What are the pros and cons of residential energy customers switching to solar energy?
Originally appeared in Quora: a place to acquire and share knowledge that allows people to learn from others and better understand the world.
Yogi Goswami, director of the USF clean energy research center, answered on Quora: From the perspective of residential consumers, there are mainly professionals in the direction of switching to solar energy.
If consumers add solar energy while still being able to use grid power, I really can't see con unless the cost of the solar system is too high and there is no financing.
First of all, consumers get almost free energy after paying for the solar system, so you start saving on electricity.
According to the cost of the system, recover the payment from these savings within a certain period of time.
This time depends on the initial cost, any financing costs consumers are saving, maintenance costs, and energy prices.
In most cases, the cost of a solar water heater or photovoltaic system can be 5-10 years.
If there are any government incentives, the time may be shorter (Tax credits, etc. )are available.
The solar system also adds value to the house.
In addition to this, the consumer is satisfied with his/her contribution to a cleaner environment.
Another advantage we see as consumers using solar water heaters is that it is equipped with a large storage tank.
So if a family member takes a long shower, others don't have to wait for the water to heat up before taking a shower.
This is the main reason why every family we have since 1979 has solar water heaters.
From the perspective of the power supplier, the situation is a bit different.
The advantage for them is that solar systems generate the most energy during peak hours, which reduces their peak load, which is usually provided by less efficient devices.
They don't need equipment outside the investment to meet the peak load.
Their downside is that if photovoltaic and photovoltaic power generation accounts for more than 20% of their load for many residential customers, this will cause instability in the grid.
However, if energy storage is introduced on the consumer side or on the supplier side, this problem can be alleviated.
The problem first appeared on Quora.
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