Solar Energy- It's Pros & Cons.

As the name suggests, Solar energy is the energy from the sun. Solar panels use sunlight to produce electricity. These panels are generally mounted on the roof and angled to face the sun. Countries all around the globe  are using solar energy to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and making it as a sizable share of their energy supply. Solar PV systems are being used in large numbers by roof owners to reduce their monthly electricity bills due to  less need of electricity from utility companies and this results in extra savings to them.

Solar energy has now become an incredibly important part of the world that we live in. However, there are a lot of things that we need to consider if we are going to include solar energy as part of our life.

In this article, we’re going to take a closer look at solar energy and its pros and cons so that one can make an intelligent & informed decision about whether or not this is the right choice for him and his family to consider when switching your energy resources.

Solar Energy- It’s Pros.

1. Clean Energy Source: First & foremost is that “Solar systems  do not pollute” ; the only pollution that occurs is during manufacture  of solar panels & its other accessories in industrial facilities & the transportation of the system components.. That means, once solar roof top system is  actually installed on your home, it is doing absolutely nothing negative to the atmosphere; & this is a huge difference from other forms of standard energy.

2. Renewable and Sustainable: Solar energy is a RENEWABLE source of energy which means we will not run out of it. Unlike fossil fuels, which will expire in another few decades, solar energy is never going to expire. We will continue to get solar energy as long as sun is there. Apart from being renewable, solar energy is sustainable. Sustainable simply means to be able to meet the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future generations. Sun is going to last for another 6.5 billion years,( according to NASA) and there is no way that we could over consume it!

3. Power Remote Areas: One of the most incredible benefits of solar energy is its capability to bridge in the  power gap  in remote areas that are not connected to a national electrical grid.  The establishment of solar panels in remote areas is substantially more financially viable than laying the high voltage wires that are necessary to provide these areas with electricity. Solar energy is & can  be extremely productive in an remote regions of the globe.

4. Can be Installed on Rooftops: Solar panels can be installed on any number of roofs, which wipes out the issue of trying to find enough space for solar panel arrangement. Since most of the roofs either on residences or on any factory or commercial buildings are not being used, installing Solar panels on them not only save you space, but it can also end up saving you a lot of money as well. Even though the initial cost of solar systems can be high, depending on how large they are and other factors (we will talk more about this in the “cons”), they give us a free supply of power, which means that they will eventually pay for themselves in the long run.

5. Reduce Electricity Bills: The utilization of solar energy to create power allows you and your family to be free of the limitations of fossil fuels that could negatively affect the power that your home is able to use on a regular basis. Moreover, homeowners can sell surplus electricity generated to utility companies to reduce their monthly electricity bill.

6. Availability: Sunlight is available throughout the world and can easily be harnessed by every  body. The only drawback is that it can only be used during daytime. It is estimated that the world’s oil reserves will last for about 50-60 years, whereas sunlight is available forever and can be utilized till the end of this planet.

7. Low Maintenance: Modern solar PV systems require less maintenance as they don’t involve any moving parts and typically  last for about 25 years. They require few meters of space for residential use and require cleaning a few times a month.

8. Silent: The creation of energy from the use of fossil fuels and other renewable energy sources (e.g. wind turbines) cant be incredibly noisy, but solar energy produces power quietly. This way, you won’t have to worry about adding noise  pollution to the area that you live in either, which will make it that much more pleasant for your family and those who live around you. They operate silently and are therefore favored by many people.

Cons of Solar Energy

1. Initial Cost: The most significant con of solar energy is how much it costs to install the solar panels on your home. Presently, costs of the best quality solar systems might be above Rs 75,000/- per KW, and a most families may require more than 1 KW.  An average family requirement would be  around 5-7 KW. This makes the starting cost of solar systems expensive.

2. Produce Power During Day: Solar energy is only capable of producing power during the daytime (when the sun is out). This implies that, for around half of the day, solar panels are not delivering energy for your home. The climate and weather patterns of your area can influence how well your solar panels work as well.

3. Solar Panels Effectiveness:  If there is already air pollution in your area, it could cause some problems for you. Pollution levels can influence solar panel’s effectiveness; this would be a significant con for organizations or industries that are looking to introduce solar panels in high pollution zones .

4. Large Area for Setup:

If you own a business that wants to use solar energy, another issue which   may come up is the large area required for higher capacity plants. You may not be able to fit them on the roof of your building, and you may need to have a large area of land to to set your panels in so that the right amount of power can be produced.

5. Expensive Storage: Solar power is also utilized to charge batteries for the home or business, so that during the evening and night  hours you will still have access to power. These batteries are heavy and large and expensive. You’ll need to find somewhere to store them, and you will have to replace them occasionally, which can add to the cost.

Solar Energy: The New Way of Life

Solar energy is a perpetual, highly reliable & green form of energy that gives all of us an energy efficient way to power our home, community & businesses. The understanding of solar power’s relevance & need in today’s world should be propagated right from the junior academic level, in order to boost the acceptability of this noble technology.

 However, solar can be confusing even to adults, let alone the children at junior schools due to the scale of economy & time involved with its ROI. Still, let’s try to understand solar energy basics and its importance. We all know that “energy can neither be created nor be destroyed”, It can only be transformed from one form to another and we also know that the sun is the ultimate source of energy which means if we use and tap its potential, solar energy can be instrumental in solving the current energy crisis. Solar energy generally refers to a conversion of radiations into electricity, as this is the most common and viable practice.

Sunlight falls on the Solar Panel made up of semiconductor material where atomic elements like electrons show activity; as a result electricity is produced in proportion to the incident radiation. It is really simple and awesome that solar power can be used to power anything from calculators, road signs to bigger things like buildings, planes and your home.

Now the question, which arises, is that how can this noble Technology be used to bring practical and sound ground changes in the energy sector?

The answer to this is that we need to lower our dependence on fossil fuels at places where Renewable Sources like solar can be brought into effective use like lighting houses, Commercial buildings, Stadiums and even generate commercial power at solar power stations. Fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum oil cause damage to our environment with Harmful emissions like CO, SOX etc. Not only that, its depleting reserve make it a precious entity whereas solar energy is abundantly available. In order to use this abundantly available source energy, we need to put solar panels on our roof so that whenever sunlight falls on the panel it is directly converted into the energy that can be used at home i.e. electricity.

When we go solar, we produce energy for ourselves, which means the bill will be a lot lower and with lower bills we can indulge in more fun things like going on a family vacation, watch a movie or going to a restaurant.

Thus, we can say using solar panel save our hard earned money and helps in saving the planet too.

Go Green: Meaning & Relevance for GenXY

Go Green­ these two words have been most written, talked about & in most cases most abused these days. Information channels like the Internet, television, Radio or human channels like NGOs & government, each one of them has something to say about this topic on a regular basis. But after so much of clamour around, it feels “All show & no go”, when we see the ground reality.

Going Green means taking steps to improve or at least preserve the state of our planet. The much-hyped industrial revolution has done plenty of good in terms of technological advancement of our generation and those to come but has also caused irreparable and immense damage to the environment in the process.

If you continue to be on the same path and continue to use the resources rapidly and haphazardly, the nature will ruin to the state of not being able to restore it back to its healthy self.

Thus, we as elements of the civilization and children’s of mother earth should mend our ways and do anything, whether it is small or big to help earth “go green again”.

There can be countless ways by which we can contribute, like:

● Use the principal of 3R’s ­ Recycle, reuse & reduce in your daily life by using recyclable or biodegradable products, & by mitigation the amount of waste we produce.

● Not taking your car when not necessary or carpooling.

●Using less electricity or use some renewable source of energy like, solar & much more.

Acts like these seems to have negligible effect individually but when we club it together we billions of people around the globe it forms an immense sea of change both on the global footprint as well as the quality of standard of living.

But if this is the case, why are people still not convinced and are living the same way they use to live 300 years ago, because people come to think of it on two fronts scientific & economic & both of them take time to show results & today’s generation is impatient. Scientifically, people think, “ ok my daily activities are causing Global warming, Air pollution, Ecological imbalance, Rise in the water level etc.”

Feels remorse and resolve to be better but within hour’s turns back to their usual way saying, “ life is still going on why should I worry”. Economically, people think “ yeah! It might save me some money down the line in 5 years time, if I use solar energy to light my house but why should I pay the hefty starting amount, I am ok with this conventional source of energy. Which goes on to show that there is still not much information and knowledge centers to convince people to Go Green.

It will require even bigger media attention, community awareness camp modeled as the UIDAI camps and most of all much developed ecological conscience of modern world. Ecological conscience should be deep rooted in young as well as grownup minds, constantly warning us of how grave is the threat we face.

We should realize that we couldn’t improve the earth unless we change our habits & mindsets and thus require overhauling the mindset of the society as whole. Renewable energy sources like sun, water and wind all have great potential to fulfill current and future energy demand by causing zero damage compared to the prevalent fossil fuels and by using them we could be doing great service to the earth and our future generations.

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