Solar Energy Pros:
- Solar energy give off no pollution, the only pollution produced as a result of solar energy is the manufacturing of solar panels in factories, transportation of the goods, and installation.
- Secondly, solar energy is not location specific unlike certain other forms of energy. Regardless of whether a person is in a crowded city or in a remote village, in an arid desert or in a lush green forest, at sea or up in the mountains…solar energy is available to one and all.
- Sunlight is free.
- One of the great pros of solar energy is the ability to harness electricity in remote locations that are not linked to a national grid. A prime example of this is in space, where satellites are powered by high efficiency solar cells.
- Fossil fuel prices constantly fluctuate since they are dependent on certain global demand-supply factors. Solar power is completely devoid of any such complexities, simply because it is free
- Small solar power systems are easily installed.
- Solar panels can be installed on top of many rooftops, which eliminates the problem of finding the required space for solar panel placement.
- Solar energy is what you should aim at if you’re thinking of financial as well as energy savings. Other than the one-time purchasing cost of the solar panel, solar power is completely free for the rest of your life! Can you believe that? It is something that will forever be exempt from any sort of government tax or duty! Aha! Now I see you snapping to attention, with eyes wide open.
Solar Energy Cons:
- The main disadvantage of solar power is the initial cost. Solar panels are comparatively quite expensive mainly due to the material cost and the complexity of design involved. This can at times, prove to be a deterrent especially in case of homemakers and individuals who are contemplating a shift towards solar power..
- Cloudy weather, rainy conditions, etc., can interfere in the amount of sunlight that reaches the solar panel. This in turn affects the amount of energy and the power that is produced.
- Solar energy is only able to generate electricity during daylight hours. This means for around half of each day, solar panels are not producing energy for your home.
Overview
Above is a list of many solar energy pros and cons, and although not definitive, you can see how the number of pros relating to solar energy, greatly outweighs the cons of solar energy.
The main reason we are not seeing a large amount of solar energy technology installations is due to cost, and unfortunately, as the price of fossil fuels remains lower than the initial investment towards the currently available solar panels, we will not see a mass shift towards solar electricity production.