Essay Example on Solar energy is one of the most abundant and cleanest renewable Resource

Solar energy is one of the most abundant and cleanest renewable resource available to the public right now Solar energy is energy emitted from the sun which is collected by photovoltaic systems in solar panels which then converts the energy stored in the solar cells into electrical or thermal energy Even though we have access to different versions of renewable energy to name a couple of them bioenergy s like biodiesel hydroelectric dams and even hydrogen All of them vary in prices depending on what kind of renewable system you want to use But solar energy has been growing in popularity since it became affordable to buy the systems to convert the solar energy for your home This paper will discuss the positives and negatives of using solar energy to see if solar energy is worth the money to use it The development of photovoltaic cells has had its fair share of ups and downs with trying to make solar energy a viable energy source The first photovoltaic cell was developed by Alexandre Edmond Becquerellar a French physicist in 1839 who demonstrated the ability of a solar cell to convert sunlight into electricity 1 1 2 Since then no one really understood how the process of sunlight can produce electricity until Albert Einstein wrote a paper explaining the process in 1921 1 1 2 

Since it was costly to use solar energy in a commercial use the U S government U S military and NASA funded research to use solar panels to power satellites and spacecraft s like Vanguard I 1 1 3 The U S government had tried to push the use of solar once in the early 1970s due to the Arab oil embargo in 1973 which didn t exactly succeed since it didn t inspire Americans to use solar and the second push in the 2000s due to rising oil imports 1 1 4 10 12 The second push for solar enabled Resident Energy Tax Credits which is summarized in this quote The nonbusiness energy property tax credit Internal Revenue Code IRC 25C provides homeowners with a tax credit for investments in certain high efficiency heating cooling and water heating appliances as well as tax credits for energy efficient windows and doors Which gives incentive for people to be more energy efficient 2 2 2 The positives of using solar energy can be beneficial in multiple instances ranging from home value to the obvious energy saving One positive is that you can take advantage of incentives like the Federal Solar Tax Credit which gives you money back for taking the time to make your home more energy efficient 3 1 9 Another positive is that they are guaranteed to work companies include a 20 to 25 year warranty on the panels but they have an amazing life span about 30 to 40 years with and guaranteed 80 performance rate for 25 years 3 1 14 15 Another positive to add is that they are built to last Tesla who basically have their hand in everything has videos of their solar panels to show damage resistance against hailstones thrown at 100 mph comparing them top normal roof tiles to show their durability 4 1 4 A positive is that the panels work even while it's cloudy since the solar panels can take in light in general it can take 10 to 20 amount of normal sunlight whether it is indirect or diffused sunlight 5 1 6 

The last positive that makes it great is that you never really have to worry about power outages since power grid can experience outages and leave homes without power now with solar panels you will constantly have power while the sun is out and if you connect the panels to batteries that will store power for during the night so you will never be out of power 5 1 14 Even though solar energy has so many positives that help its cause but like everything else it does have its fair share of negatives One negative that is the biggest negative is the efficiency of the panels the efficiency can range from 10 to 20 on a normal basis which isn t good compared to other renewable options 6 1 10 Another negative is that it's not reliable 100 of the time because the weather always changes it's never going to be sunny all day and it's completely useless at night 6 1 6 To add to the previous negative against solar energy you can end up going into the negative since the sun is unpredictable it cannot be relied on in a normal circumstance as a main energy source 6 1 14 A negative is that moving to a different home depending if you want to take your solar panels with you it will cost a lot to de installation and reinstallation for the move 6 1 12 The last negative is the installation area for the solar panels because you need to have the room to be able to install them and have them be functional too 6 1 15 In conclusion solar energy in one of biggest renewable energy sources in the world that can still go farther at any point We use solar energy not just in spacecrafts and satellites but provide electricity for our homes and cities Positives include tax credit built to last saves money and provides clean energy But it as negatives with low efficiency reliability and even weather conditions Overall solar energy is a viable resource that is waiting to used in the right circumstance to properly shine even with its flaws Are you ready to see what solar energy can really do