The price of oil continues to rise, which means that it’s becoming more expensive to buy it. This is bad news for those looking to purchase a new car, as gas prices have a direct impact on the cost of driving. In times like these, you may want to consider your options for energy and find a more eco-friendly solution to power your home.
Although solar power is a sustainable solution and has a number of benefits, you should consider other options as well before committing to purchasing any solar panels. We’ve put together a list of reasons why you might want to look into other forms of energy generation before heading down the solar power route. From cost-effectiveness to backup power supply, here are our top five considerations when choosing – or reconsidering – your energy solution.
Cost-Effectiveness
The first and most important thing to consider when choosing an energy solution is how much it will cost you. Generating your own power with solar energy is generally very cost-effective because, as mentioned by the name, solar power is free. The sun provides the energy you need, so there’s no need to purchase expensive fuel to power generators. In 2011, the cost of fuel to generate power was $13.41 per megawatt hour, which is nearly four times the cost of electricity purchased from the grid ($3.80/MWh in 2011). However, this can vary depending on a number of factors. One significant factor is where you live. The further you live from the equator, the more energy you will need to generate. At the same time, the higher you go in elevation, the less energy you will need to generate.
The good news is that even if you live in a remote area where fuel costs a lot, you can still benefit from solar power. What’s great about solar power is that it’s not something that wears out or breaks down over time. Instead, you simply need to keep investing in it to maintain functionality. Considering that this is an investment that will last a lifetime and provide you with clean energy that you can depend on at all times, it’s well worth the cost.
Eco-Friendly
Another important thing to consider when choosing an energy solution is how eco-friendly it is. After all, you want to do your bit to help save the environment. We all love the sun and its bountiful supply of energy, but it is polluting our atmosphere and killing our wildlife. Instead of fueling polluting vehicles, why not use the power of the sun to generate electricity and spare some fuel? It is still a fact that solar power generation is one of the most eco-friendly and sustainable energy solutions around.
What’s great about solar power is that it doesn’t just help with electricity generation. If you have a green roof (or wall), you can use the sun’s energy to help water your plants. During the day, the sun provides enough energy for your home to operate, but at night, when it’s cooler and darker, solar panels can help ensure that your appliances and electronics don’t overheat and break down. This is why we recommend solar water heaters, which are also incredibly cost-effective.
Choosing an energy solution that is eco-friendly and sustainable is important not just from an environmental point of view but also from a cost perspective. After all, if you’re looking for long-term financial savings, going green may be the way to go. There are a number of eco-friendly solar solutions that you can purchase, from solar-powered water heaters to fully powered photovoltaics that generate electricity.
No Maintenance
It’s great when buying a new house that it doesn’t require much upkeep. Unfortunately, this is not the case when it comes to maintaining a PV (photo-voltaic) system. Unlike conventional heating and cooling systems that you may have in your home, which can be switched on and off using a remote, the panels on a PV system are always required to remain in constant operation. This means that you either have to purchase extra backup power or live with the uncertainty of whether or not your system will still function.
PV systems also require regular cleaning to ensure that they remain in good working order and to protect them from dust and pollution. Depending on the height of the sun, you may need to vacuum the panels or even blow them clean every few months. This is a very tedious and time-consuming process that many people shirk off, which results in many dysfunctional systems that never get cleaned. The good news is that there’s an easy solution to this problem: automatic vacuum cleaners that connect to the mains electricity supply and clean the panels without any intervention on your part. This may also mean that you don’t need to purchase an additional back-up power system to ensure constant electricity supply – depending on the type of equipment you have inside your home, this could be a significant cost-savings for you.
No Fuel To Waste
In today’s world, we are constantly reminded of the importance of conserving fuel. The prices of oil and gas continue to rise due to increased demand and speculation by big oil companies. This means that you may want to look into other forms of energy generation that do not require a constant fuel supply. The great thing about solar power is that the Sun will provide you with energy no matter what season or time of day it is. This means that you will always have energy available to you, even when the fuel economy of your car may be in hibernation.
Fuel-based power generation is certainly a convenient way to generate electricity, but it doesn’t represent sustainability. If you want to be truly eco-friendly, generation capacity is not the only factor you need to consider – you also need to look into the impact that burning fossil fuels has on the environment. You shouldn’t buy fuel-guzzling vehicles as a result, as this may lead to more pollution than if you just got off the grid entirely. The good news is that there are a number of renewable sources of energy that do not require fuel to generate, including the sun.
Resilience
When we think about the power of the sun and its ability to generate energy, we often think about how great it is during the day. While this is certainly the case, solar power is not limited to just day-to-day use and can be used at anytime to generate electricity, as long as the sun is out. The resilience of solar power lies in its ability to generate electricity even when the sun isn’t out, as in the winter months, or when it is cloudy, as in the winter months as well. This is why we recommend solar ponds, where water is used to store the sun’s energy during the day and generate electricity at night. It’s great to have a power supply that can generate electricity at all times, without requiring you to run around searching for a generator whenever the sun goes down.
Sustainable
When you choose an energy solution, it’s important to bear in mind that you are choosing a solution that is sustainable. This simply means that the energy you consume will be produced in a sustainable way – not from fossil fuels, not from a dirty energy source, and not at the expense of natural resources. When you generate your own power using solar energy, you are not only helping to reduce your carbon footprint but you are also doing your bit for the environment. You may also want to consider solar powered boats, where power is stored in batteries allowing you to travel to remote areas and charge up wherever you stop off. This way, you are not only reducing your fuel costs but you are helping to maintain a sustainable lifestyle – a win-win situation!
It’s important to remember that while solar power can be a great solution for your home, it is not the only solution. It is important to do your research and find out how reliable and cost-effective other forms of energy generation may be. From small-scale wind turbines that you can install yourself to giant solar thermal power plants that generate electricity using the sun’s heat, there are a variety of options to choose from.