By Adrianna Noton

With the new green energy movement, many people are seeing more and more of these dark panels on nearby roofs. It is enough to make people wonder what the benefits of solar panel installation truly are. There are many, although these devices are not without their downsides, just like most other technology.

Panels capture energy from sunlight and store it in a battery as electricity. This energy is then run from the panels into your home, and powers your appliances, electronics, and other things such as electric water heaters or air conditioners. Because the energy is stored, you have access to it during the night as well as during the day when it is being generated.

Unlike energy created by burning coal, gasoline, or other fossil fuel sources, the sun is ‘free’ energy. The energy captured by these panels would otherwise be doing nothing more than perhaps raising the temperature of your roof a few fractions of a degree. And the sun will never run out out, at least not while the earth is capable of supporting human life.

Although the initial cost of installing panels can be high, many people never pay an electric bill again. The panels do not last forever and do have to replaced eventually, but depending on how much electricity your household uses, you can save a lot of money. A few cities, counties and green organizations offer rebates for purchasing the panels, as well.

Newer models are capable of collecting sunlight even on hazy or overcast days. It used to be that panels were only good for bright, sunny areas. But because sunlight does filter through the cloud layer, evident by the fact that even on a cloudy day it is not as dark as nighttime, engineers have focused on figuring out how to capture it. Now, there are panels that can.

If you are hooked up to the electric grid, many electric companies will purchase your excess. This may enable you to recoup some of the cost of the system, or keep your electric bill over the year effectively at zero while using more in the winter and less in the summer. It’s also a great way to make sure that you are never without power, because either the electric company or the panels should be providing energy.

For people who live off the grid, panels eliminate the need to live without electricity. They may make that new home you’ve always wanted on a parcel of land that is way off the beaten path more realistic. Having the electrical grid extended to include a home like this can be an expensive proposition, and panels are often a cheaper way to make sure you can turn on a reading lamp and take a hot shower.

The benefits of solar panel installation are many and varied. However, it is an outlay of often a significant amount of money, and not everyone is able or willing to do this. For the benefit of the earth and future generations, however, it is important that we move towards greener sources of energy, and panels are one of the great and realistic ways to do this during modern times.

About the Author: In Canada, solar panel are becoming a priority. It’s time for the world to invest in solar panels systems, we are all responsible for our carbon footprint and should be actively trying to live greener.

Source: isnare.com

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