Self Sufficient Home Energy: 6 Lies You May Have Heard
Solar power is not perfect and power from the grid is far from ideal.
One is obviously more enviro-friendly than the other...
or is it? If you are debating about adopting self sufficient home energy, this article will help put to rest these falsehoods.
By crashing down the lies you`ve heard about solar power, you will be able to make an informed decision about whether self sufficient home energy is right for you and your family.
1) The number one lie is that: It Takes More Energy and More Pollution is Created by Manufacturing Solar Panels than can be Compensated by the Solar Energy Produced by the Solar Panels.
This lie is just not true.
It has been proven that it only takes one year to compensate for the pollution created by the production of that solar panel.
An average solar panel will last approximately 25 years.
Therefore, in one year, the negative impacts of building that solar panel will be negated, leaving behind only clean naturally produced power.
Not bad at all.
Plus, keep in mind that Over 90% of an average solar panel is recyclable, such as aluminum, glass and the solar cells themselves! 2) The second common lie about solar power is that it only works in the hottest areas in the world and work best in summer because it`s hotter.
Actually, solar panels work in almost all areas in the world.
The world`s leader in solar power at the moment is Germany and they are pretty north wouldn`t you say! Solar power will work anywhere from Alaska to Africa.
Of course, the panels will gather more energy in super sunny regions but more is not necessarily better.
Solar panels do not tolerate high heat for long periods of time.
The hotter it is, the less efficient the panels become.
So, a balanced climate is actually better for solar panels to function at their peak.
3)Solar panels don't work on cloudy days This is not true, they do work.
Even in 100% overcast conditions, solar panels still work and crank out enough clean electricity to produce power can even put a little bit more away into batteries.
Cloudy conditions will reduce production, but it depends on the degree of how much of daylight is blocked.
4)I can sell my extra energy to the hydro company and have power during blackouts.
While it is true that if you set yourself up with a grid connect solar power system, you can sell your extra power to the hydro company, you won`t have any power during power outages if you do so.
It`s a great feeling to have the hydro company paying you for power instead of the other way around! However, if you are exporting power into the grid during a blackout, you could very well electrocute the workers that are trying to fix the problem! And keep in mind that these grid connect systems cost more.
For reliable self sufficient home energy during blackouts, keep your power for yourself and store your extra juice in batteries at home.
5)You can get all the energy you need from an average sized solar power system With so many energy requirements in today`s homes, the amount of energy you will actually need to power all those appliances, tools, gadgets and electronics in a typical home, is a lot more power than you may think.
The best way to find out how big a system you need is to look at your hydro bill to figure out how many kilowatt hours you use per month.
Divide that by 4-5 peak daylight/sunlight hours and you will find out approximately how big a system you will need to install to obtain that kind of power.
Of course, if your biggest energy suckers: stove, dryer and heating system can be setup to run on a different kind of fuel such as propane or wood, you will be saving dramatically in kilowatts.
Consider any other energy efficient measures you can that will reduce the size of system you need.
Even if solar power is green, saving in energy is even greener! 6)Solar Power Costs an Arm and a Leg It depends...
While solar power at home is definitely not as cheap as just sticking with what you already have: the hydro company, it does pay for itself over time.
Of course, initially, you will have to fork over some well earned cash to set yourself up with solar power but there are ways to reduce this pain.
There are green loans to help you make the transition and all kinds of government incentives to reduce the initial costs of going solar.
Keep in mind too that as time goes on, and consumer demands goes up, prices come down.
One is obviously more enviro-friendly than the other...
or is it? If you are debating about adopting self sufficient home energy, this article will help put to rest these falsehoods.
By crashing down the lies you`ve heard about solar power, you will be able to make an informed decision about whether self sufficient home energy is right for you and your family.
1) The number one lie is that: It Takes More Energy and More Pollution is Created by Manufacturing Solar Panels than can be Compensated by the Solar Energy Produced by the Solar Panels.
This lie is just not true.
It has been proven that it only takes one year to compensate for the pollution created by the production of that solar panel.
An average solar panel will last approximately 25 years.
Therefore, in one year, the negative impacts of building that solar panel will be negated, leaving behind only clean naturally produced power.
Not bad at all.
Plus, keep in mind that Over 90% of an average solar panel is recyclable, such as aluminum, glass and the solar cells themselves! 2) The second common lie about solar power is that it only works in the hottest areas in the world and work best in summer because it`s hotter.
Actually, solar panels work in almost all areas in the world.
The world`s leader in solar power at the moment is Germany and they are pretty north wouldn`t you say! Solar power will work anywhere from Alaska to Africa.
Of course, the panels will gather more energy in super sunny regions but more is not necessarily better.
Solar panels do not tolerate high heat for long periods of time.
The hotter it is, the less efficient the panels become.
So, a balanced climate is actually better for solar panels to function at their peak.
3)Solar panels don't work on cloudy days This is not true, they do work.
Even in 100% overcast conditions, solar panels still work and crank out enough clean electricity to produce power can even put a little bit more away into batteries.
Cloudy conditions will reduce production, but it depends on the degree of how much of daylight is blocked.
4)I can sell my extra energy to the hydro company and have power during blackouts.
While it is true that if you set yourself up with a grid connect solar power system, you can sell your extra power to the hydro company, you won`t have any power during power outages if you do so.
It`s a great feeling to have the hydro company paying you for power instead of the other way around! However, if you are exporting power into the grid during a blackout, you could very well electrocute the workers that are trying to fix the problem! And keep in mind that these grid connect systems cost more.
For reliable self sufficient home energy during blackouts, keep your power for yourself and store your extra juice in batteries at home.
5)You can get all the energy you need from an average sized solar power system With so many energy requirements in today`s homes, the amount of energy you will actually need to power all those appliances, tools, gadgets and electronics in a typical home, is a lot more power than you may think.
The best way to find out how big a system you need is to look at your hydro bill to figure out how many kilowatt hours you use per month.
Divide that by 4-5 peak daylight/sunlight hours and you will find out approximately how big a system you will need to install to obtain that kind of power.
Of course, if your biggest energy suckers: stove, dryer and heating system can be setup to run on a different kind of fuel such as propane or wood, you will be saving dramatically in kilowatts.
Consider any other energy efficient measures you can that will reduce the size of system you need.
Even if solar power is green, saving in energy is even greener! 6)Solar Power Costs an Arm and a Leg It depends...
While solar power at home is definitely not as cheap as just sticking with what you already have: the hydro company, it does pay for itself over time.
Of course, initially, you will have to fork over some well earned cash to set yourself up with solar power but there are ways to reduce this pain.
There are green loans to help you make the transition and all kinds of government incentives to reduce the initial costs of going solar.
Keep in mind too that as time goes on, and consumer demands goes up, prices come down.
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