People don’t often look at a roof with solar panels and think, “that’s a money-making piece of equipment.” Usually, the thoughts range from how the equipment is good for the environment to “that’s a lot of solar panels.” While those statements are true, solar technology possesses huge potential in terms of saving or making money. Read on to learn how effective solar panels can be, how they can be a good investment for families, and how they are also creating a brighter future for the environment.
Solar Panel Technology Today
Solar power technology continues to advance as experts and scientists learn more about harnessing the power of the sun to drive long-term energy use. Panels available today come in two styles, polycrystalline and monocrystalline, with efficiency and expense being the primary difference. Monocrystalline panels produce power more efficiently, but cost a lot more than their polycrystalline counterpart. Monocrystalline panels convert 20-22% of the son’s energy into electricity. Researchers continue to fine-tune these panels using different materials and production methods in the search for the most efficient form of energy creation.
One example of this research is a perovskite-based solar cell, a material like calcium titanium oxide which contains a special crystal structure. Panels made from crystal-based material are new and at first produced energy at a very low efficiency rate. Gradually scientists have managed to increase the efficiency so that it is approaching the efficiency of the best silicon-based panels. The benefits of this new material center primarily on the cost of production. Savings come from the relatively inexpensive material and the fact that the panels are easy to produce. However, scientists caution that panels based on this material will not be ready for commercial use for another decade.
Scientists believe that a combination of the materials, silicon and crystal, would produce electricity with greater efficiency than panels made from either of the materials alone. Because the two materials absorb solar energy at different wavelengths, researchers believe a panel made from both substances will have a multiplicative effect on collection efficiency.
Wealth Creation with Solar Energy
A huge factor driving the adoption of solar power technology lies in how it helps reduce expenses. Installing a solar system, while expensive upfront, will save money for that family every month and provide them some protection against fluctuating energy prices. The higher the cost of electricity in your area, the more sense it makes to consider investing in solar to reduce that monthly burden. In some areas, landowners can farm solar power and sell the energy to the utility companies, creating supplemental income.
Most states offer solar incentives for citizens and businesses to switch to green technology. These offers include a solar investment tax credit, numerous state tax credits, cash rebates from states, counties, electric companies, and other organizations, energy certificates, production incentives for those whose system puts power back into the grid, and more. Additionally, some states offer plans that help reduce the net cost of a solar-power system, offer subsidized loans to help in the upfront costs, exemptions for the system on your taxable property value, and even state tax exempt purchases of systems.
Securing Your Future with Solar
As many people begin to transition to green technology because they are concerned about the future of the environment, adopting solar power for producing electricity makes sense. Once the panels have been installed, they don’t have to pay more to make use of this abundant form of energy, they reduce their carbon footprint on the planet, and can help reduce their communities’ footprint by producing extra energy that the community can use. Solar energy also produces no CO2 or other greenhouse gases or carcinogens.
Solar power technology provides something that communities anywhere in the world can benefit from: independence. Many rural communities across the globe rely entirely on a large electricity company to provide them with the electricity they need. This can result in exorbitant prices, which further hampers the community’s ability to grow. Solar energy frees these people from this stranglehold on their lives, giving them a clean, reliable source of power.
This allows other forms of technology to come to them, including advanced communications systems, improved farming technology, and longer hours available for work that previously weren’t available due to lack of light. Water pumping stations built with solar-power technology provide a clean, reliable source of water for small communities whose growth was hindered by such factors. Electric lights reduce the use of candles or lamps that burn carbon-based products and emit potentially noxious fumes into enclosed spaces.
The long term benefits of solar power outweigh the short term drawbacks. Solar energy produces good, clean energy that frees people from dependence on electric companies or gives power to those for whom electricity was previously unavailable. The technology saves money, and some people can make more using solar-energy systems. It is efficient, produces income for those that adopt it, and creates a brighter future for the next generation.
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