The Cost of solar energy compared with cost of electricity
June 3rd, 2009 | by myarticlenetwork |Fossil fuels generate most of the electricity. An enormous demand of electricity is there but the amount of fossil fuel reserves are decreasing day by day. The demand for solar power is more since it is derived from natural resource like sunlight which is available in abundance. Solar electricity is now in limelight,earlier it was solar heating that was used for decades. The first solar powered stadium has been recently inaugurated at taiwan. In a big way the designed solar systems are fast replacing the electrical usage.
The concept of using solar power for homes has come a long way in a relatively short period of time. The sunlight is converted to electricity by solar technology using solar cells. One can utilize the generated electricity either directly or store it in batteries.This stored power is used for various applications like running tube lights,ice maker, computers, dishwasher, fans and TV etc. One of the major doubts that most of the people are what is the cost of solar energy? Is it of low value or high cost? Regardiing this let me share some information.
One of the major issues with the cost of solar energy has been that it costs more than electricity that is generated by conventional means. The Sun’s energy is free but the technology used to convert it to electricity is very costly. The cost of solar power for one unit is Rs 15 while it costs just Rs 1.19 per unit from coal. The value of solar power depends on the amount of power used by the consumer. More amount of amount means larger solar panels which comes at a higher price. To install a good home made solar water heater system it will cost $14000. One can reduce their monthly power bills coming from heating hot water to 50%. It costs around cost about $700 to $1000 to take a solar energy system big enough to power a computer and a few other small items.
The cost of solar power for your home depends on how much energy in kilowatt-hours (kWh) do you use per month. Investing by Dollars per Watt is the best way to choose solar panels. Photovoltaic panel prices have steadily been dropping at 3-5 percent per year for the last decade or so. However, prices may not seem all that low to you, because in general the technology is getting better, so each panel is making more watts than those of a few years ago.
Because of strong demand for large photovoltaic installations around the world, there has been a general shortage of new panels. The best places to look for PV panels are your local newspaper classifieds. The Banks & Government provides loan facilities for purchasing solar lighting and heating systems. If you buy the solar panels for your house, then your insurance company also insures them, just like they insure the rest of your household items.
Now solar enterprises are spreading the awareness on the huge potential demand for solar batteries in the domestic market supported by government and implementing low priced solar technology. The energy of sun is limitless for several generations,unlike the fossil reserves that power to the countries as long the resources are available. In future we will have solar farms that will be generating cheaper power for the entire neighbourhood without creating pollution.
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