What are the advantages and disadvantages of solar energy compared to other energy sources?

Solar energy, one of the fastest-growing renewable energy sources in the world, and the solar energy market share are increasing sharply in countries around the world such as the United States, Australia, and even Vietnam. For those who have never used solar power, the need to better understand the advantages and disadvantages of solar energy is an important factor before considering switching to green energy such as solar.

The emergence of solar power has changed the energy industry, by expanding the electricity business model and the way electricity is supplied to the national grid. Images from businesses, factories with towering chimneys, or nuclear power plants with nuclear reactor cooling towers are gradually decommissioning and disappearing. Instead, they focus on green, renewable energy sources to protect the earth's environment and humanity.

The outstanding advantages of solar energy

Before learning the advantages and disadvantages of solar energy, how do solar panels work?

Typically, solar panels are made up of multiple modules of crystalline silicon cells. Silicon is a natural semiconductor. Each cell is made up of two layers of cells, the negatively charged N layer and the positively charged P layer just below it. When light waves (photons) contact the layers of the solar panel, the photons release electrons and combine with silicon atoms to form a direct current.

Solar power with main advantages: Almost everyone can use it directly!

Ease of application: Solar power has many advantages over other renewable energy sources that as ease of application. From households to businesses, everyone can install a solar system. Moreover, if individuals invest in solar systems, they can also actively generate income from selling electricity to the country..

The cost is lower compared to that in the early years: In Vietnam, the minimum installation cost for a household is about 15 million VND (for a 1kW system), much reduced compared to the first years of implementation. At the same time, the price of electricity increases every year, so using solar energy early will save more on electricity bills.

Can be installed on a large & small scale: different from projects such as bio-energy, thermal power, wind... often belonging to government projects or investment corporations. Only solar energy is suitable for large or small scale such as households and easy-to-use services from construction and installation companies.

Simple: The solar power system consists of photovoltaic panels (solar cells) and an inverter. Photovoltaic panels can be flexibly installed on your roof and cool off your roof at the same time.

Advantage no.2: Being socially responsible when reducing carbon emissions

Whether the earth is warming or global climate change is affected by the greenhouse effect from factories, enterprises, and businesses that emit too much carbon emissions. The sea water is also warming, and the ice in the north and south poles of the globe is also gradually melting. So are glaciers and freshwater springs. Therefore, the use of solar energy contributes to limiting carbon emissions into the atmosphere and contributes to greener life on earth.

This is also one of the big reasons for us to decide to develop Solar Ins into a reputable company specializing in distributing solar energy equipment & solutions in Vietnam.

Advantage no.3: Helps save money by cutting electricity bills

The third advantage of solar power is that owning a solar system helps you supply electricity for your home consumption and reduces electricity consumption from the grid. If the electrical system you install has a good capacity, you are both generating electricity for home consumption and selling excess electricity to the grid.

So you can supply your own electricity, no need to buy national electricity (reducing electricity costs) but also have income from the effective use of electricity. Solar power construction and installation organizations will equip you with an additional two-way meter, helping to record electricity consumption and sell electricity to the grid quickly.

Advantage no.4: Long warranty and low maintenance cost

Many people look at the photovoltaic panels on your roof and begin to imagine breakage or concerns about huge maintenance costs. But this mostly doesn't happen. If the contractor installs according to the manufacturer's instructions, the only maintenance is to clean the photovoltaic panels periodically.

In addition, only products that have undergone rigorous standards and rigorous testing procedures in the solar industry that released on the market. So photovoltaic panels are not as fragile or inefficient as you might imagine. Normally, photovoltaic panels are warranted for up to 10 years and the efficiency is guaranteed to be over 80% after 25 years (such as battery brands Trina Solar, Qcells, Canadian, Jinko ..). So you do not need to worry about the cost of replacing equipment in a short time.

Also, in the era of technology, people can monitor the performance of solar technology along with home appliances. With apps installed on your phone or internet-connected devices, you can control your system and from there you can tune and make sure your system is working properly.

Solar power with 4 disadvantages

Disadvantage no.1: Constrained by space

Solar panels are the only limit for everyone. To get a solar power system you need a space or a roof large and solid enough to install the system. If you own your own property or roof, that's great. For those who live in apartment buildings, it will be very difficult if you just want to install the system for your own apartment.

Disadvantage no.2: Relatively higher initial investment but long-term use

It is true that you need to spend a large initial investment cost and this investment is more or less dependent on the monthly electricity consumption of your home or business. For households, the lowest investment cost is about 15 million (1Kw system) or more depending on the capacity. The first step to get the power system you need is either a small or large investment depending on the capacity, but you can use this system for up to 25 years. Invest once but use it for a long time and 5 years later you can reach the break-even point.

With a certain amount of capital, you can get a solar system installation service for you. They can consult, design drawings, construct and install solar systems at a reasonable cost.

Disadvantage no.3: Electricity production depends on the weather condition

Solar energy is not the ideal system for some parts of the world. In countries with little sunlight, and cloudy or rainy weather, the use of the solar system is not very efficient. Typically, countries in the northern latitudes have more sunlight in the summer than in other countries, but in the winter there is no sunshine for a long time. Thus the solar system will not work at enough capacity to supply your usage.

However, tropical countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, China, Korea, etc. have a rather long sunny period, which is an ideal condition for developing a solar power system. Therefore, we see that nature is quite favorable for Vietnam owning a climate that suits the cultivation of many aquatic products, rich plants, and abundant resources... Taking advantage of favorable natural conditions for development is a smart investment.

Disadvantage no.4: Some potential pollution problems persist

Among the disadvantages of solar power, the production process of solar devices also causes pollution and environmental impact is unavoidable. Nothing is perfect in this world.

To produce solar cells, manufacturers must use some hazardous waste. But these toxic substances are used inside manufacturing plants where environmental controls are strict and govern operations. So no substances enter our surroundings. There are other impacts as well, like transportation, and installation of the system, but again, every energy source has this impact.

Wind may be a non-polluting energy, but someone who constructs windmills also has an effect on the surrounding environment (manufacturing plants). The same goes for the production of solar photovoltaic panels; even geothermal energy requires pipelines, converters, and turbines. The main problem here is that the solar power system provides energy without a direct impact on global warming. It is a good choice for you to fulfill your social responsibility.

Conclusion

In fact, it is possible that solar energy has more advantages than disadvantages, but we only analyze the most important and necessary factors. Solar technology advances are increasingly improving efficiency in power conversion and storage capacity year by year. The industry itself is investing heavily to get the best possible quality and cutting costs due to competition in the energy industry.

Solar energy will be with us forever. The sun is an indefinite resource and on that day- when our sun comes to an end (about 5 billion years in the future) at this very moment we won't have to worry about it. Now and in the future, solar power will bring more advantages than disadvantages.

Company specializing in distributing equipment & general contractor for solar energy projects – Solar Ins

Address: Tower 8, 28 Mai Chi Tho Street, Binh An, District 2

Hotline: 0327 059 090 (Mr The Anh – Business department)

www.Solarins.vn