Yash
The best places for solar energy make the system produce more power and saves you extra money over a period.
We all know that solar energy is an affordable, clean, and reliable way of powering your house, offices, RVs, solar-powered boats, and any other thing that runs on electricity.
There are certain things that when kept in mind can make your solar power system more valuable than ever.
And
Knowing the best location for solar energy is one of them.
1. Place with good sunlight
The first thing that comes to anyone’s mind is the good sunlight.
Yes, good sunlight intensity is the first factor that determines the best location for solar energy.
The places which receive good sunlight, the solar panels produce more power than places in a region with low sunlight.
Therefore, knowing the sunlight intensity in your location is important.
You can assess the quality of sunlight in your area.
If you see a clear sky with the sun shining in most of the months in a year.
Then your location is suitable for solar energy.
The sunlight intensity is measured in terms of Peak Sun Hours
Where;
1 PSH = 1000 kWh/m²/day.
Let me share the PSH values of a few cities around the world.
- New Delhi (India): 5.35
- California (USA): 5.73
- Rio De Janeirio (Brazil): 4.35
- Port Louis (Mauritius): 5.72
- Buenos Aires (Argentina): 4.63
- Almaty (Kazakhstan): 3.96
- Queensland (Australia): 5.10
- Dubai (UAE): 6.52
A good sunlight area needs fewer solar panels to produce the same amount of power as a place with low sunlight.
This reduces the system size.
You pay less to buy that system, improving the ROI.
Another subfactor that is kept in mind is the shade-free area on the roof.
Despite good sunlight, a roof with a shaded area may not be able to capture the maximum sunlight and the system will produce less electricity.
Therefore, a roof with a more shade-free area is always preferred for solar power installation.
2. Places with high electricity prices
Another factor that makes any location good for solar energy is the electricity rates of that location.
A user installing a solar power system in a region with high electricity prices tends to save more money than another user installing a similar capacity system in a place with a lower electricity price.
Another sub-factor is an escalation in electricity prices.
Let us understand this with an example.
Place X has an electricity price of $ 0.10 per unit and its average annual rise is 4%.
Another place Y is having $ 0.08 per unit with an average annual escalation of 6%.
You can see that place X has high grid price than place Y.
This means people living in place X would be paying more ($ 0.02) than people in place Y for every unit consumed.
But When we consider the escalation in grid prices, the picture changes.
With a 6% escalation, the electricity price of city Y will cross ahead of the electricity price of city X in the 13th year.
In 25 years, people of place Y would end up paying more than people of X.
If both the electricity price and its escalation are high.
Then that place becomes a great choice for solar energy. Installing solar power systems in such locations is very profitable.
Places with government rebates and incentives
Places, where state and central governments offer incentives for solar power installation, are very good from a solar energy point of view.
Some states offer a 30% subsidy over the cost of the system.
This reduces the total cost of the system, making solar energy an even more attractive investment than before.
You get faster payback, a higher internal rate of return, and more
savings.
In addition, if your grid provides the facility of Net-metering.
Then it becomes easier to feed the unused units to the grid and get compensated in the form of a reduced monthly electricity bill.
(Net-meter is a bi-directional meter that allows the flow of units from both sides. At night, the meter allows units to flow from the grid to your house. During the day when your solar power system produces extra solar units. Then this meter feeds those units to the grid. Which gets deducted from the units supplied by the grid. And you get the monthly bill based on the net units consumed).
4. Remote places with good sunlight
Although it is a sub-factor of the first point.
But it needs a separate mention.
Remote places such as mountainous regions where it is very difficult to provide electricity through the grid.
Due to the technical difficulties and heavy cost associated with erecting poles and grids.
Solar power comes into the picture.
Solar PV is a mobile technology.
This means that solar panels can be installed almost on any terrain which receives good sunlight.
And
The cost of installation is very less when compared to the cost of erecting poles, transformers, wires, and the grid.
Conclusion
If any one factor from points 2,3 and 4 along with the first factor (good sunlight) supports your place.
Then choosing solar energy is a good choice.
However, before doing so, it is advisable to first know the energy needs of your family.
This will help in sizing the right system for you.
Which will not only provide you with smooth electricity for decades but also offer you an excellent return on investment.
