Ireland is not exactly known for its long streaks of sunshine. But a little known fact is that Ireland gets about 70% of the sun’s generation that Spain does, making it a great candidate for Solar PV – especially in these modern times!
If you look at a solar panel that was installed 40 years ago, they were about 10% efficient and the cost was through the roof, yet it is still working away generating electricity.
The recent surge in popularity has seen a considerable drop in the price per kW, despite creeping back up slightly in the last two years. At the same time, the price of electricity has been increasing, so there is no better time than the present to consider an investment in Solar PV.
But before you make the leap, let’s go over the top 5 advantages of choosing solar PV in Ireland as your next investment.
- Save Money
- Future Proofing your Home
- Increased Home Value
- Security of Supply
- Environmental Responsibility
1. Save Money
The moment that your solar PV array is switched on, you start to save. Every household (whether it is efficient or not!) will have something electrical that needs powering throughout the day. This is where solar really starts to shine. Each unit of energy you use that is generated by the sun is equal to the amount you pay to the Electric company, so you can calculate how much potential you can save every year simply by totting these up.
At the current pricing, your Solar PV array on a domestic household should pay for itself between 4-10 years depending on how much space you have.
In any case, this is a great investment if you have the capital.
2. Future Proofing your Home
Nobody knows what the future will bring. But having solar PV will definitely help towards things like inflation and rising fuel costs.
A house with solar paired with a battery is definitely the best way to go here. With peak unit charges about to take centre stage in the Electrical supply game, it makes more sense than ever to have these two paired together.
3. Increase Home Value
A home is most people’s most valuable asset. What better way to increase its value than to add Solar PV? Solar PV is a soft asset that is known to last for decades. A house that has Solar PV compared to a house without it is clearly more valuable, and it adds to the sell-ability of a house, which in turn will help increase the sale price.
4. Security of Supply
With the rise in uncertainty about what way the electrical demand will go in Ireland, people are increasingly asking ‘Is my electrical supply secure?’ In most cases, it likely is.
But even if it’s just an extra peace of mind, Solar PV can be easily retrofitted to run a smaller reserve supply in case of emergencies. This option should probably not be needed, but it’s nice to know this can be done with relative ease.
5. Environmental responsibility
And last but not least, Solar Energy is a clean abundant energy that has very little environmental impact as long as the materials are sustainably sourced.
Once the panels go up, there are no emissions and the energy from them will last for decades to come, meaning that you can be confident that as far as the environment is concerned, you are doing one of the best things you can to keep your emissions down for a better tomorrow.