If you’ve done your homework on solar energy, you know that the solar trends right now point to increased efficiency and lower costs for solar power installation and maintenance. Knowing that solar power decreases not only your electric costs but also your carbon footprint, you might think that homeowners would be rushing to make residential solar the standard. Why aren’t they?
Essentially, the two biggest problems are cost and infrastructure. Fossil fuels are cheap, reliable, and familiar, because they’ve been around for longer. Switching to solar can intimidate people, because the upfront cost is often high, even though it’s lower than it’s ever been before. Additionally, even though there are many incentives that can lower the cost of solar panel installation, awareness is not widespread enough to make most people switch from traditional power sources.
Further, our current energy system is skewed towards fossil fuels, and our power grid infrastructure was not built to cope with solar energy’s inconsistency. In some cases, it’s more profitable to keep an existing coal or natural gas plant running than to invest in renewable energy. Solar energy is only available when the sun is shining, and that’s not the case everywhere at all times. While people in sunny climes can use solar energy when the sun shines and bank it in batteries for times when it doesn’t, not everyone has that capability. Because our current, aging electrical grid can’t presently distribute renewable energy over long distances, solar isn’t available everywhere.
Fortunately, this is all changing. It’s becoming more cost-effective to build new renewable energy sources rather than adding capacity to existing fossil fuel plants. As the cost of solar is decreasing, the costs of coal and natural gas are actually increasing, which makes solar more appealing. This may be enough to overcome the inertia caused by long-term utility contracts and the familiarity of non-renewable energy.
Ultimately, the demand for renewable energy, including solar power, will soon be much more widespread. President Biden has announced a goal of 100 percent clean energy in the United States by 2035, and we’ll have to move quickly to make that happen. Interestingly, solar power may be more prevalent than you realize. In 2019, 72 percent of new energy capacity globally was from renewable sources. In the United States, 2020 was a record year for new solar installations. Homeowners interested in jumping on this trend would do well to do it now, before demand increases further, and while tax breaks are still in effect.
If you’re looking for a solar energy installer with a stellar reputation and quick turnaround, contact Sunlogix Energy. A leading full-service solar solution at the forefront of creating a sustainable planet, powered by the sun, we’ve been voted the Best Solar Company in the Desert by the Coachella community 2 years running. We offer residential and commercial solar, always striving to provide full customer satisfaction by offering premium products and professional installation at an exceptional value. Focused on using renewable energy to create a cleaner earth, we customize solar solutions for our clients, as well as educating them on the long-term and immediate benefits provided by solar power. Call 888-844-3808 for more information or visit our website to request a free estimate today!