Author: Francis Ola

Every industry is full of them. The obvious one that comes to mind is the dodgy car salesman. The thing is, it doesn’t stop us from buying a car. We still need one!

The solar industry, in its infancy, attracted more than its fair share of these vultures. They swarmed like flies to dog shit. Unfortunately, this caused a lot of harm to the industry and made a high percentage of people sceptical for no good reason.

After doing solar installs for too many years, I once applied for a solar sales job. I started with two days ‘training’. Suffice to say I didn’t take the job because the product wasn’t really mentioned too much. The ‘training’ was all about high-pressure sales techniques.

Thankfully there is only a small percentage of companies that operate like this. SolarQuotes has a built-in bullshit detector that picks them up a mile away. All the installers have been vigorously vetted, so you don’t have to worry.

Greenwashing is pretending your product is greener than it is. Exhibit A: the current ‘renewable gas‘ marketing campaign/disinformation.

Brownwashing is claiming a green product is not green at all. The ‘proof’ is often made to sound legitimate by combining hopelessly out-of-date published research with outrageously pessimistic assumptions.

For example, 20 years ago, it took a lot of energy to make a very inefficient solar panel. If you then model that panel on a roof in northern Europe, you can attempt to convince people that ‘solar panels will never generate the energy used to make them!’ and ‘solar panels will never pay for themselves financially’. Whereas in 2022, up-to-date data indicates a system in Australia will fully repay its energy debt on a roof in Australia in under 12 months.

Brownwashing is the scourge of the solar industry and the environmental movement. No one likes lies, whether it’s the result of malicious lies, out-of-date or incompetent research or all three. But it shouldn’t put you off. Solar power is a proven technology that, after years in the shadows, is now mainstream. It makes economic and environmental sense no matter which way you cut it.

SolarQuotes has spent the last thirteen years cutting through the brownwashing (and some over-eager greenwashing) and seeking the truth.

 You don’t ‘need’ a consumption monitor in order for your solar power system to work. It will produce exactly the same amount of power with or without one, but that power may not be put to the best use. It’s kind of like driving blind.

You’ll save more money in the long run if you have a consumption monitor. Your inverter provides only basic data of power produced by the system – not your consumption.

A consumption monitor fills in the blanks by comparing solar power production with your electricity consumption. This tool goes a long way to solving the conundrum of quantifying your power usage, leading to better economic outcomes for you.

Plus, it may come with a fancy app that you can play with and show off.

Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture.

It is an essential source of renewable energy, and its technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on how they capture and distribute solar energy or convert it into solar power.

Active solar techniques include the use of photovoltaic systems, concentrated solar power, and solar water heating to harness the energy. Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light-dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air

Which solar technology is best? 

Monocrystalline solar panels are often touted as the most efficient option and are therefore best when installed for larger energy systems in commercial and residential properties. However, panel sizes do vary; therefore, monocrystalline can be used in smaller installations as well.

Photovoltaics

You’re likely most familiar with PV, which is utilized in solar panels. When the sun shines onto a solar panel, energy from the sunlight is absorbed by the PV cells in the panel. This energy creates electrical charges that move in response to an internal electrical field in the cell, causing electricity to flow.

Systems Integration

Solar energy technology doesn’t end with electricity generation by PV or CSP systems. These solar energy systems must be integrated into homes, businesses, and existing electrical grids with varying mixtures of traditional and other renewable energy sources.