There’s been a lot of excitement when solar panel systems finally made its way to our homes. Solar power technology became more efficient in collecting energy from the sun, the generators became more efficient in converting that energy into electricity, and the batteries became more efficient in storing those generated electricity.
Together, the improvement of these components made solar energy systems efficient and compact enough that they can finally supply power to a home. In the long run, that means a lot of electricity bill savings and carbon emission reduction.
However, with all the wonderful things you might’ve heard about residential solar power systems, there is always something that they don’t tell you. Just to give you the complete picture, let me break down the advantages and disadvantages of residential solar panel systems.
Advantage 1 – Endless Supply
The sun, at least for the foreseeable future, is a perpetual source of energy. Unlike fossil fuels, sunlight doesn’t run out of supply. Short of the sun dying (let’s face it, if the sun died you won’t need your solar panel systems anyway), sunlight is an endless source of fuel for your solar panel systems that you can benefit from for the very long run.
Advantage 2 – Environmentally Friendly
If you ever had the urge to save the planet, or simply care about the future of the next generation, solar panel systems allow you to be part of the solution to the environmental crisis.
No other environmental crisis demands a sense of urgency than carbon emission (last time I checked we are not yet in danger of being overthrown with garbage, although we are getting close) and air pollution. Installing residential solar panels cover your part in the carbon emission and air pollution solution.
Advantage 3 – Economical
This is the benefit that attracts the most people. Solar panel systems are long-lasting, easy to maintain, and supply free electricity. What more can you ask for right?
For all those advantages, there are still disadvantages you can encounter along the way. Here they are:
Disadvantage 1 – Dependence on the Sun
The system’s strength is also its greatest weakness. As it uses sunlight as fuel, it is dependent on the sun which means in situations where in the sun is not cooperating, you’ll have inconsistency with your electric supply.
Think of cloudy days, typhoon seasons, or at night when the sun doesn’t shine as bright. Although battery systems are improving as the years go by, we are still a long way to go before we can store large amounts of energy for a long time on a compact battery.
Disadvantage 2 – Initial Cost
At this stage of development for the technology, solar panel systems are still expensive. The system itself is quite expensive together with installation cost. There are still no cheaper options (other than going DIY) and specialized professionals need to install the system to your home.
However, I can only see these costs dropping as economies of scale takes over when more and more people adapt solar technologies into their home.
Disadvantage 3 – Suitability of Your Home
The biggest drawback when it comes to solar panel systems is that they should be suitable for your home seamlessly. At the basic, you must have a roof that can handle the equipment. It should be tilted in an angle that catches sunlight optimally. Lastly, there should be no obstacles between the sunlight and the solar panel.
