Solar Panels
What are solar panels?
The solar panels are devices that use solar energy to convert it into useful energy and heat for human activities. There are two different categories of solar panels' products according to their use:
- photovoltaic solar panels, finalized to the production of electricity for normal domestic use;
- thermal solar panels, finalized to the heating of sanitary water.
This text will be focused on thermal solar panels to express better what advantages can having who decides to install them on the roof of his/her own house, postponing to the other articles already realized about photovoltaic solar panels whoever was interested.
The advantages of thermal solar panels
First at all, thermal solar panels can be used to heat sanitary water for daily use without using gas or electricity. Thermal solar panels are therefore a substitute of electric water heater or gas boiler if it needs to get warm water to wash dishes, to take a shower, take a bath etc.
Moreover, thermal solar panels take immediate economic advantages in the bill. In Italy, the average insolation at ground level over an entire year has been estimated of 1500 kWh/m2s. If it considers an average performance of the thermal solar panels, with an area of 160.000 square meters of installed solar panels in one of Italian regions, the families could economizing in bill around 8 million cubic meters of methane for the heating of the sanitary water with the gas boiler or around 80 Gwhs of electric energy otherwise used by the electric water heaters.
Frequently Asked Question(s) (FAQ) about thermal solar panels
The principal questions or doubts are about the presence of the sun, as "if it rains?" "if it is cloudy?" "at night?". Modern technology has overcome these handicaps some years ago. This is the reason why many European countries with a lesser level of insolation than Italy (ex. Germany) have already invested a lot of money in the thermal solar panels... very more than money spent in our sunny country.
It is the case of Germany and Austria, countries where the surface occupied by the thermal solar panels is currently very greater than the area occupied by solar panels in Italy. Another European country that uses frequently the thermal solar panels is Greece.
The solar panels or thermal collectors have became a reality of every day. The growth of the European market of the solar energy is contributing to a rapid demolition of panels' costs thanks of competition between manufacturing firms and installing agencies. About the technological aspect, panels' performances are better than those of the past thanks of increasing investments of the producers in the search of innovations.
Contributions of the State
To install the thermal solar panels is a subjective choice. Every owner of an immovable property can appraise the installation of the solar collectors, their costs and the economic advantage that will achieve of it.
A private choice that allows at the State to decrease the energetic dependence and to reduce the importation of the gas or oil. The use of the thermal solar panels also reduces the sanitary /environmental government costs to repair the provoked damages of the pollution. For these reasons the State stimulates the purchase of the solar panels with pontages and credit facility.
