There are always Pro’s and Con’s with any big decision we make. With solar there are typically two main reasons why people chose to go with solar.
The first reason is economic, because people want to save money on their energy bills. The second reason is environment, because people want to lower their carbon footprint and see solar as one way to achieve that goal. The majority of people I talk to actually chose solar, because they fall under the category of wanting solar for both reasons. Both economic and environmental being important to them.
There is actually one more reason that I see that applies here in Costa Rica. Power quality and the frequent power outages from the poor power grid here in Costa Rica. If you have been in areas like Nosara or Samara, you know exactly what I mean. There are many other areas in Costa Rica that experience frequent outages also. For this reason we get many people contacting us.
Let’s start of by discussing some Pro’s for purchasing solar.
1. Reducing your energy bills are very rewarding and seem to be at the top of the scale of importantance. This is a big factor in choosing solar. Solar can also be added to hedge against the never ending raising costs of energy from the producers and providers. Costs seem to be jumping up and there is no way to stop the energy costs from rising. Solar can reduce or eliminate this problem.
2. Battery back up to correct the frequent outages and poor power quality. This seems to be the second biggest Pro and it also helps with saving money by storing generated energy that you produced with your solar equipment. Why buy it from the energy providers if you can generate it yourself and store it for later use in the evenings or during the power outages. Sizing your battery storage correctly can not only resolve the frequent outages but it can also lower your entire energy bill from the providers by you using your generated energy when the sun is down. Reducing or even eliminating that energy bill completely.
3. You can actually sell your excess energy generated back to the grid (energy providers).
4. With the new net metering policy in Costa Rica, property owners with more than one property can actually utilize the excess exported energy from one property and apply it to a second or third properties energy consumption. So these property investors can over size the solar system on one property to generate energy for another property by exporting the energy from their property with solar. Pretty cool.
5. Another Pro is helping to reduce the world’s carbon footprint. Here in Costa Rica, energy is actually close to 100% hydro, wind or solar generated. The carbon footprint is very small but it’s still a Pro for most people.
6. Solar equipment raises the properties value when selling your property. This can actually raise the value of your property above the solar installation costs.
Let’s now discuss a few Con’s of purchasing solar.
1. The upfront cost of solar equipment and battery storage. These costs can be sizable and a typical solar system has a return on investment (ROI) of 5 to 7 years. When adding battery storage into that equation, it can stretch that ROI even longer.
2. Solar equipment needs to have a clear path to the sun light available. If you are in an area with poor sunlight or shading, this can be a problem for solar equipment. There are ways to help reduce this problem that the solar panels and inverter have. They call them power optimizers. These optimizers are added to the solar panels during installation. However this is an additional cost to your solar system.
3. If you are not the owner of the property where you live and you want to purchase solar you are investing in the owners property not your own. This isn’t a wise investment unless the owner is willing to reimburse you. In the end you need to weigh the Pro’s against the Con’s and deside what is best for you. If you would like to know more information regarding these Pro’s and Con’s to see if solar is right for you, ask a qualified installer like myself. I am a journeyman electrician, a master electrician and I owned and operated an electrical contracting company in Canada for many years. I focus on selling quality equipment at a fair price. I supply my clients with a high level of service, which I don’t often see here in Costa Rica. If you are looking to invest in solar please let me know. You can contact me at sunnysidesolarcr@gmail.com or 506 6330-5137 on cell or what’s app. I look forward to telling you more. You can also follow me at Sunny Side Solar Solutions facebook page to read my weekly articles on many different solar topics. These same topics can be read at my facebook group at Costa Rica Solar Installation Reviews along with other important information related to solar.
