While the home market is being served with renewable energy energy solutions, in particular Solar Energy Panels and wind turbines, these two solutions have advantages and disadvantages that can change suitability for the domestic customer. The Solar Energy Panels work by converting daylight into electricity and the more daylight there is, the more electricity is supplied. Wind turbines must be rotated by the speed of wind on the blades that drives a dynamo and so creates electricity, the more powerful the wind the more electricity is supplied. It is not solely the Solar Energy Prices or the wind turbine prices, but, the different way that Solar Energy Panels and wind turbines make electricity. Solar Energy Panels can still make electricity on dull days, but wind turbines need a wind speed about 5 m/s to turn. How many times have we seen commercial wind turbines, visible from major roads, standing idle? Both Solar Energy Panels and wind turbines are vulnerable to the effects of adjacent buildings and trees because of the shading effect on Solar Energy Panels and disturbing the air flow to wind turbines. It could be that wind turbines are more vulnerable to disturbances in the air flow from buildings and trees, maybe because of turbulence, whereas if it is just trees, then maybe Solar Energy Panels, installed onto the home roof, could really be able to pick up sunlight directly.
On the cost side, Solar Energy Prices seem to be about ?12,000 for a system suitable for a normal home, and for wind turbines, the cost is about the ?14,000 mark. There could be other costs involved, for example if the roof is not strong enough to take the weight of the Solar Energy Panels, then the domestic customer could find that the Solar Energy Prices rise somewhat to cater for strengthening the roof. Equally for wind turbines; they need to be attached either to a stand fixed to the ground or to the roof, so that the turbine blades can get a free flow of wind. There could also be running costs involved for wind turbines from the reason of the moving parts, whereas Solar Energy Panels need to be kept clean, which could be achieved by rain fall.