It is an accepted fact that one of the best ways to be more energy efficient is to install solar panels on your house. This idea appeals to both hyper environmentally conscious people as well as average families who are trying to save money every month. They are generally assumed as a good investment because they should pay for themselves in the matter of months and help save the environment . This brings up the question: are solar panels too good to be true?
Before making a major change, it is best to weigh the pros and cons
Pros
Solar energy is affordable.
There are many options available when you are looking into getting solar panels. You can buy them or lease them with different plans that allow you to only pay for the energy you use or zero down at signing. There are options for every financial need. Also a lot of states provide tax rebates, lowering the cost of solar energy even more.
In some areas, they allow you to sell the energy that you use back to the grid, so you can make money off your solar panels.
Solar energy helps reduce carbon production
Since solar energy is a renewable resource, it reduces the need for the production of energy from fossil fuels. The energy that you will be producing will be made with out adding any additional carbon to the air, therefore reducing your carbon footprint. As society, focusing on reducing carbon production is essential to maintain clean air and water and a healthy climate. By helping in easiest and efficient way to cut pollutants , you are helping preserve the environment.
Solar energy improves grid security
Because solar is produced on the roof of your home rather than in a large power plant, the energy is more secure. If a large power plant is knocked out by a natural disaster or an attack on the grid, the more solar cells on residential homes, the more resilient the grid is to power outages.
Solar energy provides energy independence
Rather than depending on the government to provide energy for you, you are in control of your own energy production. This means you don't have to worry about energy shortages or costs for years to come.
Cons
Solar panels are almost a permanent fixture on your home
As you can see, there are many positive aspects to solar energy. We can't decided whether or not solar panels are right for you, but what we can do is provide the tools necessary to monitor your solar production and energy use. Through partnerships with PVoutput and Rainforest eagle, it is easy to track how much energy you are producing every minute using Wattvision.com . Check it out for your self!This seems to be the biggest, possibly the only negative to having solar panels. Solar panels are installed on your roof, so to perform roof repairs, you would have to pay the solar companies to remove and then reinstall the solar panels.
Also, if you are leasing or have a loan on your solar panels and you move, either the new owners of the home have to take on the lease /loan payments themselves, or you have to pay fees to end your contract early and have the panels removed. This isn't such a major issue because solar panels add enough value to your home to cover these costs in most cases.