Does Solar Energy Help the Environment?

Discover the true Facts about Solar Energy and turn your city Green.

Here we discuss Facts about solar energy usage, systems, plus sun related and other Interesting Facts about Solar Energy. All of which will help you with your decision whether or not to install a solar energy system at your home and make your city Green.
Perhaps you'd even like to save yourself a lot of money and build your very own solar energy system.

General facts

• Solar Energy is better for the environment than traditional forms of energy.
• Solar energy has many uses such as electricity production and heating of water through photovoltaic cells and directly for drying clothes.
• Solar energy can also be used to heat swimming pools, power cars, for attic fans, calculators and other small appliances.
• It produces lighting for indoors or outdoors.
• Solar Energy is becoming more and more popular. The worldwide demand for Solar Energy is currently greater than supply.

Facts about Solar Energy usage:

• Solar Energy is measured in kilowatt-hour. 1 kilowatt = 1000 watts.
• 1 kilowatt-hour (kWh) = the amount of electricity required to burn a 100 watt light bulb for 10 hours.
• According to the US Department of Energy, an average American household used approximately 866-kilowatt hours per month costing them $70.68.
• About 30% of our total energy consumption is used to heat water.

Sun related Facts about Solar Energy

• Sunlight travels to the earth in approximately 8 minutes from 93,000,000 miles away, at 186,282 miles per second.
• The sun is also the main source of non-renewable fossil fuels (coal, gas and petroleum), which began life as plants or animals whose energy came from the sun millions of year ago.
• Solar energy is responsible for weather patterns and ocean currents.
• Clouds, pollution and wind can prevent the sun's rays from reaching the earth.

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Comment by Alice Diane Celebre on July 9, 2009 at 5:29am: My farmhouse at Basil Brook Organic Pharm. Ringoes, NJ

The home is solar heated, has solar electricity and solar hot water.

We participate in the annual National Solar Home Tour.

Yours for a clean and safe energy future ! : )

Alice Diane Celebre

Comment by Jimmy Wee on July 9, 2009 at 4:47am: Solar energy? Infinite and logical. Make it so...

Comment by Tammie Manis on July 9, 2009 at 4:40am: I have been wanting/waiting, solar panels well it feels like forever. I have been trying to convince my honey..into being "OFF THE GRID" (unsuccesful as of yet). BUT I also want a wind turbine, rain barrell, and geo-thermal..THE WHOLE ENCHILDA..and then some! That's me though..I WANT IT ALL!

Comment by Laila on July 9, 2009 at 4:14am: Regardless of if solar is better for the environment, we actually have to REDUCE our CONSUMPTION energy in general...It does not really matter where our energy comes from...we waste too much of it!

Laila

Comment by Tony Echavarry on July 9, 2009 at 3:55am: I think it's a good idea, but I don't think the technology is up to speed yet to make it main stream. I imagine that will improve in time, and then more people will be inclined to use it. Bottom line, the technology must improve & the cost come way down.

Comment by Catherine on July 9, 2009 at 3:54am: Yes, I do believe it does help and we all need to play our part to help our environment.

Comment by Peter Foreman on July 9, 2009 at 3:52am: Solar Energy has the potential to act as a useful back up, and should be a requirement in new build housing, but be careful not to overstate the benefits. The original post refers to 30% of energy use being for water heating. I think this is 30% of DOMESTIC energy use. To give an example, the entire domestic energy use in China is roughly equal to the power used by their steel industry.

Ignoring the (real) issues about toxicity of materials and energy used in manufacture (which are charges that can be thrown at most energy sources), the best place for big industrial size solar arrays is where there is a lot of sunlight. This tends to be either (1) where everyone wants to live and nobody wants to see a massive industrial complex next door or (2) where nobody wants to live (e.g. a desert) and transmission loss is therefore a problem.

There was an episode of the excellent West Wing a few years ago where (from memory) Josh was trying to work out which alternative energy source the government should support. The fans of solar had a plan to solve America's energy problem by laying out solar panels to cover most of Arizona.........

Peter Foreman
Chief Executive
Traprain Consultants Ltd
(and yes, many of our clients are in the oil & gas industry, but we do also work on wind energy projects!)

Comment by nettis_ on July 9, 2009 at 3:49am: Yes I think the solarenergies is good for the earth
I think its hurry too safe the earth now!
We cant wait too the next generation!
We must save ourself now
It is important too think in good waves
I been with you
LOVE
NAMASTE

Comment by Roger Green on July 9, 2009 at 3:44am: In some ways, the potentially easiest alternative energy.
Wind power requires those giant windmills - have you seen the size of those things - which create threats to bats and birds, plus the noise pollution.
Ethanol might work if the decision wasn't to take food product that takes almost as much energy to use as it generates.
Solar power is much more passive, and that's a good thing.

Comment by Karl Craig-West on July 9, 2009 at 3:43am: I think Solar Energy has to be taken seriously. However, the efficiency and effectiveness of photovoltaic cells isn't yet good enough for economies of scale to be properly appreciated.

I could equip my house with solar panels to heat the water in my house for around £3,000.
But based on that spend, it would take 17 years for me to recover that investment because of the poor output of photovoltaic technology.

Until that cost/benefit balance is redressed, very few consumers will consider domestic solar energy.