Globally, millions of homes have gone off the power grid in the last three decades. In fact, from 1992 to 2018, the growth of solar panels has been near exponential. And during this period, solar panels have evolved from a niche market to a reliable source of electricity. In the United States alone, solar has grown at an annual average of 42% for the last decade, thanks to the numerous federal policies. Over 30 nations had reached grid parity by 2015.
Solar panels play a crucial role in sustainable living, and they are quite popular among environmentally conscious individuals. There are numerous benefits of installing solar panels from Solar Quote. Some of these advantages of solar energy include:
Top 8 Advantages of Solar Energy
Less Impact on the Environment
Compared to other energy sources, utilizing solar to power your house is ideal for the environment. Traditional energy sources like natural gas, oil, and coal are responsible for water and air pollution, greenhouse gases, and numerous toxic wastes that are still affecting our environment to date. In the U.S., electricity produced by fossil fuels accounts for more than 25% of the greenhouse gases emitted, including fluorinated gases, nitrous oxide, methane, and carbon dioxide.
Therefore, going off the power grid is highly commended by Your Energy Blog, as it’s one of the best ways to lower your carbon footprint. Solar energy lowers global carbon dioxide emissions by 200 to 300 metric tons, which is about 75% of Australia’s annual carbon dioxide emission.
Lower Your Utility Bill
By going off the grid partially or fully, you can lower your utility bills by between 50% and 100%. In fact, this is one of the main reasons why over 21% of Australian homes have adopted solar energy. Even though the initial investment can be quite high, this system will repay you for more than twenty years with zero electricity bills.
You can also benefit from the feed-in tariffs paid under numerous Australian states’ schemes to non-commercial energy producers. Therefore, if you produce more energy, you can sell it to the grid. Most states have adopted this as a means of encouraging homeowners to install solar panels.
It Is a Reliable Source of Energy
By going off the power grid, you stop relying on the traditional sources of energy that can be very unreliable at times. You will generate electricity using the solar panels on the roof that uses the sun’s energy and heat. Therefore, you will never have to worry about the ever-increasing electricity bills.
Over 85% of the world’s electricity is generated by non-renewable sources like coal. Unfortunately, non-renewable sources of energy are limited and will be depleted in the near future, but that is not the case with solar energy. As long as the sun shines, we will never run out of power. Therefore, you have an unlimited source of power without high monthly bills and power outages.
Low Maintenance
Unlike the non-renewable sources of electricity, solar systems are quite easy to maintain. Solar panels are durable items with a lifespan of over 20 years, and they will take a very long time before they require any major repair or maintenance. Plus, most of them come with warranties that cater to repairs. Therefore, the only maintenance you have to worry about is washing the dirt and dust off your panels a couple of times every year. You can even hire professionals to wash your panels twice per year, but make sure you remove the debris regularly.
Increase the Value of Your Home
Reducing your electricity bills is not the only advantage you can enjoy by going off the grid. Investing in a solar system can increase the value of your home. In fact, it will repay itself when you finally decide to sell your home. Research has confirmed that the more solar panels you have installed on your roof, the higher the value of the house, with an estimated increase of $6,000 per kW of Solar power in Australia.
A case study conducted by Lawrence Berkley national laboratories confirmed that installing solar panels can increase the value of your home by an average of about $14,329. In fact, homes with solar panels sell for 3.74% more than the ones on the power grid.
Houses With Solar Systems Sell Faster
If you have ever put any of your properties on the market, you might have realized that it’s quite difficult to focus on your other goals until you get the right buyer. And the only time you can move on with your life is after you sell the property. And that is because finding the right buyer can be quite frustrating. Therefore, you should be ready to upgrade your home and improve it in numerous ways, and one of the most effective solutions is installing solar panels. Installing a solar panel can make your home sell faster than the others. Compared to the ones without solar panels, your property will sell about 20% faster.
Solar Panels Can Generate Electricity in a Wide Range of Climates
One of the main advantages of solar systems is that they can work anywhere on the planet despite the climate. Whether it’s snowing, raining, or even in a hurricane, your solar system will generate electricity. A solar system can still generate electricity even when a small amount of sunlight reaches the panels.
Light to moderate snow has been proven to be very beneficial to solar panels as they help clean the panels when melting. Solar panels generate more electricity in places experiencing cold weather with high efficacy than in hotter places. And that is because high temperature tends to affect the solar panel’s efficiency.
Performance Guaranteed
Most solar panel manufacturers and service providers provide lengthy warranties to guarantee that the solar panels will serve you for a very long time. Solar panels come with two warranties: equipment and performance guarantee. Installing a solar panel from the best solar installers in Bakersfield ca offers 25 year bumper-to-bumper warranty to ensure your system is up to date, maintenance, running properly and also serve you for a very long time. Solar panels come with two warranties: equipment and performance guarantee.
A performance warranty guarantees 80% production for 25 years and 90% for 10 years. On the other hand, equipment warranties guarantee up to 12 years of service without fail. The panel’s warranty insurance protects the integrity of your system against premature wear and tear, environmental issues, and manufacturing defects. A warranty with a longer period can be advantageous to the homeowners.
Other components of the solar systems like the inverter come with their warranty, ranging between 5 and 15 years. But the average standard warranty period for most inverters is 10 years. But some manufacturers extend the inverter’s warranty to about 20 years.
Final Thoughts
Although the initial investment can be quite high, one of the main benefits of solar panels is that it can repay itself with time. All the upfront costs are repaid by selling some of the generated electricity to the grid and zero electricity bills every month. And in 25 years, you should expect to receive at least twice your initial investment. In some countries like the United States, the numerous tax incentives and rebates homeowners enjoy by installing solar panels help reduce their initial investment by about 50%.
