It is hard to see what the solar energy negatives are. We need a clean renewable source of energy and this is it. However, people still seem to be opposed to using it. It is expensive to set up and it is most likely that it is this cost that is putting most people off installing it. Hopefully the costs will fall as demand for it grows and this should help more people start to use it.

You do need a large space to put the panels – especially in countries which do not get lots of sunlight or at high latitudes where there is little direct sunlight. This could be more of problem for people who live in tall apartment blocks as they will not have enough room on the top to place enough solar panels for everyone to be able to use them. The slope of the roof also needs to be at a particular angle and so buildings with flat roofs may have trouble too. If you cannot put panels on the roof, perhaps due to planning regulations or because it is not a suitable shape or size, or is made from an unsuitable material, then you will have to look elsewhere for a place to put them. People may be opposed to putting them in their garden, assuming that they had the space, as they are rather unsightly.

Of course another disadvantage is that it doesn’t work at night or when the sun is obscured by thick clouds or pollution. We tend to use most power when the sun is up and so this is not a huge problem, although in the winter, when there are more hours of darkness and we use more heating, there will be less sun to provide the power demanded. Of course the power can be stored in batteries so there is a way to keep the energy for when it is needed. This is not very efficient though and each house would need a huge amount of batteries to store the energy produced in the summer, to use in the winter.


Quick Tip #1

Solar energy is best for countries that get a lot of sunlight. It can be a great source of electricity and help add to the current supply, providing a cheaper and renewable source that causes no pollution.


Quick Tip #2

In India it is possible for the country to be able to produce more energy from the sun than they would ever use. This is because they receive a huge amount of sunlight and their population is not massively in demand of electricity.