I wanted to know some good things about sOlar energy my family wants to maybe put solar panels on our house

Hey Zoe, got a few good answers already, here are some other facts you might not have thought of yet: If you invest properly in solar power today and take advantage of any grants and tax incentives, even if your electric rates do not go up as they are forecast too, you will get your money back over time, well within the lifetime of the equipment, and sooner if there is a rate increase in the future. There are also enviromental benefits. At one time there was an argument that a solar panel will never produce as much power as was used to manufacture it. First of all, this is not correct. The, "Embodied Energy," in a solar panel is earned back in 2 - 6 years, depending on the type panel, where the raw materials were shipped from, and how it was installed and used in the end. Most panels are warrantied to last at least 25 years, and most last much longer than that. But the argument is not important anyway. We have been living with electricity for over a century now, so it isn't going away anytime soon. The question is, "What is the best way to produce it?" If you build a panel, and put it along side a similar sized natural gas fired turbine generator for example, which earns back its embodied energy sooner? The answer is the gas turbine never does, because once you build it, ship it and install it, you now have to feed it natural gas for the rest of its life, so it keeps on digging itself a deeper and deeper embodied energy hole that it can never crawl out of. At least the panel has a chance to get even environmentally.

There are also mechanical and political benefits. We all know after the oil embargo of 1973, and the gulf war what it means for our country to rely on foreign oil. Wouldn't it be nice if we only shipped in 20% of our energy instead of 60% the next time something like that happens? Our home has been powered by the wind and sun for years now, but we still remain connected to the electric grid. Last year alone there were two power failures in our county that lasted about a half day each. In both cases, we were not aware of them because our solar array kept on feeding the house. It's difficult to put a price tag on something like that. Did you know that there are over 100,000 homes and businesses in the United States alone that use some level of solar power to operate their electrical devices, that's good news.

Beyond the mechanical, political and environmental benefits however, lies a less obvious benefit, the social benefit. Right now we pump oil out of the ground, and mine for coal. The process of getting those materials to market involves shipping, military escorts and other activities that use up a good portion of that energy as well as putting lives at risk. Jobs in alternative power are higher tech than jobs in coal mining, oil drilling and shipping, and there are more of them. Using more solar power would require us to put more people to work, and increase our education base because the work involved requires certain skills. I would personally like to take all those people out of the coal mines, send them to school and put them to work building solar panels. Nobody would have to die again in one of those dark holes in the ground trying to find food for our hungry power plants. They could work on a factory floor where they would not be exposed to coal dust, radon and other toxins and dangers. Most of our solar and wind resources are spread pretty evenly over the middle half of our globe, which happens to be where all the people are, so everyone has access. This puts people in Bogota on a more equal footing with people in Boca Raton by giving them access to electricity, heat and clean water, and the education to use the solar, wind and biomass resources that provide those things. Oil, coal and natural gas is generally piled up in a few places, such as Russia and the Middle East. This gives those countries and the richer governments that rule them more horse power in bargaining for the other resources of our planet. These are the things that wars are made of.

There are other benefits, see if you can come up with one or two yourself doing your own research. Good luck Zoe, and take care, Rudydoo

There are main characters of solar energy:

1) These are absolutely free from from sunlight.

2) solar systems take sunlight to directly produce electricity from solar radiation

3) Free from pollution

4) Solar system's efficiency is dependent on the weather conditions

Solar energy is one of today's best investments! The payback period is often in the 5 to 10 year range with a 25 to 30 year minimum life of the panels. Let me know if you have a better investment! Besides this there are all kinds of environmental long term benefits.

I co-own an installation company on the East Coast and we do payback analysis and 30 year cash flow projections regularly in our sales processes. Here is our website if you want to check out what our customers are saying. You can also click on the "Live Solar System" button to see a solar array with over 150 panels and it's up to the minute production!

http://www.paradisesolarenergy.com/

Solar energy will cut your electricty bill up to ninety percent, its a tax reduction, it is good for the environment, and it has a long life expectancy!

In Japan scientists want to put solar panels around the moon to run the entire Earth's energy nonstop.

Hope this helps!

1) Its the best method for cutting down the electricity bills.

2) Solar energy is environment friendly.

3) Solar energy is harnessed through Solar panel technology,and these parts required little maintenance.

Here is a short video about advantages and disadvantages of solar energy: