Solar light myths are typically only misconceptions about the technology, or deliberately-spread false information that’s propagated to promote conventional utilities and energy-wasting products. Here, you are going to learn about five of the most popular misconceptions or outright-lies about solar lights—and solar power as a whole, therefore.
Myth # 1. All solar garden lights and solar energy is too expensive. This notion is categorically wrong—solar energy is, in fact, mostly cheaper than conventional means. While solar panels (especially the larger ones) will normally cost more, the long-term savings quite often offset the cost by a huge margin. Smaller installations have gotten cheaper by leaps-and-bounds over the years, and most are even cheaper than installing power to new home constructions (since no pavement or concrete has to be dug up and replaced, saving a bundle).
Myth # 2. Solar garden lighting is really only useful in hot, sunny weather. This is very untrue. The past few years have brought us new solar technologies (such as passive solar, a particularly beneficial technology for areas with little sunlight) that are employed in a large number of private and public applications—including those electronic message boards you commonly see on the interstate and on highways, many business offices, railroad-crossing warning signals and power-arms, and in a growing-number of heating and air-conditioning methods in many consumer, as well as commercial, spaces.
Myth # 3. Solar energy just isn’t reliable enough to implement large-scale. Again, that’s false. With moderately-sized roof panels, all the power your home needs can be received from solar panels—especially if the sun is out in full-force. If not, the passive panels work to absorb any and all light they can—and as a failsafe, you should already be hooked up to the regular power grid—so you will never just have to “do without”.
Myth # 4. Even contemporary solar panels don’t outshine the competition. Once again, this is mostly untrue. Consider this: Photovoltaic cells (used for solar panels and solar lights alike) were invented circa 1955—where they only boasted a meager 5.8% efficiency rate. By the end of 2007, that number had grown to over 30%. This rate is typically called the PV conversion efficiency ratio, and today, the number has grown ever-so close to 50%.
Myth # 5. You should wait until solar lights and their corresponding panels are cheaper and more advanced. This one is half true, half false. It’s false in the sense that you should wait—as there are, and have been for a long time, a variety of federal and state-sponsored programs that offer pretty enticing incentives for installing solar panels—namely in the form of tax deductions. They will get cheaper (as with any emerging technology) but the tax benefits are likely to decrease as the popularity of solar lights skyrockets.
Related posts: