Solar Power Advantages and Disadvantages - Part 3

Parts 1 and 2 of this article considered eight advantages of solar power that contribute to home life and eight advantages of solar power in portable applications.

The advantages and disadvantages of solar power may seem to be poles apart, but are they? Would the advantages and disadvantages of solar power, placed on a balance scale, be fairly equal or not?

This final segment of the article will look at disadvantages of solar power.

Disadvantages of Solar Power

Talk to a dozen people who are considering it, and you may hear a dozen different lists of advantages and disadvantages of solar power. Those lists may be based on economic factors, weather factors, or convenience. The list we present here includes five of the disadvantages you will want to consider.

1. Cost: Initial start-up cost of solar power is considerable. While a single solar panel that gives emergency back-up energy is reasonable, providing an entire photovoltaic cell array to power your home will cost thousands of dollars. This is an initial disadvantage, but when consideration is given to the years of maintenance-free solar power expected, the cost is rapidly defrayed. Government rebates, tax credits, and other incentives can cut initial costs. Sell excess energy to the power grid to further recoup initial solar power outlay.

2. Climate: Many are of the opinion that solar power is only realistic for those who live in the world’s sunniest, hottest climates. While it is true that these climates have a great advantage in solar power usage, climates with cloudier, cooler skies can also use solar power. Germany is proving this true. See our article: Solar Energy - What Countries Use It?

3. Cloudy Days: Are clouds a disadvantage of solar power? They can be. Solar power reaches a PV system as sunlight strikes the panels. Cloudy days are, therefore, not the best for generating electricity. Our article, Solar Panels - What Country Uses the Most? shows, however, that cloudy days need not be a disadvantage. Even when the sky is mostly cloudy, any sunlight breaking through will bounce off the bottoms of the clouds. This can actually give more solar power than a cloudless sky.

4. Storage: For some, the task of storing solar power is a disadvantage. To remain independent of the power grid, you need battery storage that will provide power during dark hours. Such batteries are readily available, however, and do not consume a huge amount of space. If you decide to remain tied into the grid, batteries are not needed. Your photovoltaic (PV) System will supply electricity to your home during the day. Any extra solar power electricity can be exported to the grid. At night, the grid meets remaining needs.

5. Space: PV solar power panels require space. Home systems can require the entire roof. Many find this unattractive, but they do not want to clutter their land with solar power panels. This disadvantage is being addressed with new products such as PV panels designed to blend into the roof. Modern PV panels supply more solar power with fewer panels, too, since efficiency has been increased.

Conclusion

Having looked at these advantages and disadvantages of solar power, we hope you will consider it only a beginning. Most things present disadvantages with advantages, but one will usually outweigh the other. We believe solar power is worth serious consideration.