Unergia
Whether you are looking to save money, make a safe long-term investment, ensure reliable electricity supply for your house or simply help save the environment, rooftop solar is the way to fulfill all these wishes. Simply put, rooftop solar consists of a photo-voltaic system used to generate solar energy, consisting of components like solar panels mounted on rooftops of residential or consumer buildings, inverters, mounting systems, solar batteries, etc. Such a system converts the rays of the sun into useful energy that can be used to power all your home appliances without any hassle.
Rooftop solar is the new trend among indian consumers. The empty space on your rooftop is an unitilised asset that can be put to great use by installing rooftop solar and enjoying benefits like cost savings, access to a reliable supply of electricity, cleaner air and so much more. With 300 sunny days and clear skies, India is the ideal place to have a rooftop solar system installed in your house.
Many homeowners wonder if they can install solar systems on their exterior walls, balconies or some space on the ground near their house. Since solar panels require direct sunlight at specific angles, rooftop solar is the way to go.
How much area is required for the solar panels and how do they work at night?
Solar panel/system installation at home works best when you have space for rooftop solar. Typically, with as little as 100 sq. feet of space, a 1kW solar system can be installed. And since your house still remains connected to the grid, even if there is insufficient space, you can meet a part of your electricity demand through solar, with the rest coming from the grid.
With net metering, any excess solar power your system generates can be fed back into the grid and when you draw power from the grid (e.g. at night), your consumption will be offset by what you gave back to the grid. Since most households have different levels of demand at different times of the day, during times of low consumption and peak generation, the excess power generated still benefits you.
Can I install rooftop solar if I live in an apartment building?
Residents of apartment buildings can still go solar. It is important to understand that your apartment building’s rooftop space is jointly owned by all residents. So while you cannot connect it to your private supplies, it can still be used to power shared amenities like water pumps, lifts, corridor lights,etc. Since all residents share the costs for these amenities, you still stand to benefit from the savings generated by going solar. In addition, through the use of modern technologies like solar batteries, which can be added to your rooftop solar system, you can leave behind the days of being frustrated by power outages and reduce or eliminate your apartment building’s dependence on diesel-guzzling generators. There are numerous examples of such shared space being used for solar such as G.B. Pant University in Uttarakhand.
What about maintenance of my solar panels?
Maintenance will be your last worry. Solar panels are extremely low maintenance and in many cases, the solar panel installers provide maintenance services for up to 20 years. And if you ever require maintenance, your day-to-day life will remain uninterrupted because even with rooftop solar, your house remains connected to the grid.
In conclusion, going solar has a wide range of obvious benefits. This can be seen in India’s rooftop solar capacity having reached a massive figure of 4.4 gigawatt (GW) in 2019, it’s obvious that even for everyday homeowners, going solar has become a no brainer. With the recent improvements in solar technology and falling cost of solar panel installation, going solar has become as simple as getting the system installed, forgetting about it and only being reminded when you see the cost savings generated on a regular basis.