What are Some of the Advantages and Disadvantages of Solar Power?

Solar power is one of the cleanest forms of energy available. Solar power is a great alternative energy source that is gaining popularity all the time. Many architects now include various types of solar power in their building designs. A good example of this is the use of passive solar windows which let light in throughout the day and saves you from having to use electric lights. The most familiar type of solar power is generated from photovoltaic panels. These are the black squares you see on calculators, radios, and houses.

Solar power has some very large advantages depending on your location and how many photovoltaic panels you have. If you build a new home or retrofit an older home to use some solar power, you might qualify for net metering. Net metering is when you add the solar power you are generating into your local power grid. This could really lower your bill and might even get you a rebate. A wonderful thing about solar power is that once you set it up, you rarely have to fiddle with it. It should last many years and the photovoltaic panels are very resistant to adverse weather conditions. Skylights are a great way to incorporate some extra light into your home and will increase the value of your home as well.

Even though it is highly praised, solar power does have some limitations. The big one is, of course, when the sun goes down, you don’t generate any heat or power. You can also stop generating heat or power if there is a big storm system, or anything that blocks out the sun. You should have some storage batteries or possibly another alternative energy source such as wind. Solar power is DC also, so you will need to convert it to AC (which the power grid usually does) for general home use. Solar power is relatively expensive to set up with panels, batteries, and everything else you will need.

With global warming becoming a very popular topic, solar power is usually pretty high on the list when it comes to alternative energy sources. Since it is a renewable resource, you never have to worry about it becoming scarce and the sunlight is free. Oil reserves are dropping and coal is very polluting so solar power might even become required on many homes and buildings in the near future.

Solar power is becoming much more popular due to global warming and the cost of setting up your house with solar power is becoming cheaper. With the rising costs of fossil fuels, it couldn’t hurt to add a handful of solar panels onto your house. Even though the initial investment might be fairly high, solar power more than pays for itself after a few years.

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