Solar Power: What America Needs for Today & Tomorrow
What was once the domain of ‘tree huggers’ is now becoming a main stream necessity. Green power aka renewable energy sources are becoming more prominent than ever before among headlines in the global news. As concerns over rising fuel prices, oil dependence and environmental pollution way heavily on the mind of Americans, people are starting to realize they need to act individually to make a difference and not wait for other people to fix these problems. Renewable power is a solution we can all take responsibility for implementing. Solar panel systems have a useful service expectancy that mirrors the modern roof, 25-30 years. With current tax rebates, credits, and incentives even paying full retail for a professionally designed and installed system is affordable. Most systems pay for themselves within 3-5 years leaving the homeowner with nearly 25 years of free, clean, green energy.
Conservative estimates have shown that for every $1,000.00 saved per year, $20,000.00 is added to a home’s value. These figures hold up nationwide as they are the average across all markets. This is because we are in a nationwide energy crisis. Environmental concern, conservation and energy independence is of great value no matter where you live and so is solar power for that matter. The Dept of Energy recently launched the Solar America Cities initiative which includes the largest northern hub cities like Boston, New York, Minneapolis and rainy Seattle. Don’t be mistaken into thinking that Green power is the cry of Californians because it is an investment every state is actively pursuing.
Did you know that all satellites in space are powered by solar cells? Solar power is therefore responsible for the world’s communications products. Think about that next time you make a phone call. Solar electricity is produced by changing sunlight into power using the photovoltaic effect also referred to as the PV effect. The PV effect causes an electric current to flow though a solar cell when exposed to sunlight. Solar panel systems are simply the combination of many solar cells together. If you string together a series of solar panel systems you have what’s referred to as a “Solar Electric System” or “Solar Array.” A homeowner can offset most and in some cases all of their electric needs with an effectively designed and implemented solar array.
New solar materials are emerging all the time as more money and research is being poured into the technologies advancing renewable energy resources. The future of solar panels will include lightweight foil-based panels, plastic collectors, and hybrid solar electric/solar water heating collectors. As you can see the future of solar power is bright and it is only going to gain more prominence in our energy picture as time goes by. Solar power is dependent on sunlight, not heat to make it’s clean power. Solar panel systems work in all climates, even space which is a very cold climate. In fact some vendors would argue that solar panels can work better in colder climates as there is no risk of them over-heating and having that compromise their performance. When planning your solar implementation you will need to think about how much sunlight your home receives, your budget, how much conventional power you want to offset with solar power, wind power or both, how much room you have on your roof or in your yard, and where the solar panels will be mounted. While this may sound like a lot, with the right counseling you’ll find solar power is not only easy to implement, the clean, quiet, reliable energy independence it will provide you will pay you dividends many times over for many years to come.
Solar Electricity saves money, adds value to homes and reduces air pollution.Going ‘green’ with a solar panel system is also another way to show your red, white & blue. How is going solar patriotic? In fact having more residental solar panel systems installed across the country has a dramatic effect on reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels, making our country more secure while doing our part to preserve and restore the environment for generations of American’s to come.
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