Solar Energy & the Advantages and Disadvantages

Posted by Larry Wood on April 26th, 2010 filed in Global Warming


Maybe the greatest debate that could be leveled about having to use fossil and nuclear fuel is our dependence on it. Singly nothing much could be done about Global Warming as it will take serious political will if it is to be addressed effectively and for now, other countries are not cooperating. But the choice between traditional and alternative solutions of energy, that is something many of us can choose to do.

First the advantages:

Solar energy is abundant and is free. We can depend the sun to rise tomorrow and the day after that. Oil and natural gases on the other hand are non renewable, once the source taps out, it is gone forever. Of course there are other areas that could still be tapped but sooner that could running out of oil as well.

Solar energy does not pollute the air. If ever, the heat coming from the sun cleans the environment and maintains the earth’s eco balance. Not so with the oil. Oil, its derivatives and its byproducts are great pollutants. In fact, 22,000 pounds of carbon monoxide will ought to be produced first for the oil to be prepared and provide a home with electrical energy for a year.

Solar energy harnessing panels are silent operators. Except maybe for the mechanical contraptions that are built into the panels so it could track the sun, from the collection of the suns rays to its photovoltaic conversion, they give neither a peep nor a squeak. It is a world of difference from the cacophony of giant drills and pumps which are seemed to extract oil form the ground.

Upkeep for the solar panels is very minimal. Except for the mechanical parts that are optional, practically no maintenance is needed. Once it is installed nothing much will be the cause for worry. The energy that is derived is free. With oil there is no telling what the next pump price would be and when. Oil, being a commodity, heavily depend its prices on market forces. Often with the right strategies, even market forces could be manipulated that could cause volatility in pricing.

The Disadvantages of Solar Energy

The cost. While solar energy is free, the cost of installation setbacks many household from installing it. Brand new solar energy generating systems are costly. Even though it tends to pay off overtime, initial cash out could range into several thousands of dollars depending on the quality and volume of generated power a household or an establishment would require. While solar energy technology has been around since the 1950′s it is only in recent years that its development was spurred. While costs of installation could also be subjective depending on the paying for capacity of a customer, the advantages that could be derived out of it is enormous although mostly in unquantifiable terms.

For mass consumption, distribution lines are required and this remains to be a big issue. Old antiquated distribution lines used to transfer electricity and other modes of fuel into the homes are clogged in many regions that to deliver solar energy power into the houses of consumers will require a different strategy.

Be that as it may, the benefits from solar power far outweigh its disadvantages. It is an excellent source of energy that it may soon be the norm in power generation.

Lastly, you got to check out the Energy Saving method that save the earth and my bill too. I didn’t know that I can make my own solar panel that only costs me less than one thousand dollar.


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One Response to “Solar Energy & the Advantages and Disadvantages”

  1. nick Says:
    April 26th, 2010 at 5:29 pm

    With solar energy industry in full acceleration mode now installers, project owners, investors have a tough job getting a good orientation among the hundreds of solar panel models coming from different manufacturers and vendors.
    PVbin.com is offering a consolidated database of all solar panels (photovoltaic modules) available commercially on the market now so buyers and engineers can checkout and compare parameters, features, prices, manufacturers, vendors.
    Solar energy panels come from different vendors and manufacturers (brands) and on the web pages of these you can only find the models they offer. In order to compare them one needs to search through the whole internet. Here is a website offering absolutely free database of all commercially available solar panels with functionality to search and sort by different data parameters: http://pvbin.com
    The website offers you to sort the panels by their efficiency. Efficiency of solar panels on that free website is calculated (from the rated power and surface area of the panel) so you do not need to rely on the quoted efficiency by the vendor/manufacturer which sometimes sways to cell efficiency or is otherwise incorrect. Both the calculated and cited efficiency is displayed.

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