The number one reason people install a solar energy system is for the financial savings made over the lifetime of the system.
Financial Benefits
Saving Money
Generating your own low cost electricity gives huge savings off your energy bills. Initially those savings usually (and wisely) go towards paying off the investment in the solar energy system, but when that is done, then the home owner or business gets minimal cost electricity enabling the money to be invested or spent on other things that you want to spend money on, not paying for grid electricity.
Protecting Yourself From Rising Costs
When you generate your own electricity you protect yourself from the rising and fluctuating costs of energy by locking in the price of your electricity. Initially this is when you pay off the investment at a fixed cost, when that is paid off then your costs fall as others on the grid face rising prices, a double benefit.
Increases Your Property Value
Buildings with solar energy are more valuable than without as home and business owners recognise the benefits of solar with lower energy bills. A recent survey found that 65% of UK residents were more likely to buy a house with a solar energy system installed (The Eco Experts).
In the end you need look no further than house prices themselves, the house price statistics say it all.
Earning Money
Installing a solar energy system also gives the opportunity to earn money by selling the excess electricity back to the grid. Selling electricity to the grid should only be done after you have maximised the solar energy use from your panels within the home or business as this gives the best return on your investment as electricity companies will pay you less for your electricity export than you pay them for using electricity from the grid. The best time to optimise this is when designing your system.
Return On Investment (ROI)
With all the savings you make, solar energy gives a great return on your initial investment, far better than any bank account with some solar installations paying for themselves multiple times over. The ROI will vary between systems and how you use electricity.
Environmental Benefits
The best aspect of solar power is not only do you save a lot of money, you also help everyone else by benefitting the environment.
Stop Burning Stuff!
By using solar power you cut down on the amount of fossil fuel that is burnt adding pollutants to the atmosphere and surrounding environment. After the initial manufacture and installation solar power has almost zero emissions while you benefit from the electricity, whereas fossil fuels have to be continually burnt building all the time on their environmental damage.
Human Health
Pollutants - COx, NOx, SOx, particulates eg PM2.5, unburnt fuel including carcigogenic products, emitted into the atmosphere when fuel is burnt affect everyone's health. According to the British Lung Foundation and Asthma UK, atmospheric pollutants accelerate the deaths of 30 - 40,000 people a year as well as affecting many more with with breathing and cardiovascular problems. Solar helps reduce these as it is a zero emission generation source of electricity.
Fossil Fuels Are A Finite Resource & Next Generation
This may seem a strange reason. Fossil fuels are technically renewable if you have a few million years to wait, but for most of us they are a limited finite resource that is being squandered when they don't have to be. There may always be a need for some fossil fuel use, why not reduce use now when fossil fuels don't have to be used so they are there for generations to come if needed.
Save Other Resources - Water
Using fossil fuels to generate electricity doesn't use the fuels themselves. A lot of water is also used for operating traditional electricity generation and that along with contact water e.g. surface run off when it rains, enters the local watercourses taking the pollutants with it. Solar may ocassionally require a small amount of water to clean the panels, but especially in the UK, the rain does a good job of keeping the panels clean just carrying away what is in the atmosphere anyway and has landed on the panels. Cleaner atmosphere, cleaner rain water, cleaner water courses.
Save Other Resources - Energy To Make Energy
With solar energy systems once installed there are very limited energy requirements to keep the system operating in excellent condition. In fossil fuel based systems not only is there the pollution from generating electricity but also the energy use and pollution from moving all the fuel around to supply the power stations, petrol stations etc. For example, internationally shipping energy - oil, gas etc, accounts for around one third of all shipping traffic and therefore around one third of all shipping pollution.
Saving energy here, also saves money making things cheaper or gives the ability to spend on other things to help society.
Wider Benefits
There are some general benefits as well to generating your own solar.
Energy Security
Not importing so much fossil fuel from abroad where we have less control over the supply makes us as a country less dependant and prone to price spikes. The sun is a uniform constant resource that is not subject to political whims. The perfect energy source?
Electrical Grid Security
Lots of local distributed solar generation helps spread the load on the grid and reduces the probability of supply problems. Also if locally used electricity is being generated locally the grid does not require ultra expensive upgrades to be able to supply everyone. In the UK this benefit is calculated to be worth several billion £ that can come off electricity bills.
Versatile Energy Source
Solar energy can be very versatile and installed where in places where running a cable may not make sense - a garden shed or office, remote lighting or other application, and even remove grid dependency altogether.
And not forgetting the thermal aspect too to heat water or spaces at the same time as providing electrical energy.
Versatile Energy Use
Electricity is the ultimate versatile energy source so not only is it good for homes, offices and factories, the solar energy you generate could power cars, vans, lorries or anything that can be electrical.
One of the biggest benefits of generating your own solar power is powering an electric vehicle, your own or part of the the company fleet. it is one of the quickest ways to pay off your installation, and then you are powering your cars, vans etc for free. When was the last time a petrol station gave out free fuel to you?
Creating Local Jobs
Local generation creates local skilled jobs helping keep money in the local economy.
Long Lifespan
This has benefits in all areas, less movement of stuff or fuel, less maintenance therefore maintenance costs, less waste and peace of mind.
Overall - Why Solar Energy?
Solar offers many opportunities personally, commercial, societally, and environmentally that it almost seems selfish not to take all these opportunities presented to us.
Non Partisan Energy Source
Solar is recognised the world over as having all these benefits. That is why governments of all types and colours are installing solar as fast as they can. The projection for World's new solar capacity is 300GW this year.
China is a world leader and is calculated to install between 95 and 120 GW of solar power this year alone. This will give China over 390 GW total capacity or 42% of the world's generation. In the US solar accounted for 46% of of new electrical generation capacity last year but lags China at half their installed capacity. Both though are growing at 30%+ per year. The EU is projected to add 68GW a 50% increase, India 14GW and so on.
Why not you?
In the UK this year a projected 1GW is to be installed on 200,000 homes by themselves without any commercial generation included. This is equivalent to two typical coal fired power stations. National Grid are projecting that solar generation will rise from 15GW today to 70 GW by 2030 saving electricity bill payers billions.
With installation costs at their lowest ever is it time for you to take back control of your energy and make your own huge savings along the way?