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Advantages and disadvantages of solar energy
The benefits of solar energy essay
Importance of solar energy
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Are you one of the million people in America struggling to pay with electric bills? Well solar energy would definitely help you a lot in your life and will support you from the beginning, all the way to the end. It uses renewable energy so you don’t have to waste as much money as you did before! It’s great for the environment and causes no pollution whatsoever once you install it. Many people all around the globe uses solar panels for especially their houses because it’s a great thing to have for yourself, and the economy. The three crucial reasons why you should use solar energy is because of low maintenance, abundant, renewable energy, and due to it’s reducing of electricity costs.
One reason why solar energy helps is because it reduces electricity costs. Electric bills could be catastrophic for some families and many people may be struggling to pay with other types of bills too. That’s where solar energy comes in and is a great substitute for electrical energy. Adding solar panels to your home can bring in monthly savings of above $100 in many states such as Hawaii which residents there save on average $64,000 after an estimated 20 years! You save more money and waste less energy which is what we really need nowadays in life. Going solar can help save you tons of money you never imagined to have before
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and definitely keeps the economy healthy and flowing. Many people who own solar panels spend an average of $1,217.63 less per year than on electricity which includes the cost of the solar panels. This shows how solar panels can help you a lot financially and save you thousands of dollars a month! Another essential reason why solar panels and solar energy is good for your home is because of low maintenance.
Today’s solar panels do not require a lot of maintenance that most people expected it to have. Normally, residential solar panels usually require cleaning only a couple of times a year. Solar cells run for a long period of time and do not release any toxic substances or create any noise. Many people may think that initial costs are abrupt, but there are fundamentally zero recurring costs and could be recovered in the future which range from 10 years to about 15 years. Again, solar panels do not require a lot maintenance and is definitely worth the
buy. The last critical reason why solar panels are great for homes is because of abundant, renewable energy. We will have access to solar energy as long as the sun is alive which is an estimated 6.5 billion years according to NASA. We can not run out of solar energy as opposed to non-renewable energy and we can keep using it continuously as long as we want. This really affects our lives in a good way knowing that we can keep using it as much as we want while we keep our environment nice and clean. It can also reduce our dependance on other countries for a persistent amount of coal to produce electricity. This way we are not only saving our country energy sources, but others too. Although solar energy can not be produced during nighttime and cloudy days, it can be used consistently during day time. These studies prove how us humans will have unlimited energy throughout the day. Again, solar energy is a great thing to purchase and could help support many people in life. As explained, it reduces electricity costs, provides low maintenance, and is an abundant, renewable type of energy. It’s great for the environment and will cause no pollution once installed! Step by step, we are making the world greener and keeping the earth a healthy place to live in. As people begin to understand the benefits provided by solar energy, the more we strive in keeping the earth a better place to live in.
Preview: Today I will discuss the potential that solar power has to become this country’s main supply of energy and the latest research that can make solar power more efficient and cost effective. I will also present the environmental benefits that come with using solar power over other and more harmful forms of energy.
Introduction “What has become clear from the science is that we cannot burn all of the fossil fuels without creating a very different planet.” -James Hansen . Fuel plays a very significant role in the day to day aspects of life, to an extent where we see it trending as an essential need and a vital source for survival. Defiantly as the quote mentioned previously stands, we cannot consume these limited fuel sources without producing a mutant planet far from what we know of.
Zweibel, K.(2010, July 19). Should Solar Photovoltaics be Deployed Sooner Because of Long Operating Life at Low Predictable Costs? Energy Policy, Volume 38, Issue 11, November 2010, Pages 7519-7530. Retrieved August 12, 2011 from http://solar.gwu.edu/Research/EnergyPolicy_Zweibel2010.pdf
Although solar seems to be excluded from most of the disadvantages listed above tied to using renewable energy sources, it still has two big main disadvantages. The first being that, it is impossible to shut off. The fact that there is no way to shut these solar panels off makes them prone to catch fire. This is harmful to the place they are located. It is especially bad when people put them on their roofs which can cause house fires. Another big issue with solar is that it takes a lot of room for the amount of energy that it produces. According to the U.S. Energy Information Association to produce 1 MW of solar energy, assuming that your panels are located in price sunny locations, it takes 7.4 acres of solar panels. When you compare it to the nuclear reactors that produce on average 770MW for approximately 500 acres of land. To produce the same amount of energy as one single nuclear reactor you would need approximately 5698 acres of land which is 11 times the amount of space that nuclear
The United States currently relies heavily on coal, oil, and natural gas for its energy. While the price of natural gas per barrel continues to plummet, the United States is constantly seeking new sources of renewable energy. Renewable energy consists of any type of natural resource (solar power, ocean power, wind power, rain, snow, etc.) that naturally and automatically replenishes itself. Renewable energy is important because it is infinite and everlasting, meaning our children and our children’s children will be able to utilize these resources long after we are gone. I believe the only way the United States and the world will see a large-scale transition to renewable energy sources is through education. Right now, it seems as though only a few pockets of people throughout the world are aware of the positive benefits of renewable energy sources. Not only is it better and cleaner for our environment, but the industry of renewable energy could also
I think I went through a similar debate as you when trying to answer this question. On the one hand, like you, I read a lot of research that described the opt-out system as having a higher success rate of organ donations. Although, on the other hand, I think it is important for people to have a choice as to what happens to their body. I do recognize that you are still able to opt-out under the opt-out approach, but I think the more ethical system would be one in which you must choose to participate, not choose to not participate. With that being said, I agree that I too am not completely opposed to the opt-out approach. It's just that I too usually lean more towards the pro-choice side. The fact that, in the opt-out system,
Two people who believe this are reporters at the Breit Bart News Network. Julian Morris and Victor Nava believe that, “‘Green’ energy subsidies benefit the politically connected while harming future generations as hundreds of millions of dollars are added to the country’s debt burden with each green failure.” In a way Morris and Nava are correct. According to Mathias Aarre Maehlum, “Residential solar systems are typically sized from 3 to 8kW and end up costing between $15,000 and $40,000.” This can add up to become very expensive when implementing solar energy throughout the country. However, with the advancements in technology growing every year the cost will decrease over time. The cost of implementation can in fact go down as well through the use of community solar gardens. This helps the homes that are shaded and cannot absorbs the Sun’s energy. The energy from the community solar gardens are shared through out those homes. Switching to solar energy can also save money over time. Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association confirms this. Resch says, “Today, the solar industry employs nearly 175,000 Americans and pumps more than $15 billion a year into the U.S. economy – and we’re just scratching the surface of our enormous potential” (qtd. in
In an article published by Mother Earth News, “The price of a PV panel has dropped 63 percent since 2010, bringing utility-scale system costs down to $1.85 per watt” (Roberts). For the businesses and homeowners that are environmentally savvy and wish to save on their electricity bills, solar power is closing the distance between it and fossil fuels. Not only has the cost of producing electricity by solar panel decreased over the years, the cost of instillation has decreased also. According to an article in the Buffalo News, “cost of solar energy systems also has dropped.
Solar thermal energy is not the best way to heat your home and hot water because it is a very inefficient system. For example Martin Holladay from Green Building Advisor suggests that solar thermal energy is inconsistent. During the long days of summer more hot water is produced than what is needed. But during the dark, cold winter there is not enough hot water (parag. 6-9). This demonstrates that this method of heating is inconsistent and unreliable. During the winter when you need the heat the most, you will not have it. Plus in the summer, when hot water is not needed as much, hot water is produced in large amounts but there is no way to store it for a long time period which makes the system inefficient. As Michael Wolfe states “Devices cannot generat...
I have already written about the obvious benefits of going solar. There are other benefits as well that decrease the impact on our earth over time. Solar panels and battery banks have a life of 25-35 years and don't need anything more than general cleaning, snow removal and monthly water filling. Solar energy is the cleanest and purest form of energy, allowing for cleaner air overall in our environment. There is great hope for a lot more solar panels to be installed worldwide.
The majority of people look for tax reliefs. Tax benefits by any government are good for the improvement of general public’s lifestyle. Many governments provide lots of support to corporations for solar energy usage in the world. This type of tax benefits motivates to rising electricity generation from solar energy by the residence on their properties to receive more significant tax incentives. "these kinds of methods expand solar usage and reduce production cost due to mass usage " (Wright, 2013). Some state legislatures are now using solar power as an economic and strategic measure to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, the overloaded electrical grid, and foreign energy sources. Solar energy also reduces energy costs, improves efficiency,
There are many benefits of using solar water heaters. Sunlight is free and environmentally friendly and this planet has so much to use(“Getting better acquainted”). The sun’s energy is renewable, suns energy is all over the world (“Getting better acquainted”). Solar energy has many uses, and it can be stored and used. “Solar energy can be used in many ways to provide heat, lighting, mechanical power, and electricity” (“Getting Better Acquainted”). New steps are being made in solar technology to save resources. America will save so much money and many barrels of oil by switching to solar power, “Skyrocketing fuel prices and tax credit of nearly 30% established in the energy policy act of 2005”(“Tapping into the sun”). The solar water system won’t cost much only “$3000 to $6000” (“Tapping into the sun”) so it will be affordable. “The technology can cut the average family’s costs to heat water by 20 to 40 percent (as much as 90% in some southwestern regions)”(“Tapping into the sun”).
This kind of power is completely free, right? Why should we put a lot of expense on other sources of energy, when there is a complete free and healthy power? It is evident that solar energy is a healthy source of energy, which will help stop global warming altogether, but it is economically efficient to switch everything to solar energy. Solar energy is capable of becoming the world's future power supply because, it is renewable, eco-friendly, and extremely efficient when strategically placed. Solar energy is clean energy that does not affect our environment.
The Earth captures around 342 W/m2 of energy from the sun. This energy is in the form of solar radiation, which the atmosphere reflects about 77 W/m2 and will absorb around 68 W/m2 of solar radiation annually. Therefore, the Earth’s surface is receiving, on average, about 197 W/m2 of solar radiation annually. This amount of energy received is roughly more than 10,000 times the amount of all energy humans consume per year. This energy can be used to produce electricity or heat. This energy source is not being used to it’s potential considering how much effort would come into effect to store and transport this energy.
When the sun heats the panel, it generates clean energy, which does not pollute the environment. All in all, the costs of solar power might not be applicable when it is certainly the best way to have a clean environment.