareness of our need to find new energy supplies. Not least because at some point in the future, and it may be closer than we think, this world where we are so dependent on oil for our energy needs will find itself running out of oil.

There have been various time-frames speculated upon for when we might run out of oil but as the third world nations develop and the huge populations of countries such as China and India look for a better quality of life the demand for oil will increase exponentially.

The result of this extra demand for energy will be much higher prices for oil and gas as the demand increases as supplies slowly reduce. It may be that the huge hike in gas prices we saw a year or two ago may have been just a warning of what is yet to come.

So it is in all of our interests to look for alternative energy sources and the most obvious is solar power because it is here, it is freely available all around us, every day. Solar energy arrives on the ground we walk on every single day and solar energy is free. All we have to do is capture the energy from the sun and convert it to a more useable form of energy.

The cost of collecting solar energy is the major disadvantage to using more solar power. The energy from the sun can supply our needs for heat and electricity if we can capture enough of it. If you decide to invest in an array of solar panels to power your home you will need to spend a lot of money for a professional installation. You will make significant savings on your electricity costs but it will take quite a few years to repay the cost of the installation of solar panels.

There are benefits for the country if you use your own solar panels to produce electricity for your home because that means there is a little less oil, coal or gas imported into the country which is good for the economy and there is less atmospheric pollution in the air our children breathe. Everybody benefits from greater use of solar energy. We just need to find the most efficient way to capture the suns energy.

There are two basic options when you are considering installation of solar panels. You can collect solar energy as heat or you can convert the solar light into electricity with photovoltaic or thin film solar panels.

Collecting solar heat is the simpler, less technology dependent system and you can make up your own heat collecting solar panels with a few pipes with liquid pumped through them to transfer the heat energy all installed in a glass fronted box.

Converting solar light into electricity requires you to use factory manufactured photovoltaic or thin film solar panels. These are manufactured using ultra thin films of silicon in a way that creates the electric current when solar light shines onto the photovoltaic film but they do need to be protected from weather and damage by a glass fronted casing. These solar panels are a more expensive option than the solar heat capture panels but once installed they require very little maintenance other than occasional cleaning of the surface glass panel.

The greatest benefit of solar energy is that it is free to anyone who has the equipment to collect it

There are other benefits for the environment and the country because solar energy is a renewable energy source with no damaging effects on the environment other than the manufacturing process. Using solar energy capture panels saves on imported energy supplies which makes the country more secure from problems abroad and it is very helpful to the economy.

Once installed solar panels are an almost 'fit and forget' technology because they just carry on working day after day with virtually no maintenance required beyond occasional cleaning of the surface glass to ensure the solar light rays can be collected on the thin film photovoltaic panel itself and are not obstructed by a dirty glass panel.

There are two main disadvantages to using solar power with the main one being that solar panels can only collect sunlight or solar energy when the sun is shining. If energy is required during the hours of darkness then another energy supply will be required or alternatively the energy can be stored during daylight hours to be used during the hours of darkness.

One way to store the energy for later use might be with closed system lakes and dams providing hydro electric power during the hours of darkness. The water would be pumped to the higher lake during the daylight hours using the energy from the sun to power the pumps.

The second significant disadvantage of using solar power is the cost of the equipment required but when looking at the cost it must be remembered that once the solar energy collection panels are installed the energy you collect is totally free. Solar power panels can last 25 years or more so you will be making savings on your energy bills for many years to come.

Energy costs are likely to rise considerably over the coming years and you will save on electricity bills at whatever the price is at the time you collect your solar power. In the long term installing solar energy collecting panels could be an excellent investment for your money with very good returns.