| Solar power is generated when energy is | | | | Disadvantages - costly to begin with, older |
| extracted from the suns rays through the use of | | | | technologies won't work too well if cloudy. |
| photovoltaic cells (commonly referred to as solar | | | | Wind Turbines: |
| cells). These cells convert photos (from the suns | | | | Advantages - fairly cheap for a home turbine, can |
| rays) into electricity, and this process is known as | | | | be used in harsh conditions. |
| the "photovoltaic effect." | | | | Disadvantages - totally dependent on the wind, |
| Many people are beginning to invest in such | | | | small output, larger turbines can be noisy, wind |
| technologies to avoid rising electricity prices and to | | | | farms are seen by many as eyesores, larger |
| help our environment. If every home could be | | | | (more effective) turbines can be very expensive. |
| fitted with solar panels, then the strain on power | | | | Geothermal Energy: |
| stations would decrease dramatically, which means | | | | Advantages - can aid in the heating of hot water, |
| we wouldn't be left as dependable on fossil fuels | | | | save money on running your boiler, can supply |
| as we currently are. | | | | effective underfloor heating, heat from the |
| There are many alternatives to solar power, so | | | | ground can be relied upon. |
| why should we invest our money into solar | | | | Disadvantages - have to lay hundreds of meters |
| technologies, rather than lets say, home wind | | | | of piping underground, hard to fix a leak, |
| turbines, or a geothermal energy system? To | | | | expensive, longer time to heat water than a |
| answer this, we shall look at the advantages and | | | | boiler. |
| disadvantages of the technologies above. | | | | So there we have the advantages and |
| Solar Panels: | | | | disadvantages of each. Assuming you do not live |
| Advantages - widely available, relatively easy to | | | | by a rapid stream or running river (which rules out |
| install, very significant output, a solar panel will pay | | | | hydroelectric power), then as you can see from |
| for itself in two to three years, lifetime of 20 to | | | | the above text, solar power is your best option. |
| 30 years, modern cells can harness power on | | | | Solar panels offer many more friendly factors and |
| cloudy days, can bring power to remote locations. | | | | less disadvantages than other technologies. |