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 Mike Woods on July 9, 2009 at 1:15am: Solar energy must help the environment and I have never heard of a solar panel making
a noise. Those who live by wind farms say that the noise is unbearabe. But there has to be
a place for both if we are to dispense eventually with fossil fuels.

Comment by Bill A. Medley on July 9, 2009 at 1:11am: It does in smaller areas. Interestingly when I live in Fla in the 70's solar panels were used widely to heat water for water heaters at very little cost. I always wonder why that didn't catch on for other uses since then?

Comment by Angerla Schulz-Henke on July 9, 2009 at 1:11am: Yes it does and even politicians realized it meanwhile. They start setting up massive amount of solar panels in the desert of North Africa to generate energy for European countries. I only hope they give 50% to the African countries.

Angela Schulz-Henke
Universal Being

Comment by Joel James on July 9, 2009 at 1:00am: I would like to ask again, what are the environmental costs of producing and disposing of solar collectors? What chemicals are used to create photovoltaic's? What materials need to be refined and what effect do these processes have on the environment?

One person alluded to the environmental costs of disposing of batteries which will eventually lose their ability to take a charge and need to be replaced. Other components of solar collectors also have their negative effect on the environment either in the manufacturing process or disposal process.

Those who are proponents of nuclear power plants can tell you how clean it is to create power from radioactive materials. Those who oppose nuclear power are fast to point out the environmental degradation both in refining the fuel and disposing of the spent fuel. We had many nuclear power plants built on how safe a technology it was suppose to be.

Hydroelectric as we now know also has it's own set of environmental costs. We need to explore all costs before we commit to the current solar technology.

Again, I am not trying to discourage the use of solar energy, just to look at the whole package.

Comment by Goran Forssell on July 9, 2009 at 12:45am: The solar energy may solve some problems but not provide the electricity, as currently proposed.
The photovoltaic panels are fine for 'lighting using luminled, but nothing more.
Hide reality still true.
The environmental impact of disposing of the panels have an average life of 10 - 15 years.
The silicon cells are fused between 2 sheets of polyethylene ...
A large expanse of solar panels to produce energy creates the darkness below the same .. And 'the method adopted to not grow weeds in crops by placing plastic sheets blacks with the holes for the plants sown!
Above the panels will create small changes in micro-climate, "energetical totem" . Solar panels are most blacks ... you tried to walk on a beach of black sand? ...
The PV should be reviewed, but it seems that no one thinking of it. The best solution is the collector with heat pumps.

Comment by Dr. Lee H. Simpson, DTh.,D.D. on July 9, 2009 at 12:16am: In my opinion, Solar energy does help the environment. It is an untapped source of energy and at least in our generation, this type of energy will never run out. If we could grow and maintain this clean and Green House safe form of energy,the World would be a cleaner place to live.

Comment by Halina on July 8, 2009 at 11:32pm: While it is true that solar energy is non poluting the cost is still afactor. And it is only one alternative to fossil fuesl. I am curious how a do it yourself project can be done.

Comment by Bhaskar Thatti on July 8, 2009 at 11:31pm: The answer to this is a definite 'yes'. I fully concur with the comments of the protogonists of this.
Bhaskar

Comment by Ted Duboise on July 8, 2009 at 11:11pm: Solar Energy is definitely a great alternative and endless resource. Read articles here: http://blog.envirom8.com

Comment by Durojaiye David on July 8, 2009 at 11:06pm: Solar Energy is the only way to go. The creator gave us endless and abundant solar power; its advantages are so resouceful and do not have to worry about the fossil/fuel headaches.