What Living with Solar Power is Really Like

 Living With Solar Power

There’s something miraculous about solar power. It’s a kind of alchemy: the sun shines, and somehow that light and heat is transformed into energy we can use to run our lives — without dumping dirty particulate into the air or mercury into our rivers and lakes.

Solar power is magic for our pocketbooks, too. Imagine the freedom of generating your own electricity and hot water freely from the sun once you’re over the upfront expense of installing solar panels on your rooftop.

But wait — is solar power only accessible to those with the income and space to afford a full-blown solar installation?

Actually, no! As it turns out, you are probably enjoying the benefits of solar on a daily basis without even stopping to think about it. There are dozens of possibilities for incorporating solar into your life, both now and in the near future. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Two ways you are already using solar power

First, do you eat? Then, you are definitely running on solar power!

That may seem like a ridiculous statement, but it’s not. Every leaf and blade of grass is, effectively, a little solar panel industriously converting the sun’s rays into usable energy we can either eat directly, or indirectly in the form of meat and other animal products.

The sun’s warmth, too, is free solar energy you’ve been enjoying since the day you were born. Have you ever thought about making better use of it? You can.

Solar energy that is absorbed directly without the use of solar collector technology is called passive solar. It is a simple enough concept. After all, your cat uses it all the time. However when used intelligently it can be quite powerful.

If you have large windows that face sunward, you may have noticed that the room heats up pretty quickly when the sun is shining. Next time you have a cold, sunny day, try leaving the curtains open. You may be surprised at how infrequently your heat needs to run. (Don’t forget to close them again at night to prevent heat loss.) Since dark colors absorb more heat, use them to decorate rooms that get a lot of solar gain if you’d like to maximize this effect.

Daylighting, too, is a form of passive solar anyone can take advantage of. Try syncing your day with the sun and see if you don’t use less electricity. You’ll probably feel better, too. Large corporations are starting to catch on to using daylighting not just for the energy savings, but because it can significantly increase employee productivity. It even helps boost sales in retail stores!

Solar Power for Water Heating

Solar power for hot water is gaining in popularity in many areas of the world. Ninety percent of Israeli homes are already equipped with solar water heaters. Some countries, such as Spain, require them for new construction. While solar hot water is not cheap to install, the efficiency of the solar hot water collectors makes it an excellent investment that often pays for itself in less than four years.

How solar power is creeping into everyday life

When most people talk about solar, they mean photovoltaics (PV, or solar electric). For many, having a PV system is the ultimate in green living: it allows you to enjoy a modern lifestyle with minimal carbon footprint.

Not everyone can install a full PV system on their rooftop right away. However, if you look closely, you may notice that solar electric technology is cropping up in all sorts of places.

Have you been nabbed for speeding lately? It might have been an inconspicuous solar-powered traffic camera that gave you away. Remote street lights and traffic signals often run on solar. Some car manufacturers are incorporating thin film solar panels onto car roofs. (While they don’t generate enough power to run the car, they can keep the interior of a parked car cool on a hot summer day.) And ever more utilities are adding solar power to their electrical generation sources.

Many solar items are affordable for the average household, including solar power generated battery chargers, attic fans, outdoor lighting and even toys.

You can even cook with a solar oven! This is basically an insulated black box with a slanted glass cover, which traps the sun’s heat inside it well enough to cook food. Used outside, they don’t generate excess heat in the home on hot summer days. They are wonderful slow cookers, perfect for roasts and stews.

What is your favorite way that you have found to use solar energy in your life? Let me know in the Comments below.

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This is a Guest Post from Ryan McNeill. President of Renewable Energy Corporation, one of the Mid-Atlantic’s largest residential solar energy companies – committed to installing quality, American-made solar panels and energy products for homeowners.