With all the amazing benefits of solar power to the environment and to your pockets, you may be wondering, is there a drawback from using solar energy? I mean, as a homemaker, you want what’s best for you and your family and it’s easy to think that going solar is one of them.
However, what could be preventing you from choosing that over the traditional coal-fired power you’re using right now is the possible safety concerns of solar energy, particularly of using solar panels. Will it be a fire hazard? Will I be risking my sons and daughters of electrocution? Those are pretty logical questions to ask, and in this article, you’ll be learning all the safety issues involved in choosing solar for your home.
Solar Panels are absolutely safe
Here’s the truth that other energy providers don’t want you to know: Using solar panels at home is extremely and 100% safe. At least, it’s as safe as possibly any other item that you allow to be inside your home. Solar panels do not convert solar energy into live electricity that is dangerous to anybody’s touch. But how does it work?
In a nutshell, solar panels have smaller components called photovoltaic cells that take in the sun’s energy and convert it into electricity. This output is then converted by an inverter to make it possible to power your home. There’s specific wiring that regulates the flow of electricity after being generated by the cell that makes all these processes safe. Plus, there’s an actual glass that can prevent you from being electrocuted from the panels themselves. Be sure that you also include buying bird mesh for solar panels as this will help prevent damage caused by birds and other pests. Thus, your solar panels will surely last longer.
Solar Panel issues you should know
As a product that uses electricity or produces electricity to be more precise, there are a few home safety considerations to using solar energy at home through having your own panels. These include the following:
- When There’s a Fire
Any electronic product is a fire hazard regardless if it uses solar power. With that in mind, incidents of solar panel fires have something to do with faulty wiring and electrical fires especially in your inverter, and not really the panels themselves. This is why it’s important to have a plan in place so you’ll know what to do after a fire hits your home, as a safety precaution.
- Threat to a Firefighter
But when there’s actually a fire in a home with solar panels, the biggest issue is that it’s going to be pretty difficult for firefighters to respond. Why? Well for starters, one of the first steps to containing a fire is by cutting off a household’s power source. Now if you’re using solar, that would be a pretty challenging task instead of just locating the power source and shutting it down. Plus, it also eliminates an entry point for rescuers because they can’t really step into solar panels on the roof! So that’s something to think about.
- Electrical Surges
Speaking of electrical issues, electrical surges can be an issue for solar power, but it can be an issue for any kind of power source, too. The best way to prevent that from happening is by making sure that none of your wires are worn down or even broken. You may also invest in a whole house surge protector. While this device can be a bit pricey, it serves a necessary purpose to keep your home safe from electrical fire.
- Maintenance concerns
One of the most important questions when switching to solar power is how do you clean your solar panels? Well perhaps when they are installed on the ground through a pole, it may be best to leave it alone. But when they’re on your roof, you should avoid touching it with your bare hands. Clean the surface using a mop and double-check the glass panel for cracks to avoid electrocution.
Roof work is a hazard in itself and really should be left to professionals. So if you need your panels cleaned, the safest route would be to hire a professional service to do it for you.
Panels aren’t the only choice
While solar panels are safe, it’s likely that the issues regarding it will still make you feel uneasy to go solar. Fortunately as stated above, having solar panels isn’t really your only choice if you want to harness the sun’s power.
Instant solar companies or solar farms are actually a good way, nay a better way, to use solar power because it basically eliminates the need for you to install solar panels at home! This means, gone are the maintenance issues or the fire hazards. What you’d have is only the advantages of solar power without needing to deal with most of its unique safety issues.
That’s about everything you need to know regarding safety issues in solar power. Hopefully, this gives you an impression that solar power is pretty safe in itself, regardless of whether you choose to install your own solar panel or you subscribe to instant solar communities for your electricity needs.
Hi, I am Subhajit Khara a lifestyle blogger. Besides blogging, I like to play cricket and watch CR7 playing. You can reach out to me at wittythink.com
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