For residential customers, there are benefits when they switch part of their electricity consumption to solar. First, after paying the investment costs of the solar system, the consumer receives almost free energy, thus reducing the cost of his electricity bill. Suppose the consumer installs his home solar system while accessing the power grid. In that case, KCS Company does not see any disadvantages in it unless the cost of the solar system is high and financing is not available.

The expenses will return within a specified period, depending on the panels’ cost. This time depends on initial investment costs, finance costs, maintenance and repair costs, and the cost of electric energy that the subscriber buys from the power company. In many cases, the prices of a solar water heater or a solar power system will be paid back in 5 to 10 years. You can reduce this time if government subsidies become more limited. A solar power system will also increase the value of a residential unit.

It is necessary to say that the consumer participates in keeping the environment clean. Another advantage we have seen as a consumer with a solar water heater is that this system comes with a large tank. So if one family member takes a shower for a long time, there is no need for the next member to wait a while for the water to heat up again.

But from the point of view of an electricity producer, this matter seems different. The advantage is that the solar system produces much power during their grid’s peak hours, reducing their peak load, often supplied by less-than-optimal installations. So they can make the extra investment to provide load during peak hours.

But the disadvantage from their side is that many residential consumers have solar power systems, and solar power provides more than 20% of their energy needs, which will cause instability in the grid. However, if you consider energy storage on the consumer or producer sides, you can solve this problem. 

The solar panel pros

1. Renewable energy source:

Among all the advantages of solar energy, the eternal nature of this energy is its most significant advantage. You can use this energy in all places and daily. The unlimitedness of this energy will be due to the long life of the sun.

2. Reducing electricity costs:

If you use solar energy for personal use, you can reduce your electricity bills. The amount of cost saved is proportional to the solar system used. In addition to reducing the cost of electricity purchase, if the amount of electricity you produce is more than the amount you consume, you can sell the surplus and earn money from it.

3. Various applications:

You can use solar energy in different ways. You can use this energy to generate electricity or heating and use it for various applications or other location conditions.

4. Low maintenance cost:

Solar panels typically have low maintenance costs. The only necessary measure is to keep the solar panels clean, the timing of which is different according to the weather conditions of each region. Most manufacturers of solar panels consider a 20-30 year warranty for their products. 

5. Advancement of technology:

Due to the advancement of technology, the amount of electricity produced by solar panels in the not-so-distant years will be 2 or 3 times the current amount.

The solar panels’ cons

With all the advantages I mentioned, Solar panels will naturally have some cons. Therefore, knowing these disadvantages before using these systems can significantly help you.

1. The solar system does not work at night.

Some people interested in solar panels are worried about providing electricity at night. There are solar batteries that store the necessary energy for cloudy days and nights to solve this problem. However, battery technology needs to advance more. Depreciation and high price are the most critical problems of batteries. Of course, there is another way to provide electricity at night, which is the simultaneous use of solar and grid electricity in such a way that you use network electricity at night and on cloudy days. It is one of the most significant disadvantages of off-grid solar panels.

In connection with water pumps for agricultural wells with high electricity consumption, if a battery is used to store the electricity produced by solar panels and used during the night, the cost of the system increases up to three times. Therefore, when installing the solar water pump, use the battery sparingly and operate the design daily.

2. Solar panels need to be more attractive.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Nowadays, solar panels are sleek, compact and well-sized. Currently, new systems are closed so that the inverter box and peripheral equipment are located in a hidden place. Only solar panels can be seen in the general view, which sometimes makes the roofs beautiful. Anyway, there is this criticism from some people that solar panels are not very attractive in terms of appearance. But with a different layout, you can solve these criticisms to some extent.

3. You can’t install a home solar system on your own

When you think you can’t install a solar system for your home and it’s a problem, please leave it to a solar professional to run it through a simple process.

4. The roof of my house is not suitable for solar panels

It is a fact that solar panels will not work in any building, depending on the shading and the angle of the roof. If you want the most efficiency, you must have a suitable space. Solar companies worldwide are facing these problems, and there are solutions. One of these solutions is using thin layer panels that produce electricity in the shade. Or using quality solar panels so that if a shadow falls on one of the panels, the rest will not fail.

5. Solar panels harm the environment.

Solar panels are a manufactured product, and like any other product with a manufacturing process, they have environmental effects. From the chemicals used to make the panels to their transportation, it causes damage to the environment. However, solar panels are one of the forms of energy production available with the least amount of pollution.

6. Some solar panels are not of high quality

Understandably, there are various models of solar panels with different levels of efficiency, life span, durability, output and design in the market. Before choosing a solar panel for your home or business, you should do the necessary research based on the factors I mentioned that will affect your system’s output and how much you will cost in the long run. Buy a quality solar panel, although it may not be cost-effective in small systems.

7. The cost of solar systems is high.

One of the essential factors in building a home solar power plant is its high initial cost, but they have a good return on investment.

Now that you are familiar with the advantages and disadvantages of solar panels, you can contact the expert and experienced consultants of KCS Group to make different decisions about entering this field.