August 21, 2018//-Solar energy is a free renewable resource, which is harnessed from the sun to power homes, businesses, and gadgets.
The solar energy is converted to electric energy to enable its use in electrical gadgets and other devices. This is aided by the use of solar panels and solar cells which are sensitive to light from the sun.
Over the years, there has been a widespread adoption of the energy type given its various advantages over energy harnessed from fossil fuels. In other words, solar energy is a renewable source of energy given the constant supply of sunlight from the sun all year round in most countries. This is one of the reasons why solar energy is preferred in homes and business. This article seeks to highlight more of these reasons.
- Saves you money
On average, the whole process of installation of the solar system is cheaper compared to the installation of the grid electricity. Also, there are monthly or periodic payments made in grid electricity but none made in the solar energy systems. This is because once installed, the solar power harnessed operates for free.
The incorporation of both systems of electricity from a grid-dependent electricity leads to lower cost of electricity as a whole. Subsequently, the electric bills that come in have minimized costs. This leads to a lot of money saving which can be allocated to other projects of the business or to décor and maintenance of homes.
- Cleaner environment and earns a home or business the ‘green’ label
Solar energy does not have any adverse effects on the environment. It does not release any greenhouse gases. The traditional forms of energy such as fossil fuels are infamous for their carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Accumulation of carbon in the atmosphere has harmful effects on the lives of people who inhale it as well as the damaging effects it has on the ozone layer. Fossil fuels are also big contributors to global warming.
With solar energy, there are very minimal environmental impacts. And with a clean environment, it means better livelihood for the future generation who will depend on the environment for growth and survival. Ultimately, solar energy aids in reducing individual carbon footprint and guarantees an overall cleaner environment.
- Increases home value
Houses that have pre-installed solar systems are attractive. They appeal to the normal consumer who is environmentally aware, especially about the current war on the massive use of grid electricity and the increasing carbon footprint levels. Due to awareness, it is now common feature for people to prefer homes and businesses that have pre-installed solar systems.
Also, due to the quest for affordable energy that will last long, building contractors are constructing offices and houses that have solar systems to make the overall utility costs lower in the long-run for the customer or the house buyer, which increases the value of homes and business spaces.
- Investment
Fossil fuels were great investment projects due to their high demand but that is slowly coming to a halt. Solar energy has become widespread over the years. As such, there are many solar companies that have sprouted due to the demand for the solar system equipment.
In addition, installation companies are also on the increase. This growth has brought in a lot of investors and the creation of jobs. Competition has been enhanced thus giving the market niche to the producer who offers the best quality for a small price. The rise of the industry has seen the oil and coal industry face a decline in the market share.
- Reduce electricity interruptions and costs
Grid electricity faces a lot of shortages and rationing and can at any time be switched off or face external effects such the falling of a tree on the electricity wires. In the event that a building has pre-installed the solar system, then they would be in light while others are in the dark waiting for the lights to come back.
Besides, the solar cells that store the energy come in handy at such times as it can be used to power various appliances that are dependent on electricity. Also, consumers are able to shield themselves from unpredictable increases in utility prices by the energy providers.
- Increase energy independence
The presence of solar energy means there is another additional source of energy. The property can equally achieve a consistent electric cost when using solar energy. Furthermore, with solar energy, it is easy to regulate the daily use of electricity as opposed to normal electricity. One can also decide whether to use both sources of energy at regulated amounts or depend entirely on solar energy.
- Efficiency in production and use of electricity
Grid electricity is prone to lots of power outages since it is transmitted from the electric plants to homes or commercial buildings. Even hydroelectric power, another renewable source of energy, is prone to outages during transmission. Solar powered systems are 100% efficient when it comes to transmission a long as there is adequate sunshine.
There is no distance covered to transmit solar power given that the solar panels and the solar cells that harness power are located on roof tops. This limits chances of energy outages attributed to transmission.
- Job creation
The solar industry has been able to employ more people compared to other previously preferred sources of energy such as coal or fossil fuels. For the solar system to work, it has to be installed. This translates into employment opportunities for those setting up the solar panels in homes and office buildings. Accordingly, it is a plus for business owners and homes since they provide employment every time they contract a company for solar system installation.
- Tax credit
In the US, the government is encouraging the use of solar energy. It is doing so not only by creating public awareness but also by providing 30% tax credit of the expenses used in the installation of the solar systems. That is, all the expenses incurred from labor provided, the installation equipment and the preparation for installation. The tax credit provided by government also helps to save money given that 30% of the total costs incurred will be provided by tax credit. This makes the solar installations to become cheaper than grid electricity.
- Utilization of unused land
Solar power can be generated from any place on the globe provided there is adequate sunlight. More to this, there are millions of acres of land that do not have any economic value in terms of agriculture or pastoralism. Such lands can be used to set up solar farms.
These are lands set up for the sole purpose of installing solar panels for the large scale production of solar power. It has been done before in Britain where there is a 45 acre farm that is able to power over 2,500 homes. This means that land otherwise not reclaimable by farming, such as deserts which have a lot of sunlight, can be used to harness solar power.
- Highly durable and easy to maintain
Solar systems are easy to maintain compared to other sources of energy. Once the installation is done, the only work done to the solar panels is regular cleaning of the panels to remove dust particles as a way of increasing sensitivity to the sun.
Other than that, the solar system lasts over 20 years without needing any major overhauls of the system. This makes it cheap in the long run as opposed to grid electricity in terms of maintenance costs.
- It is a renewable source of energy
Energy from fossil fuels and coal is bound to be exhausted. This is because these sources of power are non-renewable thus their use is directly proportional to their decrease in the earth’s crust. Nevertheless, with solar energy, the ever existing presence of the sun means that there is a constant source of solar power that cannot be exhausted. Solar energy is hence a desirable source of power for both businesses and homes.
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