Solar Power

With oil and gas being a limited natural resource there is a push for science and technology to find another way to create electricity. Finding a reliable alternative type of energy is a hot topic in science and in business. There is still a lot of speculation over whether or not we will run out of oil and gas but either way people want to find alternative types of energy for a variety of reasons.

One reason people want to use alternative types of energy is to decrease their carbon footprint. Decreasing your carbon footprint is better for the environment and this is often the motive behind using alternative types of energy.

Getting energy for free is also a main reason why people choose to use alternative types of energy. What do I mean by this? Using the sun or wind to create electricity for personal use could be considered the same as getting electricity for free. However, the major costs associated with alternative types of energy is with the initial start-up cost. The type of energy I will be focusing on today is solar power.

Typical start-up cost for small-scale personal use solar power starts at $19.99 for a basic 1W solar panel. The price of solar power start-up is dependant upon the application and the number of solar panels the customer wants to use. For a larger home solar kit, prices start around $350.00 and the homeowner can usually install the panels without the help of a professional. I own a small 1W solar panel and I find it very useful to charge a battery booster for my car, especially since I can charge it on the side of the road, if my car were to need a boost, where other sources of electricity are sparse .

Also, another use for solar panels is for a more decorative purpose. In my own yard, I have several small solar lights used to light my pathways and deck. The oldest lights are approximately 10 years old and I have found that the solar panels on these lights have lost some of their exterior coating and the cells have begun to breakdown but this does not seem to have an effect on the amount of energy it can produce. I have been very pleased with the result of using solar power for lighting my backyard as an alternative to having hard-wired lighting that relies upon my household electricity. It is hard to say if I have made my money back from my electricity bill for the initial cost of the solar lights but the solar lights are also decorative and I would have bought them with or without the solar panels therefore it is a bonus that I do not have to pay for an electric bill to light my pathways.

Right: solar light that is only 2 years old.
Left: Solar light that is 10 years old.
Photo by: Holly Harley

Another benefit of small scale solar power lights, such as the garden lights I spoke of, is that they can be moved around and are not tied down to a wire in the wall. Also, I do not need to carry extra batteries with me, I only need a sunny location to power them. Sometimes, sunny locations are hard to find which can be a disadvantage of using solar power as an alternative source of energy.

For small scale personal applications solar powered energy is a great alternative type of energy that can save money and help decrease your carbon footprint.