If power bills are costing you exorbitant amounts of money each month then solar energy is a superb option, because it has the ability to save you money right away.
In fact, solar gives you the best of both worlds - many Kiwis going solar are not abandoning the grid completely. Instead they’re saving money by maintaining their connection to the mainstream power grid as a backup, and using the sun’s clean and efficient energy to power their home day-to-day.
In this post, we give you 10 solar power facts, as taken from our eBook “Is Solar The Right Choice for your Home?”.
However, one of the facts is false - but we’ll leave it up to you to decide which one.
In reading the post, and trying to work out which one is made up, we hope you’ll get deeper understanding, and also excited about solar; a forward-thinking and environmentally friendly mode of energy that can potentially dramatically lower your monthly power bills.
The facts (plus one imposter)
- The sun produces so much energy that an hour of it is enough to power the earth for an entire year. In fact, the amount of solar energy striking the earth at any given moment is more than 10,000 times the world’s total energy use.
- Panel technology has improved to the point where it’s able to produce energy on cloudy and semi-cloudy days. So, solar is still an effective option even if you don't live in one New Zealand’s sunniest areas.
- Installing solar panels doesn’t require building consent unless the panels form part of the roofing cladding. While the installation does involve some paper work World Solar can take care of that for you.
- The first home to ever use solar power was in Manchester, England in 1894.
- Our hybrid model allows you to use conventional power as well as solar. This means you only draw electricity from the grid when you need it, resulting in a smaller power bill.
- A solar system for a residential home will generally range from between $6000 for a 1.7KW system and $10,000 and over for a 5KW range system.
- Solar energy will benefit you if you spend a lot of daylight hours at home as you’ll be using it at the same time it’s being generated.
- Solar can increase the value of your home - studies show homes with solar power are valued and sold at higher prices than similar homes in the same area.
- On a sunny day your solar panels will generate electricity that will both power your home and charge your battery. This enables you to store electricity for use at night and at times of low production, such as on cloudy days.
- Our panels can work for both steep roof pitches and those that are flat. Your installer can angle panels appropriately as well as installing your solar panels on the ground if need be.
Solar energy is a phenomenal way forward for your home. Not only can it potentially help you slash your power bill each month, you can also reduce your carbon footprint with a sustainable energy approach that helps to keep New Zealand the way we all love it – clean and green.
PS... To discover which of the above was the false fact, click here.
