In recent times, we’ve witnessed an increasing focus on the changing climate and greenhouse emissions—something which has encouraged plenty of everyday Aussies to pay closer attention to their carbon footprint and energy usage, with many opting to shift to ‘greener’ energy sources.
Those who have already made the switch to solar energy are enjoying a range of benefits, but if you’re still wondering “What are some advantages of solar energy?”, here are a few of the ways it can benefit your household.
It’s a freely available, renewable energy source
Australia is lucky enough to enjoy a beautiful climate with plentiful sunshine most of the year, so it only makes sense that we put this freely available renewable energy source to good use.
It also makes extra sense to harness solar energy if you live in Cairns—compared to a location like Hobart that only receives around 40 sunny days per year, in Cairns, that figure increases to almost 100 sun-filled days, allowing us to yield the benefits of switching to solar far quicker.
Reduce or eliminate the need to use grid electricity
While energy providers are incorporating more ‘green’ sources into their energy supply, unfortunately, around 96% of the electricity consumed from the mains grid in Australia is still generated from fossil fuel sources (such as coal, oil and gas) which produce a large volume of carbon emissions.
Installing a solar energy system for your home allows you to reduce the amount of electricity sourced from the mains grid, dramatically reducing your carbon emissions (a 6.6kW solar system can save around 10.6 tonnes of carbon emissions each year). When combined with battery storage, a solar energy system can even supply 100% of your household electricity needs.
You can save money on your electricity bills
Reducing your reliance on mains electricity will also dramatically cut the cost of your regular electricity bills.
While the amount of money you can save will depend on factors like your location, the size of your solar system and tariffs charged by your electricity provider, you can generally expect your electricity bills to reduce by around 20-40%. In Queensland, it’s likely it will take around 4-6 years to entirely recoup the cost of installing a solar system.
Solar energy can be used in a range of ways
While solar photovoltaic (PV) can be used to produce electricity to power your household, solar energy can also be converted into thermal energy (solar thermal) to produce heat, such as heating a household hot water system.
Advantages of solar energy: Find out more
While there are plenty of benefits to switching to solar, you probably still want to know more about how solar systems work, the size and type of system you would need and how long it will take to recoup the cost of the system.
These are all questions we can help with.
If you’d like a personalised solar assessment for your home or business in Cairns, arrange a free consultation with Lumax Solar to find out how you can benefit from solar energy.
