As society evolves, everyone is becoming increasingly aware of the impact we are having on the environment around us. We don’t have to be environmentalists to realise that everything we do can either have a positive or negative impact on the health of our planet.
While it might be virtually impossible for humans to exist and not leave any sort of negative footprint on the environment, there are many things we can do to vastly reduce any adverse effects.
One positive step in the fight to save the planet that has seen an explosion in popularity in recent decades is solar electricity. Solar power has been trending in part due to rising energy costs, but it’s also received a massive push because of its environmental benefits.
Let’s take a look at how solar energy impacts the environment.
Switching To Solar Energy – The Environmental Impacts
Everyone knows the sun is a massive source of energy, so the more this natural energy source can be harnessed and utilised, the less people will have to rely on fossil fuels and other resource-hungry energy sources. Energy from the sun is not only natural, it’s also clean, doesn’t pollute and is always in abundance.
With zero emissions, solar power is the perfect solution when it comes to creating electricity to power homes and businesses. With the help of solar panels with battery storage, not only can the sun power lights and appliances, but this energy can be stored to power homes even during the night or through periods of poor weather.
Solar electricity is sustainable. Once a solar power system has been set up, for the most part, it’s self-sufficient. Homes equipped with solar power are no longer dependent on the conventional power grid for the most part. Not only does solar power help the environment, but it also saves households considerable sums of money over a period of time.
Solar energy can have some negative impacts as well when employed on a larger scale. While any negative impacts for use in homes is minimal, large-scale solar energy facilities require large areas of land for the facility to be erected and put into use. This would involve clearing of land in wilderness areas and the like to make way for a large-scale solar facility, such as a solar energy power plant. Power plants can also have an impact on the soil, as well as the consumption of water to keep the system cool.
There is also the issue of the manufacturing of solar panels and how big an impact this has on natural resources to construct the panels, and the carbon footprint created in solar panel construction. The recycling of old solar panels also faces some challenges, as there are currently not enough locations to recycle them and not enough discarded solar panels to make recycling a profitable and viable option.
While there are still some negative impacts attached to solar energy in the current climate, solar power is definitely the way of the future as a clean, pure and natural energy source.
Why Install Solar Power In Your Home?
To begin with, while there is an initial investment to be made to install a solar energy system, you will save a lot of money in the long-term. As technology in this field continues to advance, the less reliant on the power grid your home will become. Solar power is rapidly approaching the stage where homes can be run almost entirely on solar power alone. Think of how much money this will save you. The Tesla Powerwall home battery system is one such example of modern innovation.
When you’re predominantly running your home on solar electricity, you’ll be playing your part in helping to save the planet and conserve its precious resources. It may seem like a small part to play, but the more households that adopt solar energy as their power source, the more of a positive impact it will have.
The find a solar energy installer near you, just go online and type in search terms such as “solar panels Sydney”, for example.
In Conclusion
Solar power is definitely the way of the future if you want to save money on those ever-increasing electricity bills and want to do your part in protecting the environment in which we live.
