How Reliable Is Solar Power and Is It Worth It?
Ever since solar panels rolled out for consumers, people have wondered about their reliability. Solar power can’t be as simple as free energy, right? Read on to learn the answer to the question, “How reliable is solar power, and is it worth it?”
Failure Rate
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) conducts regular tests of solar panels to ensure they’re working as expected. In a study from 2020, the NREL discovered that only 7 percent of solar panel systems out of 100,000 were working below expectations. And 80 to 90 percent of them were meeting or exceeding expectations.
What if There’s a Week of Cloudy Days?
You may be thinking, “It’s all well and good that my solar panels won’t break on me, but what if weeks go by without direct sunlight?” Luckily, you won’t lose power. Even if your solar panels don’t produce a single watt of electricity, you’ll receive power as normal as long as you remain connected to the grid.
On top of that, solar panels don’t need direct sunlight to function! Contrary to popular belief, even the indirect sunlight that panels receive on a cloudy day is enough for your panels to create energy.
Batteries and Blackouts
However, if there’s a blackout and your local power grid loses electricity, you will also lose power. That’s why you should have solar batteries with excess energy stored up! Batteries are a fallback—they use extra energy your home doesn’t usually need to keep your home powered in the event of a blackout.
Maximizing Output
Hopefully, we’ve made it clear that solar panels are incredibly reliable, but how can you make the most of them? Because they come with such a high initial investment, you may feel like it’s taking a long time to see the benefits of solar power. However, you can maximize your output by making sure your panels face as close to due south as possible. This can help your panels produce up to 30 percent more energy!
Now that you know how reliable solar power is and that it is worth it, you should reach out to a solar panel installer and get a quote today!
