Fossil Fuels Vs. Solar Power

Are you considering switching to solar energy? If so, good for you. Traditional energy is produced from burning fossil fuels which is extremely harmful and toxic to the environment. Why anyone would want to continue to utilize these outdated, environmentally detrimental methods is beyond me. So, it is no surprise that more and more people are now making the switch to clean, renewable energy through solar.

Whether or not you have personally considered going solar, there are many benefits in doing so, including both environmental and financial, as well as other, non-monetary benefits worth exploring.

Here are 7 conscious reasons many homeowners are ditching the dinosaur energy and moving over to the greener pastures of modern, sustainable energy.

1. Solar Saves You Money. Let’s start with the most effective motivator for most people, their wallets! Solar is less expensive than most traditional energy providers. Energy companies are notorious for consistently over-charging their customers, stacking up fees on top of fees for using excess energy, using energy during peak times, late fees, setup fees and more.

Solar energy doesn’t rely on these large energy companies, playing middleman between you and your energy needs. It utilizes the natural energy produced by the sun and harvests this energy directly for use directly in your own home. This makes you the producer and owner of your own power! Be your own boss. Make your own power and overpaying on energy bills.

2. Fossil Fuels Pollute the Air We Breathe. If you thought wearing a mask during Covid was bad, imagine a world where it’s no longer safe to breathe without a gas mask. Unfortunately, this is no longer just a far-fetched plot of a sci-fi movie anymore. Cities around the world such as Delhi in India, Baoding and Linfen in China, Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, and even Los Angeles and New York City here in the United States suffer some of the worst air quality and highest pollution rates in the world.

In some cities, the smog and pollution has gotten so bad that people can no longer safely walk around without wearing some kind of mask to protect themselves from the toxicity of the air. Schools have remained closed due to the safety hazards related to the children being outdoors. The visual impairment from the smog and contaminants in the air has made travel nearly impossible, and yet the oil and coal factories continue to produce power through the burning of fossil fuels due to the continued economic trends and usage of yesterday’s energy.

This doesn’t have to be the reality of tomorrow. We have the resources, technology and the means to adapt healthier and safer energy from renewable sources. We just need to each do our part to make the effort to join the movement towards green energy.

3. Water Conservation. In cases where energy is not being created from solar or from fossil fuels, hydropower is often used. Hydropower is also clean energy, however it does not have the sustainability of solar energy, as water scarcity is another rising issue in places across the globe.

Los Angeles, California, Las Vegas, Nevada, Lima, Peru, Mexico City, Mexico and Cape Town, South Africa are just a few of the cities that have recently struggled with water shortages. Rising global temperatures and dry climate have made water less sustainable, thereby making solar energy a preferred clean energy source. Solar energy systems are believed to be capable of lowering water consumption and greatly helping our water conservation efforts worldwide.

4. Solar Increases the Value of Your Home. Upgrading to solar, much like kitchen or bath renovations, increases your home equity, adding to the resale value. Studies show that homeowners pay a premium for a property with solar installed, and solar has been shown to increase the value of your home by an average of about $15,000. This could also assist greatly in the time it takes to find a buyer for your home. Over 80% of buyers currently state that energy-efficiency is an important factor in selecting a home, and for many the extra savings on power is worth spending a bit more up-front.

5. Solar Works Anywhere. Not only does solar increase your property’s resale value, but it’s portable. If you are moving, and don’t want to leave your solar panels behind, they can be removed and relocated to your new home. Solar works anywhere, so it can go wherever you do. Moving somewhere less sunny? No worries. Even when it’s cloudy and overcast, solar panels are still working and gathering energy without direct sun visibility. Yes, sunny days do produce more energy, but on very cloudy days, solar panels still produce about 10 to 20 percent of the power that is produced on sunny days.

6. Solar Saves and Solar Pays! Not only does solar save you money, but in many cases it can gain you a little revenue as well. In many cities, if you produce more energy in a month than you use, the additional energy can be sold back to the grid, thanks to a solar incentive program known as Net Metering. This is a system which is designed to smooth out the highs and lows of the fluctuating weather conditions and their effects on solar energy production. The results of this benefits the consumer with access to energy in times of lower production, as well as credits or cash back from your utility company.

In addition, there are many tax credits and rebates available to people who switch to solar. Federal income tax credits repays 30 percent of total system costs back from equipment and installation, state and local rebates can assist in cutting costs, and the Renewable Portfolio Standard Expansion Act of 2016 in D.C. can allow for free electricity generation and earned credits while simultaneously assisting low-income homeowners with installation costs for solar.

7. Easy, Affordable and Sustainable. Many solar installation companies offer no-cost installation, $0 up-front or out-of-pocket costs, and up to a year of free solar. They are able to do this by leasing your roof space and then offering the electricity that it produces as a return incentive until the actual cost of the installation is paid. This works sort of like a try before you buy approach, allowing the consumer to make the switch to solar and reap the benefits from day one!

Installation costs don’t have to be paid all at once, as there are plenty of financing options available, as well as there are very few obstacles to approval for solar. If you own your home and your roof and have a decent credit score, you can pretty much get approved almost anywhere, with some remote location exceptions. And with increasing competition in the solar industry, the products are becoming cheaper to produce and there are increasing options of brands and pricing options.

Solar panels are also dependable, as they resist weather and actually assist in helping protect your roof from weather conditions. Ground mounts are also available for those who don't have the adequate roof space, but have the property space elsewhere.

It’s easy to see that switching to solar energy is a worthwhile investment and a beneficial movement in the evolution of modern energy production. The benefits are immense, both financially and economically for consumers, as well as vastly beneficial for the environment. Our air quality not only affects us, but also the flowers, trees, animals and insects of the world we live in.

If you haven’t considered switching to solar energy up until now, there’s no better time. The options for affordability and availability of solar have increased superfluously over recent years and the number of homes now producing their own power is around 62-million homes worldwide. There are just as many new jobs that are readily available and currently being created within the field of sustainable energy as there are in the coal, oil and toxic energy sources of the past. This year, California will be the first state in the United States to require solar panels on all new homes.

With this kind of support and clearly-evident statistical data displaying the overwhelming cause for solar energy in every home, there is no reason anyone should be refusing to consider upgrading. Yesterday’s energy from fossil fuels is proven to die-out and become extinct, just like all of the dinosaurs from which it came. Don’t be a Flintstone. It’s time to yabba-dabba-do the right thing and ditch the dino energy. Go solar for our future!

Written by: Ryan Barbin - Digital Marketing and Content Creator - Solar Sun Pro

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