”This is Finland, we don’t have sun here” Just a few years back this was a very common sentence from basic Finnish house owner when discussing about the possibility of solar panels or solar collectors. In 2005 the amount of Finnish households that had solar collectors was minimal, but in recent years the amount has increased drastically. The technology to collect energy from the sun in a small scale is one of those fields that has advanced and is still advancing fast in recent years. The trend in recent years has been that the price has been dropping by 20% every other year while the efficiency has been improving by 40% at the same time, this has changed the tone in many Finnish consumers. When in the past there were doubts about whether or not the expensive system will pay itself back in time. Nowadays, good estimates depending on the place you live and some external factors are that it takes roughly 5-7 years for it to pay itself back, which makes solar collectors a viable choice, since their estimated life span is around 15 years. Of course solar collectors by themselves are not sufficient to warm up a whole apartment or summer cottage but when used in combination with wood or electricity they can be very efficient. As the older population (40-60 years old) has become more familiar with the Internet the pros and cons of the solar technology have become more known. The industry still suffers a bit from old preconceptions coming from early 2000 when the technology was young and trying its wings on a small scale. The systems back then were not reliable or very effective so most people who invested ridiculous amounts of money ended up getting a bad deal and rumors started to spread. On the positive side nowadays since solar collectors are becoming increasingly popular those who try them and are pleased will then boast to their neighbors who in turn will start to develop interest in the subject. All in all there is a long way for the technology to become a dominant form of heating in Finland but the potential is there. After the prices drop a bit more and efficiencies get better this will be a viable option for even the most skeptic house owner. The biggest challenge in the recent years will be whether to invest now or wait a year or two and invest then. |
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May 2019
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