The coronavirus or COVID-19 has had massive impacts on just about every aspect of daily life across the globe and solar hot water is no exception.
But just how is a virus originating from China going to impact the solar hot water industry in Australia anyway?
To answer this it’s important to understand the global supply chain when it comes to the manufacture of solar pv (photovoltaic) panels.
Some panels are manufactured completely in China, but even if that’s not that case most panels will have at least some components which comes from Chinese factories.
Why does that matter?
During the rapid outbreak of COVID-19 China locked down entire cities in an attempt to stop the uncontrolled transmission of the virus among citizens.
There are 11 million people who live in the city of Wuhan alone which meant tens of millions of people were locked in their homes under strict rules imposed by the government.
When it comes to solar power the main impact of this is simply in the production of components used in solar panels and solar hot water units.
The immediate shut down of manufacturing means that for a while the price of sola hot water systems increases simply due to the fundamentals of supply and demand.
However this price hike will only be temporary and according to pv-magazine.com the cost of solar is set to decrease by about 25% within the next 15 months.
Simultaneously, ongoing improvements in solar technology will mean those solar panels will become 20% more efficient at the same time!
This combination of improved performance and reduced cost will mean the value proposition around solar hot water, and solar energy generation as a whole will continue to become more attractive as time goes on.
On a larger scale this continued increase in renewable energy across Australia will drive the cost of electricity down as a whole, meaning we should all be able to look forward to lower energy bills when we actually do need to pay for it.
Already in Queensland renewable energy accounts for between 10% to 20% of total energy supply and with heavy incentives offered by the government it’s a trend which shows no signs of slowing down.
Conclusion
So while in the short term there may be some increased cost when it comes to solar hot water systems or solar panels in general, it’s a temporary speedbump in a much larger overall decrease in the cost of solar power hardware, and electricity itself.
Let the experts at SolaPlumb conduct a free on-site energy assessment at your home or business and provide you with the perfect solar solution – whether it is solar hot water, solar power (PV) or solar pool heating.
Call us today on (07) 5317 6216 we are here 24/7 for you.
