What advantages and disadvantages are there to using solar energy to heat water?

Answer 1

Advantages

• Solar energy is free - it needs no fuel and produces no waste or pollution.
• In sunny countries, solar power can be used where there is no easy way to get electricity to a remote place.
• Handy for low-power uses such as solar powered garden lights and battery chargers.

Disadvantages

• Doesn't work at night.
• Very expensive to build solar power stations. Solar cells still cost a great deal compared to the amount of electricity they'll produce in their lifetime.
• Can be unreliable unless you're in a very sunny climate. In the US, solar power isn't much use except for low-power applications, as you need a very large area of solar panels to get a decent amount of power. However, for these applications it's definitely worthwhile.

Answer 2

I'm not an energy expert, a biologist by trade so here goes. A few pros and cons. Advantages: Free to all, at the point of use. No need to burn hydrocarbons and thereby increase atmospheric carbon levels. Infinite energy source (well, I know this isn't strictly true but 5000 billion years is difficult for even the most intellectual of us to comprehend, so for arguments sake, it is infinite). Consistency, the sun should, fingers crossed, remain in it's current orbit and here's hoping that the earth follows suit. Disadvantages: Expensive apparatus needed to utilise the energy: for generating heat for water or electricity. Not all the globe has adequate solar coverage; inconsistency; seasonal, polar regions only see the sun at a low elevation for 5-6 months of the year! Unconventional: Do people really want to switch to solar energy when it's just as easy to carry on burning gas and oil and using nuclear fission (Uranium).

Answer 3

ADVANTAGES

Hot water throughout the year: the system works all year round, though you'll need to heat the water further with a boiler or immersion heater during the winter months.

Cut your bills: sunlight is free, so once you've paid for the initial installation your hot water costs will be reduced.

Cut your carbon footprint: solar hot water is a green, renewable heating system and can reduce your carbon dioxide emissions.

DISADVANTAGES

None.

Answer 4

Benefits

• Solar panels reduce your dependence on the power company. Whenever the sun is out, you've got power.

• By not buying electricity from the grid, you reap significant savings: Over the course of a few decades, most solar-system owners save several times their original cost.
• Solar energy is clean and renewable, and much safer than nuclear or coal power.
• Solar systems can be designed to suit your needs and budget.

Problems

• They also have problems if they don't get direct sunlight, as it reduces their power output. Another factor that can cut down on the efficiency is if the house is at a good angle for the best amount of exposure, and they're usually not.

• If you get long periods with bad weather, the solar panels become useless.

• Glass and semiconductors are the main materials used for solar panels, and they are usually considered fragile. You need to maintain them and sometimes you also need to replace them. This happens even if you use Plexiglas shields for your solar panels, since they can still get deteriorated by hail, wind or lighting.

The main disadvantage is the cost. Also to some solar panels are not considered very aesthetically pleasing. The benefits will differ based on where in the world you live and the amount of panels you have. Where I live in NW England the amount of power generated per year on the roof of an average sized house would not come close to covering a a typical home owners full yearly electricity bill. And by some it is believed that in the UK, it may not be possible to recoup the costs of installing the system before the lifespan is up. Some places offer government grants which may help towards cost of purchasing and installing. And it should also be noted that solar panels can increase the value of a home.

As a 6th year architecture student I would say that any amount renewable energy is good for the environment even if it is only a small contribution (imagine if every home in the UK had solar panels how much could be saved on our national Co2 emissions) however whether it is financially viable for the average person is another question.

Photovoltaics (PV) panels have 3 major drawbacks

1) they require a substantial initial investment ($15,000.00-$50,000.00 for a whole house set up)

2) they have an effective life of 25 years or less

3) they are relatively inefficient, processing only limited wavelengths of sunlight into electricity

sure that they don't work at night also they don't work in a cloudy day of if it's raining.they are a renovale way to produce electricity, and they produce much energy if the weather's sunny almost the whole year, if you are in Africa those solar panels are the right for you cheaper and you don't have to pay electricity bills every month!

Advantages:* Sunlight is free* They are pollution free, that is, no carbon dioxide greenhouse gas apart from their manufacture.

Disadvantages:Some people have a flawed concept of solar energy. While it's true that sunlight is free, the electricity generated by PV systems is not. Quite a bit of hardware is needed. Currently, an installed PV system will cost somewhere around $9 per peak Watt. To give you an idea of how much a house system would cost, let's consider the Solar House -- a model residential home in Raleigh, North Carolina, with a PV system set up by the North Carolina Solar Center to demonstrate the technology. It's a fairly small home, and it is estimated that its 3.6-kW PV system covers about half of the total electricity needs (this system doesn't use batteries -- it's connected to the grid). Even so, at $9 per Watt, this installed system would cost you around $32,000. That's why PV is usually used in remote areas, far from a conventional source of electricity. Right now, it simply can't compete with the utilities. Costs are coming down as research is being done, however. Researchers are confident that PV will one day be cost effective in urban areas as well as remote ones. Part of the problem is that manufacturing needs to be done on a large scale to reduce costs as much as possible. That kind of demand for PV, however, won't exist until prices fall to competitive levels. It's a Catch-22 situation. Even so, demand and module efficiencies are constantly rising, prices are falling, and the world is becoming increasingly aware of environmental concerns associated with conventional power sources, making photovoltaics a technology with a bright future.people can also use watermelon to generate electricity

Answer 5

Advantages: Preserves our Natural Resources, reduces pollution, increases available energy etc.

Disadvantages: Solar energy has not been developed enough to be used on a large scale, it is expansive.

Answer 6

MERITS

1. Solar power is pollution free and causes no greenhouse gases to be emitted after installation
2. Reduced dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels
3. Renewable clean power that is available every day of the year, even cloudy days produce some power
4. Return on investment unlike paying for utility bills
5. Virtually no maintenance as solar panels last over 30 years
6. Creates jobs by employing solar panel manufacturers, solar installers, etc. and in turn helps the economy
7. Excess power can be sold back to the power company if grid intertied
8. Ability to live grid free if all power generated provides enough for the home / building
9. Can be installed virtually anywhere; in a field to on a building
10. Use batteries to store extra power for use at night
11. Solar can be used to heat water, power homes and building, even power cars
12. Safer than traditional electric current
13. Efficiency is always improving so the same size solar that is available today will become more efficient tomorrow
14. Aesthetics are improving making the solar more versatile compared to older models; i.e. printing, flexible, solar shingles, etc.
15. Federal grants, tax incentives, and rebate programs are available to help with initial costs

DEMERITS

1. High initial costs for material and installation and long ROI
2. Needs lots of space as efficiency is not 100% yet
3. No solar power at night so there is a need for a large battery bank
4. Some people think they are ugly (I am definitely not one of those!)
5. Devices that run on DC power directly are more expensive
6. Depending on geographical location the size of the solar panels vary for the same power generation
7. Cloudy days do not produce much energy
8. Solar panels are not being massed produced due to lack of material and technology to lower the cost enough to be more affordable
9. Solar powered cars do not have the same speeds and power as typical gas powered cars
10. Lower production in the winter months