Advantages of solar energy
1. Saves you money
The most lucrative advantage of solar power is that it is free, just the initial investment is needed after which the whole energy that you consume is completely free. This reduces the recovery period of the installation of the equipment. There are many financial incentives also that are given by the government for the users of geothermal energy. Another advantage is that there is no fuel required and thus no money spent on fuel either.
2. Environmentally friendly
Solar energy is one of the most environment friendly forms of energy, emitting no carbon or other pollutants that are emitted during the regular energy manufacture. There is an ample amount of sun and there is no need for burning of fuel of any sort and thus no gases are released reducing the risk of smog, acid rain etc and also reducing the greenhouse gases. The generation is also place specific, i.e. it is generated where it is needed.
3. Low or almost no maintenance
There is almost no maintenance required for a solar powering unit. There are no recurring costs and the panels can be easily expanded for the increasing needs of a unit. The unit with minimum care will last for decades and will provide free power at great advantages.
Disadvantages
The biggest problem is that the initial cost of the installation is high. The panels use semi-conducting materials and the cost of those is extremely high, even though once installed they last for decades the initial cost is still a pinch on the pocket. The price competitiveness of the solar energy is also a question, as the conventional supplied energy costs less than that initial installation. Due to the frequent shortages of energy, the demand for solar energy has gone up and thus so has the price. The area required to install a solar panel has to be large and exposed to the sun most of the time. To run an entire household on solar electricity the exposed area has to be quite large and thus it is difficult to maintain in small city apartments. The efficiency of the solar panel will depend on the fierceness that the sun will have, if it is a hot day you will have plenty of energy but if it is a cloudy day then there will be almost no energy production.
