Is Solar Right For Your Home?

Solar energy has been adopted very quickly in India in the past few years. Solar has been used for various residential, commercial, industrial and institutional purposes. The adoption of solar energy has happened in India due to its multiple benefits to its users. We would mention a few important benefits of installing solar power plants:

• Reduce electricity bills by up to 90%
• Negligible maintenance
• Zero pollution
• No carbon emissions
• Less dependency on the utility grid
• Option for battery backup and storage
• It can be used by everyone
• Better impact on the environment
• Solar panels have a minimum life of 25 years
• Payback within five years
• Return of Investment of more than 25%  

The advantages and benefits of solar power plants have been discussed thoroughly. To know if solar is right for your home, we need to discuss the points mentioned below elaborately:

Area and type of roof:  Before installing solar panels, you first need to know your type of roof. There are multiple types of rooftops like the RCC roof and Tin sheet roof, which are among the most popular ones. The installation will be done according to the roof type and its structure. Every roof will have a different solar mounting structure requirement at the site. The area will depict the wind flowing capacity. Accordingly, we will have to place the solar modules and design the solar mounting structure. The structure is the most important equipment with the solar panels, which will hold the solar panels for 25 years.   

Last 12 months electricity bill:  As soon as you plan to install solar panels for your home, you need to check the sanctioned load mentioned in your electricity bill. This sanctioned load lets you know about the maximum capacity you can install in terms of solar panels. E.g. If the sanctioned load of your house is 10 KW, the maximum capacity of the solar plant you can install is 10 KW. Also, through electricity bills, we will be able to track the average monthly consumption of energy. This will help us not design a too big solar plant for the house. Every electricity unit generated from the solar plant shall be used at your, exported to the grid or stored in batteries. It can never be wasted.

Do you own the property, or is it on rent?

This is the second most asked question and which is important as well. The reason behind thinking about this is that the life of solar panels is twenty–five years. In rented houses, the tenants mostly plan to shift their homes every 3 to 5 years, depending on their situation. Also, they think if we change from a villa/floor to an apartment, where can we install the solar panels later then. Well, if experienced engineers and technicians do the re-shifting of solar panels, then it is very much possible. If the property is owned and you have the roof rights, it is the best chance to adopt solar energy. As we all know, the life of solar panels is twenty–five years, and till the time your house is there, solar panels will be there.

What is your budget?

The budget for a solar plant is never standard or the same for every client. The average cost of a 10 KW solar panel installation for home will be Rs. 6,00,000. This can also vary from site to site and different equipment as per the client’s choice. Before deciding on the cost, always talk to a solar professional to discuss which solar panels to use and what type of inverter and solar mounting structure will be used. As we all know, the cost you pay is for the equipment and service you will be getting. There are also multiple financing options where you pay 25 – 30 % of the project cost, and the rest of everything else will be financed.  The cost of your investment is recovered within five years, giving you a return of more than 25% per year.

Is there any unique situation you want to mention?

In some cases, people also face a lot of power outages in their area, which makes them think about solar energy twice. If one plans to install a solar power plant with batteries, it is called an off-grid solar power plant. With batteries, the user will be able to save on the electricity costs and store the excess power in batteries which can be later on used while power outages at the house. This is one of the most demanded products in places where there are a lot of power outages or no availability of the grid.

Why think about a solar power plant?

A solar plant is one of the most feasible and stable investment options today. The adoption of solar energy has increased a lot in India due to the rising cost of power in India and the non-availability of the grid in some parts of India. With growing demand and increased availability of resources, there is massive potential for installing solar panels for your house, workplace or factory. Installing a solar power plant can help reduce the carbon Co2 emissions and pollution affecting the environment. Also, the life of solar panels is twenty-five years with very negligible maintenance, which makes it one of the most preferred forms of energy.

After knowing all the benefits and advantages of solar panels, it is justified that yes, “solar is right for your home.”