How does solar help the environment?

There is a multitude of advantages to installing a solar energy system. For many American homeowners, the biggest attraction to solar power is that once the capital cost of installing it is paid off, the energy is free. So the only real question is whether the payback period on the capital investment is better than the returns they would get from investing money in other ways. You may be surprised that we now list this as the leading advantage of solar energy. The reason is that most homeowners are now more interested in the financial aspects of installing solar rather than the environmental benefits.

Solar energy is a renewable energy source

NASA estimates that the sun will shine for another 6.5 billion years. The surface of the earth receives 120,000 terawatts of solar radiation (sunlight) – 20,000 times more power than what is needed to supply the entire world. Harnessing solar energy does not generally cause pollution. There are some emissions associated with the production and installation of solar energy materials but these emissions are minimal when compared to generating electricity from fossil fuels. Community Solar can be used to overcome installation issues Because of shade, insufficient space and ownership issues many American homes are currently unfit for solar panels. With the introduction of shared solar power, homeowners can subscribe to "community solar gardens", and generate solar power without actually having solar panels on their own rooftops. The advantage of this is that installation costs can be cheaper if large numbers of panels are installed in one location. The legislation is required to enable community solar in each state. 

 No moving parts mean little maintenance

Fortunately,  there are no moving parts involved in solar power systems. This means there is no noise associated with photovoltaics. This compares favorably to other renewable technologies such as wind turbines. Because there are no moving parts there is no noise pollution from solar technologies either.

Solar technology is Improving

New solar technologies are being invented regularly. Technological improvements are perpetually being made in the design of solar power equipment. As the cells in solar panels become more efficient at turning solar energy into electricity, the amount of space required to generate a specific amount of solar power will decrease. 

There has never been a better time to install a solar energy system!

If you want to move into the future and join the solar revolution, or if you want to find out what solar panels are right for you, go to HahaSmart.com and try our price checker tool. You can see how much a system will cost, and how much you can save over the next 20 years. 

For more information relating to going solar, don't forget to visit our solar blog section for more handy guides and articles.