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Solar energy is an incredibly profound source of energy today being used by so many households and businesses to power their buildings, with the world wanting to be more environmentally friendly due to the effects of climate change as well as the impacts of the cost of living, the cost of solar panels have fallen by 60% in the last ten years leaving them more affordable than ever! Which has impacted people’s decisions to buy solar panels even more seeing as solar energy is seeing a surge in popularity due to the many advantages along with its increasing relevancy.
Solar panels are very reliant on sunlight, whereas, in a place like the UK where overcast and gloomy weather is the norm, opportunities for sunlight are few and far between where if there is any electricity and energy being generated on a day like that it won’t be as much as there usually would be.
With the weather being so unpredictable sometimes reliability may be a hindrance to its mainstream relevancy but there have been advances made where direct sunlight isn’t needed, which is why photovoltaics (PV) have been made so solar panels don’t need to work in direct sunlight using available photons in direct and indirect sunlight so they’re able to be used in any weather conditions – which shows how dedicated manufacturers are for solar energy to be more widely used!
Impact from the cost of living
Even though the cost of living has had its impacts, making investing in solar panels still seeming like a lot, the amount of advantages solar energy has including saving money and cutting down on electricity bills make the prices so much more worth it in the long run especially because of the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) Programme it means that any unused energy will be sent to the national grid and large energy providers will pay you back per kilowatt which could be from 4p-15p per kilowatt!
Solar energy still has its relevancy today and looks to be unchanging in the future with the number of homes and businesses across the world using solar energy constantly increasing with almost 100 million homes worldwide! Using solar energy to power their homes and governments advocating for households to be built with solar panels showing that they have quite the long lifespan since it’s been the reusable energy of choice by many governments, with 8/10 MP’s backing new houses being built with solar panels.
Why solar energy above all others?
Solar energy is a constant source of energy being able to be reused, unlike fossil fuels which are single-use and will eventually run out, however, the sun will be there forever making it an eternal source of energy, solar energy is also generally cost effective whereas mining fossil fuels costs a lot of money which is reflected in prices from energy providers, making solar energy an easier and more accessible alternative because of the sun always being present, where fossil fuels are becoming harder to mine for, making sunlight a more reliable resource as opposed to fossil fuels!
Compared to the power generated from fossil fuels, the energy from them is generally more efficient than solar panels. Solar panels can reach up to 20% efficiency whereas fossil fuels can reach up to 40-60% which can make for the argument that solar energy is not as relevant or can’t stand up to more traditional methods of making energy because by comparison it’s less efficient – however advances in technology are always being made, and the more popular and widespread solar energy becomes, the more likely it is that the technology will improve so solar energy can become more efficient – efficiency also doesn’t seem to be the make or break factor seeing as homes and buildings using solar power are still abundant!
It beats out other potential sources of energy, wind power, like solar power, is reusable and renewable, since it costs nothing to use the power of wind and the sun – however, unlike solar power, wind power takes up a lot of space due to the turbines being very large and is generally seen as being more reliable and easier to maintain seeing as it doesn’t have moving parts meaning that it will require less maintenance, meaning less money to spend on repairs, making solar energy the preferred way of getting renewable energy.
Closing Thoughts
Solar energy remains a relevant source of energy today, due to its reliability and how cost-effective it will be in the long run due to fossil fuels one day running out and the world aiming to become a greener and more environmentally friendly place. It’s also the main choice for sustainable energy due to how easily accessible it is compared to wind power and other renewable energy sources due to how easier it is to install and the amount of energy it produces is constant and reliable which ends up leaving solar power beating all of its competitors because compared to the others it is the cheapest and easiest to install, while providing great results!