From helping Aussies make their morning cup of coffee to powering smart bins across the country, solar power has truly taken off in Australia. As of 31 January 2022, more than three million rooftop solar PV systems have been installed nationwide, accounting for 30% of all homes in Australia!
Australians are no strangers to the benefits of solar power for homes, from lowering energy bills to reducing greenhouse gasses and positively impacting the environment. But aside from the important bits, solar panels have an impressive history and boast some pretty impressive facts.
We are madly passionate about solar panels at Green Energy Technologies and have been for several years. That’s why we’ve decided to share some of our favourite fun facts about solar panels!
Fun fact #1 — Solar has been around for more than 200 years
While it may seem like solar has only recently come onto the scene, the technology has actually been around for almost 200 years. It all started back in 1839 when French physicist Alexandre Edmond Becquerel found a photovoltaic effect of electricity generated from direct sunlight.
But that’s not all. Ready for another interesting fact about solar panels? Just over 100 years later, in 1941, inventor Russell Ohl created the world’s first solar panel cell, and Bell Laboratories introduced the first commercial solar panel shortly after in 1954.
Fun fact #2 — Las Vegas runs solely on renewable energy
Known for its bright lights and non-stop casinos, Las Vegas is also home to massive solar lovers. In fact, solar panels and commercial solar power now play a massive role in powering all of the city’s facilities!
With the launch of a 100-megawatt solar farm, the city could purchase enough renewable energy to power more than 100 buildings, parks, street lights and other facilities. And as of December 2016, the city’s mayor announced that Las Vegas had successfully transitioned to 100% clean energy.
At the time, most of the city’s green power came from the desert sun, but the city has now gone on to source additional clean energy from hydropower — a renewable energy source made from moving water.
Fun fact #3 — Solar panels pay themselves off in less than ten years
One commonly asked question about solar panels is how long they can be expected to pay themselves off — also known as the payback period. Depending on the system you choose to invest in, the average solar panel system could initially set you back an average of $4,000 to $10,000. While this can be a significant upfront cost for many Australians, it doesn’t take long for solar panels to provide a decent ROI.
Depending on your location and rooftop solar system, you can expect your solar panel system to pay itself off within three to eight years. And to make things even more impressive, another cool fact about solar panels in Queensland is that thanks to the state’s abundance of sunshine, it could take you less than five years to recoup the funds.
Fun fact #4 — Queensland leads the way in solar panel uptake in Australia
Of course, we couldn’t resist adding this to our list of facts about solar panels on houses. While most of the country has taken great strides toward adopting solar panels and investing in renewable energy, according to Canstar, Queensland is leading the way!
The financial comparison site revealed that Queensland has the highest level of solar penetration in the country, with more than half a million solar PV systems installed. And thanks to our trailblazing efforts, in 2020, the Queensland Government reported that Mackay was in one of the top five Australian solar postcodes.
But that’s not to say the rest of the country doesn’t have anything to smile about. The Australian PV Institute revealed that as of 30 September 2022, there have been more than 3.27 million solar panel installations across the country, with a combined capacity of 28.2 gigawatts.
Fun fact #5 — Solar panels can involve a community
While many PV systems have been designed to power the average Australian household, one fact about solar panel energy is that when coupled with additional systems, they have the potential to generate enough electricity to power a community.
Community solar farms use more than one renewable energy system to power several homes, buildings, non-profit organisations and more. Not only does this mean lower energy bills for all participants, but it also reduces a community’s dependency on fossil fuels.
To date, the largest community solar farm is the Majura project. Located in the ACT, the project has a total of 550 participants and is reportedly preventing 1,700 tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.
Experience all the fun and profitable benefits of solar with Green Energy Technologies
Whether you’re looking to learn more fun facts about solar panels or ready to experience the benefits for yourself, Green Energy Technologies can help. Our mission is to help Australians lower their power bills with the latest renewable energy technologies.
We specialise in solar panel installation for households across Townsville, the Whitsundays and more. We have a range of solar packages with all of our systems made from the highest quality, plus our local solar panel installers are CEC Accredited installers and A Grade electricians.
Our solar for home GET360 Package is available in three stages: GET Going, GET Control and GET Battery. This includes your panels, the inverter, plus installation and ongoing maintenance.
If you would like to find out how much a high-quality solar panel system could cost, request a quote or call us at 07 4940 2900 today.
