Solar Panels for Home Solar PV Systems

Solar panels are the single most popular alternative energy choice for household use. While there are a couple of choices for alternative energy generation, year after year, most people who install an alternative energy generation system for home use choose a solar PV system over wind, water or another option. Why should you choose solar panels for your home?  There are a number of excellent reasons.

Most rooftops in the UK are suitable for generating electricity with a solar PV system.

One of the first questions most people ask when considering solar panels is whether a solar PV system will generate enough electricity to be worthwhile. The Department of Energy and Climate Change wondered the same thing, so they ran a study. According to their figures, about 85% of the buildings in the UK – including most residential buildings – are situated in such a way that solar panels could generate enough electricity to make up about 50% of the electricity used by the household.

Sunlight is Everywhere

Wind turbines are the closest competitor to solar panels for small household use. The problem with wind turbines is that far fewer locations in the UK get enough consistent wind to provide electricity consistently. And while you might think that the UK doesn’t get enough sunlight to consistently provide electricity for your needs, DECC notes that Germany, which has a very similar climate to the UK, has the highest adoption rate for solar panels of any other country in the world. The fact is that you don’t need bright, direct sunlight to generate electricity with solar panels. All you need is the UV rays, which easily penetrate cloud cover.

Solar PV Systems are Easy to Maintain

Once your solar panels are installed, the only maintenance they’ll require in the normal course of operation is a good cleaning once or twice a year. The system isn’t completely maintenance-free, of course. The inverter, a device that converts the direct current (DC) from the solar panels into alternating current (AC) that your electrical appliances can use, will probably need replacing after about 10 years. At current prices, that costs about £1,000.

Solar Panels are Low-Profile and Silent

Most solar panels can be installed directly on your roof where they won’t change the profile of your house at all. And unlike wind turbines, solar panels have no moving parts and make no noise at all in operation.

Solar panels are an excellent way to reduce your electrical costs, decrease your dependence on the electrical grid and cut your carbon footprint. When you choose a solar PV system to supplement the electricity you draw from the grid, you’ll be joining a growing number of people who use clean, green energy that doesn’t put additional stress on the planet.