Why Install Solar Power Systems
Installing a well designed solar power system on your home or building will protect you from increasing electricity prices, increase the value of the property, and help keep our environment clean.
Solar System Performance
Solar power systems performance will vary according to the amount and intensity of the sun. New Zealand receives ample amounts of sunshine each year and this results in solar system performance that is up with the best locations worldwide. For example, Germany is currently the world leader in solar power installations but not in useable sunshine. Solar systems in Invercargill will generate 20% more electricity than the same size system in Germany. A system in Auckland will generate 40% more!
The graph below shows a location comparison for the amount of electricity generated each year from solar power systems and indicates that locations in New Zealand perform very well.
Powersmart uses historical climate data and our own proprietary models for predicting the performance of our solar power systems. Click here to download the Powersmart system performance graph, real vs predicted case study.
High electricity prices
Electricity prices are currently quite high and forecasted to increase significantly in the near future. With a Powersmart solar power system on your home you will be completely protected from rising electricity costs. As electricity costs rise you will be saving an ever increasing amount of money, boosting your return on investment.
Your Property Value
International data shows that homes with reduced running costs appreciate faster and have a higher overall value on the real estate market. A Powersmart solar power system will reduce or eliminate your home’s electricity bill and therefore your home will demand a higher value on the market.
Environment
Solar Energy Produces No Greenhouse Gases or Pollution
Producing electricity with solar energy emits no greenhouse gases, emits no pollution, and uses no fossil fuels. Solar power systems perfectly complement existing hydro electric generators and save water. When you invest in solar power for your home you are directly offsetting the need for electricity from coal and/or gas fired power plants.
CO2 Emissions Savings
The CO2 emissions savings can be calculated by the Marginal Emissions Factor, the offset of CO2 by the installation of solar power systems. The factor is 0.67kgs of CO2 per kWh. A 3kW system which you are looking at will generate approx 4,000kWh per year (4000 x .67 = ~2680kgs of CO2 offset per year).
Energy Payback
It takes energy to build a solar panel. Powersmart’s solar panels have one of the quickest energy payback periods in the industry. They take approximately 12-18 months to generate enough electricity to repay the energy it took to build them. Given their long life of over 25 years, the majority of the panel’s life will be used to generate ‘environmentally free’ electricity. Even if a panel failed right at its warranted life of 25 years it would still have generated 17 times the energy it took to make it. They are likely to last in excess of 40 years.
Energy Conservation
By the time electricity reaches your home from the power station where it is generated it has typically lost between 5% and 15% of its energy. This is because there is resistance in the power lines which creates heat, resulting in a loss of power over distance. Losses increase over greater distances and with larger amounts of electricity transported from the source. Solar electricity is generated on site at your home and therefore does not have the same losses associated with transferring power over the utility lines.
Transmission Lines
Solar power directly offsets the need for building large power plants and upgrading the existing grid structure because the bulk of your electricity requirement is generated on site. The grid remains in place but does not require expensive alterations to be able to transmit increasing amounts of power from distant sources.
Solar Miles
We import our solar panels and inverters from Europe and China. Our manufacturing partners adhere to the highest environmental standards and take every effort to reduce the impact of their processes.
We take every effort to source all other materials locally to limit the distance the manufactured goods have to travel to the end user. For example, all of the aluminium used in our mounting structures is made in New Zealand using clean hydro electric power.
Solar Hot Water vs. Solar PV
If you would like to know the difference between solar hot water and solar pv, click here.
For more information about why you should install solar, please contact us.