Solar Power Vs Wind Power - What Is Better?

Solar power and wind power both are forms of green energy. Both help to save the earth as they are renewable and clean energy forms unlike the energy receives from the burning of fossil fuels. Both energies have their pros and cons when compared with each other and fossil fuels.

Solar power Vs wind power:

Pros of using these green energy sources

• Less environment pollution
• Saves your money
• Can even use to give power to rural areas
• Do not deplete
• Less operational cost

How solar power used to produce electricity?

Solar power is used to produce electricity by using the light photons of the sunlight.

We need solar panels to produce electricity from solar power. Solar panels are made from solar cells. A solar cell consists of two silicon layers. When sunlight fell on these solar panels, solar cells absorb the energy of the light photons.

This emits the electrons. These free electrons flow inside the panels which will result in an output voltage. When you connect this to a circuit there will be a current flow.

How did wind power use to produce electricity?

The kinetic energy of the wind is used to produce electricity by the wind.

To convert the kinetic energy of the wind, we need wind turbines. When the wind hits the blades of the wind turbines, the blades will rotate.

The rotations of the blades will turn the turbine. The turning of the turbine moves the shaft of the generator of the wind energy conversion system. This results in electricity by electromagnetism.

Why solar power is vastly used than wind power?

The main reason is the space.

Wind turbines require massive free land whereas solar panels require less space. Solar panels even can place on the roof. So wind turbines are not suitable for personal usage they can only be used for large-scale power production.

Even though we can build our wind turbines, it is not always practical as small wind turbines cannot produce enough power to power up a house.

Also, because of the size of the wind turbines, they can only be installed in rural areas. They are not suitable for urban or suburban areas whereas solar panels can be installed in any area where there is enough sunlight.

The next reason is rules and regulations.

Wind turbines can be very dangerous to flying wildlife. Also, there are many public controversies associated with wind farms. So these wind plants have to be under proper monitoring. So because of that permitting process for the wind farms are very high. So there is very little chance of getting permission to wind farms.

But the permitting process for solar panels is very easy. In most states roof solar panels do not need any special permissions. So building a solar farm is legally easier than building a wind farm.

Also, some countries and states do not permit to build of a wind turbine on private property.

Then the cost also a big reason.

Building a wind farm costs you more than building a solar farm. The main reason is the wind turbines are very expensive. Also, you need huge land. Then you have to spend more money on legal work. Even after building the farms, wind farms require more maintenance as they are prone to damages such as weather damages. Also, you have to build a transmission line to transfer power from the wind farm which will cost you more.

What is the most suitable power source for small-scale power production (solar/ wind)?

Solar is the most suitable power source for small-scale power productions.

Small-scale power production means that you do not need to produce a massive amount of electricity. Most of the time, small-scale power production systems are used for personal usage only.

So a small-scale power production system should be able to place on a property without much space. So the solar systems are the best choice as they do not require much space.

Also, as we said earlier the permitting process is way easier than the wind farm and also the maintenance cost is less.

What is cheaper? (Solar power/ wind power)

Manufacturing cost

Wind energy conversion systems are more expensive than solar systems. Even though both solar panels and wind turbines are made from expensive materials, wind turbines are more expensive than solar panels.

Installation cost

Building wind farms cost you more than building solar farms. You must have a huge space and the permitting process is also hard for wind farms. Also, as you have to build these wind farms in rural areas you must build transmission lines to transfer power from the farm. This also cost you more.

Maintenance cost

After installing solar panels require very little maintenance. Also, the weather damage is less. But wind turbines can be frequently damaged by lightning and adverse weather conditions like wind storms. Also, wind turbines require more maintenance work than solar panels.

What are the advantages of wind farms over solar farms?

Wind farms can produce energy both day and night times and even on cloudy days. But solar farms cannot produce energy at night time. Also, solar farms cannot produce energy during cloudy days.

Wind turbines produce more energy than a solar panels. An average home solar panel produces about 250 – 400 W per hour at optimal conditions whereas a wind turbine produces about 1.5MW per hour. (These values depend on the capacity of both the solar panel and the wind turbine).

Conclusion

Both wind power and solar power are green energy sources. So by using these energies you can save both your money and the environment. Due to the need for massive space, wind turbine/ wind farms are not suitable to be built in urban and suburban areas. They are only suitable to be built in rural areas. But solar panels can be built on any area if there is enough sunlight. They do not need much space and can use for both small-scale and large-scale power production systems. Due to many reasons wind turbines are mostly suitable for a large-scale power production system.