Renewable energy is the way forward, to preserve our environment and to save us all money in the long-term! The first foot in the door you should consider taking is Solar PV, or more commonly. Solar Panels. We at Kendrick Renewables want to help ensure your transition to using renewable energy sources over traditional energy goes as comfortable as possible. In this post you will find some common misconceptions or “myths” about Solar PV and, our goal today is to give clarification to them and help you better understand the benefits of switching to solar energy.
Our fist misconception is “The only time solar panel's function is when there is sunlight”
Is this true...? Well. If you read the above paragraph, you know already, this is merely a misconception! Solar panels function BEST in direct sunlight, as their entire goal is to harness the energy from the sun and repurpose it into grid energy to power your home. But if it requires the sun? How does it work?
Well! Whether it be night or day, clear skies, or rainy greys. Solar panels still harness what energy it can get through the light spectrum that is visible to us as well as wavelengths which pass on through the clouds. Rain can even be beneficial to your solar panels as it can clean away any dirt and debris that when collected, create difficulty for your panel to gather sunlight.
Our second misconception is that the installation process of solar panels is a lengthy, stressful process. The length of an installation varies based on the number of panels being installed as well as the overall size of the area in which they are being installed. It all depends on the complexity of the job at hand. It is always recommended to first check the Microgeneration Certification Scheme. This is a sign of quality and professionalism that any legitimate installer would be recognized by. After picking your desired installer, next you need to get a quote (which hey, we at Kendrick Renewables are happy to do completely for free!) once your installer gets back to you with all the information. You are finished! Leave it to the installer to get the project started, carried out and wrapped up, and enjoy your new renewable solar panels.
Onto our next misconception...
It is believed that solar panels damage people’s rooftops. This is simply not true. When you pick out your desired installer, you really need to take caution and do your due diligence. Panels are installed using specifically designed frames that are made for the roof being worked on. Installers often will have to move tiles so that they can get frames to fit, but of course they will replace tiles and ensure it all works together in the end.
It is an important thing that you consider the reputation of the company you are hiring, and this is where due diligence comes in. If you contract a team with a significantly poor reputation, a lot of the time there will be a reason for that. But alongside installers making mistakes, there is animals. Birds! Birds land on your roof, everybody's roofs. Birds land wherever they want, do whatever they want and leave whenever they want, and overtime they will wear down the tiles of your roof. This is another crucial factor to understand, solar panels do not cause damage. A good installer will make sure the panels not only fit well visually, but fundamentally so that they will cause no further issue after the job is done!
An example from one of our installations below.
Next up is big oil’s favourite deceiver... “Solar panels have a bigger carbon footprint than what they end up negating”
Solar panels utilize the energy from the sun instead of the factories that supply your grid with power. In the overall lifetime of a single solar panel, it will only produce approximately 50g of carbon which, when calculated comes to three years for a solar panel to become carbon neutral alongside the average home setup.
Our final misconception that we will cover here is “Solar Panels do not look nice”
First, refer to the image posted above in the article. We at Kendrick Renewables are not looking to plant a series of blue chequerboard polycrystalline panels atop your roof, our panels are sleek and subtle. Instead of sticking out and making a scene we want our panels to sit back and do their thing quietly. Of course, personal taste is always a thing, and it is a thing we respect, but as solar PV has improved, so has the design of panels too!
If you feel a little more comfortable after reading this, we would be delighted to work with you. Starting with that free quote! Get in touch and we will get it done. Quick, efficient and hassle free. As it should be.
Written by Karik Childs
Comments