A Look At The Pros And The Cons Of Solar Energy
May 26th, 2009 | by myarticlenetwork |We can be fairly sure that the energy we use in the future will be solar energy. We can take a look at the pros and cons of solar energy to decide if we can live with it.
Future energy supplies will be solar powered but most of the energy we use today came originally from the sun. The oil we use today has been produced thanks to the energy from the sun allowing plants to grow millions of years ago. It took a long while but slowly all the forests were turned into oil which supplies us with energy.
We are now starting to see a time when the oil is all used up and our growing realization that our current energy use is destroying the environment we need to survive on this planet. We can bypass the natural process and collect the suns rays directly on solar energy panels and convert this into electricity.
The pros of solar energy are that it is clean and doesn’t pollute the air we breathe or the water we drink. There is no cost for solar power except the cost of the equipment you need to collect it. A correctly installed solar system is almost maintenance free once it is set up.
So what are the cons of solar energy? The biggest disadvantage is the cost of the solar panels and invertors required to supply the energy needs of your home. You can buy a diy solar panel kit which makes it more economically viable. You don’t get to collect solar energy at night and even during the day solar works best in hot sunny climates.
If you begin collecting solar energy you will find that the solar panels are not very efficient at converting solar power to electricity. They do cost quite a large chunk of money when you purchase one. The cost of purchase and installation does take a few years to recoup from the savings on energy bills.
So there are some pros and cons of solar energy panels but you try and find me another investment that once paid for gives you money for nothing and the benefits of solar energy panels are clear. It doesn’t take many years for the savings on energy costs to replace the money spent on purchase and installation and then it is all pure profit when we save on energy costs.