Solar School Solutions The sun is a gigantic mass of hot hydrogen gas that sends heat and light to planet earth every day, and is over 4.5 billion years old. Since the beginning of humanity, the human race has been fascinated with the sun, and rightfully so. As well as being fascinated with the sun, humans tried very early on to utilize the sun’s properties. The ancients used the sun to grow crops and tell time through sundials. They built their homes to maximize the use of the sun’s rays to more efficiently heat their homes during cold winter months. The ancient Chinese even used concave mirrors to reflect the sun’s rays, which would in turn start fires and allow them to more easily cook food. The ancient Greeks used this same technique of …show more content…
One alternative to solar energy is fossil fuels, which can cause a great amount of pollution, and will one day no longer be available to us. Scott Barber says in his article, “The exploitation and misuse of our natural resources is rapidly depleting our oil and natural gas” (2). This commodity is highly sought after, which has caused a lot of conflict all over the world. Most buildings in the United States have electricity and heat thanks to oil, and gas. “The United States, having consumed from 82% to 88% of its proved oil reserves (API 1999), now imports more than 60% of its oil at an annual cost of approximately $75 billion” according to an issue in the Oxford Journals (Pimentel 1110). Solar is an even better alternative to other forms of renewable energy. In the book Renewable: The World Changing Power of Alternative Energy, Jeremy Shere says that “enough sunlight falls on Earth every hour to meet the world’s energy demands for an entire year” (89). There is no other form of energy in as much abundance as the sun provides. Solar energy is even more reliable and more available than another popular renewable energy source, wind energy. Wind energy is much more expensive than solar energy, and requires much more maintenance than solar energy according to an article in Go Green in Your Home. The article states “Wind generators have …show more content…
In a report done by Jackie DeAngelis for CNBC, “cost of energy per kilowatt hour will go from 20 cents with the local utility company to 13 cents” (web) when switching over to solar energy. Although that may not sound like a lot, it’s been estimated that a school can save millions upon millions of dollars over a 20 year period. Since schools are usually in use for multiple decades, this would be a huge benefit for any school. Schools can even receive funding for solar panels to be installed on their schools. An article by the Solar Energy Industries Association stated, “Systems have become more accessible and affordable for more customers due to the increased availability of financing options, including third-party system ownership, improved availability of debt financing, and other traditional school financing vehicles such as bonds and tax-exempt lease purchases” (web). There are many government and private programs that are more than willing to help greatly decrease the initial cost of solar panels as well. Solar panels also take very little maintenance, so once they are installed, there is little to no more cost to the user for the solar panels. Therefore the school would no longer have to fund these panels in order to receive electricity. All of this money that the school saves on electricity could be used in other areas of the school,
Everyone is looking for a better way to have power. Solar power has very dependable technology, with little to no maintenance. It can bring finical savings by making more power a home owner may need and you can resell back the power company. Lastly help the environment by having no waste so less pollution and takes up unused space by putting them on to the roofs of the houses. In the end Home owners should try looking pass the initial price of Solar panels and see that this is a great way to produce energy that does not produce any carbon foot print.
sun as a principle of heat and light for the earth is a symbol of the
Thirty-seven percent of the energy used in the United States comes from oil. Natural gas comes in at second, contributes twenty five percent of the energy. Coal gives us twenty one percent of our energy while the other seventeen percent comes from other energy sources. Those other resources include nuclear, wind, and mostly solar. Besides the environmental harm that some people think fracking has, it has the potential to produce more natural gas and oil. It also is a non-renewable resource and will take a very long time for it to come back because of the earth’s natural creation. Solar and wind power are renewable, but do not produce enough energy to run our country. All of the solar panels and wind mills we have on the earth right now could ...
Two people who believe this are reporters at the Breit Bart News Network. Julian Morris and Victor Nava believe that, “‘Green’ energy subsidies benefit the politically connected while harming future generations as hundreds of millions of dollars are added to the country’s debt burden with each green failure.” In a way Morris and Nava are correct. According to Mathias Aarre Maehlum, “Residential solar systems are typically sized from 3 to 8kW and end up costing between $15,000 and $40,000.” This can add up to become very expensive when implementing solar energy throughout the country. However, with the advancements in technology growing every year the cost will decrease over time. The cost of implementation can in fact go down as well through the use of community solar gardens. This helps the homes that are shaded and cannot absorbs the Sun’s energy. The energy from the community solar gardens are shared through out those homes. Switching to solar energy can also save money over time. Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association confirms this. Resch says, “Today, the solar industry employs nearly 175,000 Americans and pumps more than $15 billion a year into the U.S. economy – and we’re just scratching the surface of our enormous potential” (qtd. in
Our Sun continuously converts hydrogen into helium and with this process it provides the essentials for life processes. In doing this it controls “our climate, provides light, raises tides, and drives the food chain” (Schaefer 34). Our Sun also has influenced many beliefs now and in the past. History has documented Sun worshipping religions while many current societies use solar calendars (Schaefer 34).
Solar energy’s largest substitutes are nuclear power and fossil fuels - coal, oil and natural gas. Even though these are not renewable energy sources they are considered substitutes for electricity production.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, over half of the oil used in the USA is imported. Most of this imported oil is located in the middle east and is controlled by OPEC members. Subsequent oil price shocks and price manipulation by OPEC have cost our economy dearly—about $1.9 trillion from 2004 to 2008—and each major shock was followed by a recession (Reduce). We may never be able to fully eliminate our need to import oil, but we can reduce cartel market control and the economic impact of price shocks by reducing our demand (Reduce). One way we can reduce our reliance on oil is through investing in renewable energy. Solar power, wind power, and hydro power are all forms of energy which come from renewable resources. Unlike oil, solar, wind and hydro electric power is abundant and can be obtained locally.
Preview: Today I will discuss the potential that solar power has to become this country’s main supply of energy and the latest research that can make solar power more efficient and cost effective. I will also present the environmental benefits that come with using solar power over other and more harmful forms of energy.
I have already written about the obvious benefits of going solar. There are other benefits as well that decrease the impact on our earth over time. Solar panels and battery banks have a life of 25-35 years and don't need anything more than general cleaning, snow removal and monthly water filling. Solar energy is the cleanest and purest form of energy, allowing for cleaner air overall in our environment. There is great hope for a lot more solar panels to be installed worldwide.
I am certain that all have heard of the terms greenhouse gases, fossil fuels, and global warming. Have you ever questioned what will happen if nothing is done about the environmental problems facing the world today? What if I answer you that, we can merely use the power from the sun to power up our entire planet without the use of harmful energy sources, which affect our atmosphere? The power from the sun is what we call solar power. Solar power is the energy that comes from the sun as light and heat energy, and then it is later converted into electrical energy through solar panels (Nelson, 2008).
The Earth captures around 342 W/m2 of energy from the sun. This energy is in the form of solar radiation, which the atmosphere reflects about 77 W/m2 and will absorb around 68 W/m2 of solar radiation annually. Therefore, the Earth’s surface is receiving, on average, about 197 W/m2 of solar radiation annually. This amount of energy received is roughly more than 10,000 times the amount of all energy humans consume per year. This energy can be used to produce electricity or heat. This energy source is not being used to it’s potential considering how much effort would come into effect to store and transport this energy.
When the sun heats the panel, it generates clean energy, which does not pollute the environment. All in all, the costs of solar power might not be applicable when it is certainly the best way to have a clean environment.
In chapter thirteen of our book, Environment by Raven and Berg, it shows us just how important renewable energy sources are. Currently the United States of America thrives on the use of fossil fuels and nuclear power. The main problems with these types of fuel are that they are both limited and can be extremely harmful to our environment. They cause global warming, air pollution, acid rain, and oil spills (Environment), and not only that, but in the grand scheme of things, these sources really aren’t even that cheap of a fuel source. There are many alternatives to these all but outdated fuel sources.
The world that we live into today affords us the expectation that the flip a switch will turn the lights on. As populations increase and developing nations undergo dramatic economic growth, this energy demand will only continue to grow. The International Energy Agency (IEA) believes that “the world’s energy needs could be 50% higher in 2030 than they are today” (ElBaradei). Given this projected growth, it is necessary for world leaders must take action to secure the energy supply. Meaning that world leaders need to start seriously considering an alternative to non-renewable energy sources. “In 2012, the United States generated about 4,054 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity. About 68% of the electricity generated was from fossil fuel (coal, natural gas, and petroleum), with 37% attributed from coal” (U.S. Energy Information Administration). The fossil fuels that are used to supply over half of our country’s energy are in finite supply and are increasing in price to astronomical heights.
Using fossil fuels such as coal and oil is inefficient, dangerous, and otherwise a process that is known to eventually fail as a long lasting energy source. Yet, there is hope for the future of energy, this new hope has many shapes and forms, but requires a chance to be fully implemented in our everyday life. Such energy sources like solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, and hydro power are the key to our future. These energy sources are proven to be long lasting, safe, more reliable, and the next innovation. In short, all Americans should switch to renewable energy, resulting in a safer and more efficient world.