Marketing Issues

Solar Panels are a relatively new technology, and the average consumer does not have experience purchasing them, or shopping for them. They might be aware they exist, but they don’t know what to look for or, why they are a good investment.

This is a typical marketing problem, in this article we will focus on the big picture benefits of solar panels, and what should drive the average solar panel consumer to purchase a solar array for their home.

* Also average efficiency for solar panels today are about 12%, anything less, you might not want to waste your time unless the solar panel is priced appropriately. I have seen efficiency percents up to as high as 18%, this would be ideal because you will have to purchase less panels, and you will recoup your investment more quickly.

There are four big picture reasons why you should install a solar array on your home.

1. Makes the world a better, cleaner place to live. (The more renewable energy we use, the less fossil fuel energy we use) Fossil fuels pollute the environment, solar panels do not, so every solar panel that collects energy, is energy we will not need from fossil fuels.

2. Real Estate value. Add solar panels to your home and your property value increases. And just think about the new potential homeowners, what would you be more likely to choose:

a.  A house with no electric bill (Solar Panels)

b.  Home without panels, and your electric bill.

Everyone would choose A, especially if the homes were in the same price range. This will allow you to recoup a big chunk of your initial installation costs.

3. No more electric bill, take your electric bill and use the monthly amount to begin to pay off your solar panel installation. With a typical 12% efficiency, you should recoup your  investment within 10 – 20 years.

4. The electric company will pay you for your excess energy. If you’re not consuming the electricity, you might as well make a profit. Perhaps, if you’re a good salesman, you can weasel them into an adjustable rate :p . This will also to allow you to recoup your investment quicker.

Solar panels are an investment, and it is one of the few $0 risk investments available. It will pay for itself, and you can begin making money sooner rather than later. The best part being that there will be many upgrades in efficiency. As people adopt technology will improve and the initial investment will be reduced.

I implore you to consider solar panels, as a way to contribute to the environment, and to your pocketbooks.

This info-graphic (below) really positively represent what a better solar subsidy could mean to the United States, if solar energy was afforded the same luxaries and benefits as fossil fuels it would become more cost effective for the consumer. These subsidies could in essence help kick-start a solar industry still in its infancy.

I believe however that as the solar industry advances and new solar technology is developed and perfected, solar can be more cost effective the fossil fuels. If we look at the big picture and not just current cost effectiveness then you would see a fossil fuel industry that is beginning to struggle to
Environmental costs of fossil fuels are extremely high, and can also cause huge financial burdens, if we look at the latest BP oil spill. BP destroyed an ecosystem, and spent billions cleaning it up, these costs must be considered when talking about cost of producing fossil fuels. I, me personally, am at the point where to me the costs of fossil fuels already far outweigh the costs of solar, when society gets there we will see sweeping changes. Again the info-graphic below represents a way for us to get their faster.find new oil and natural gas reserves. The cost for locating these existing reserves, mining, and transporting oil is always increasing, therefore fossil fuel is becoming a less lucrative investment.