We’ve always garnered power for our households through traditional sources such as coal and gas. Now, through technological advancement, we have alternative means to derive energy. These energy sources include solar energy and wind energy, and the key differentiating factor between traditional energy sources and these alternative energy sources is that alternative energy sources involve no burning of fossil fuels.
All this information is relevant to you as you too consume power on a monthly basis, and you naturally retain total control over your choice. Since you essentially have a choice between traditional power and solar power to power your household or establishment, let us break this choice for you, to help you make a well-informed decision going into the future.
Let us consider the impact of using traditional energy.
The Impact of Excavation
The first and foremost thing that should be considered about using traditional energy is that the fossil fuels that are used to generate traditional energy must first be excavated and transported before being put to use. The problem with this process is that it’s invasive and leads to the absolute destruction of the ground that is being excavated. Such practices invariably lead to issues such as erosion and geological complications that have a great impact along the way. And lastly, there’s the issue of resource depletion that is also a concern. For instance, the well that is extracted to generate fuel hardly has an infinite capacity. And, many feel the need to slowly transition to renewable energy.
The Impact of Burning
Electricity isn’t generated without its fair share of ramifications. Now, to generate electricity, fossil fuels must be burned. And, for a more comprehensive comparison between traditional and solar energy sources, we must assess the impact of burning fossil fuels. The direct result of burning fossil fuel is the release of toxic by-products such as a variety of dangerous greenhouse gases. The commonly associated term for this phenomenon is ‘air pollution’, and simply put, it’s detrimental to our health.
The Matter of Cost
You probably know that you pay hefty bills for electricity month after month. And, although there’s rarely any direct cost that you incur when you opt for traditional energy, you can be sure that the electricity savings you incur month after month eventually add up to significant sums that are greater than the sum you would pay for an investment in equipment needed to power you with solar energy.
Solar Energy
Now, for the purpose of completing a thorough breakdown, let’s consider the impact of using solar energy.
The Impact of Abundance
Solar energy is renewable by the virtue of it being abundantly available. So, unless the sun erupts into a billion smaller particles or unless the black hole engulfs the sun (which would coincidentally also signal the end of human life), we can safely assume that there’s an unlimited supply of solar energy for our benefit. In case we roused unnecessary paranoia in you, you should know that the NASA believes the sun will be alive and good for the next 6.5 billion years. In essence, solar energy is sustainable; using solar energy today doesn’t endanger its availability tomorrow (or for 6.5 billion more years).
The Impact on Environment
An undeniable advantage of using solar energy is that it’s environmentally friendly and causes no pollution as no fuels are burned during the generation of solar energy. And, while there are indeed some emissions that occur during the manufacturing and transportation process, it can’t be compared to traditional power as the emissions caused by the burning of fossil fuels occurs constantly. There is no element of continuous emission as far as solar panels are concerned.
The Capacity to Generate Power
Now, although most of Canada is powered by a grid connection, we had to bring up this point for the sake of a thorough comparison. Solar panels can derive energy even in places that lack a grid-backed inflow of power. Technological advancement, in the form of thin-film solar cells, has now ensured that solar energy is built into the actual material of the structure it is powering. This capacity of the solar panels to generate power beyond grid-powered areas brings enormous value to an establishment located in a remote area.
The Matter of Cost
The usage of solar panels can lead to a significant cost reduction over the course of time. While owners do end up suffering a significant sum as an upfront cost, there are no recurring costs applicable to solar panels whatsoever, leave the small standard sum payable. As a matter of fact, it can be safely said that your solar panel will basically be paying all for itself when you stimulate the costs you’d otherwise incur from a standard month’s electricity bill. Your overall reliance on grid power will diminish by a comprehensive margin. And lastly, you won’t be incurring any serious maintenance costs over time either. A standard household or establishment would ideally need to clean their panel a few times a year at best.
We have been using traditional sources of energy for a while now. But, the above-started concerns such as non-renewability and pollution act as legitimate reasons for why one must reconsider the nature of power they consume. And, now that we have the technological means necessary to put our renewable forms of energy to use, we don’t see why we shouldn’t encourage the same in the name of sustainable development.
We hope that the comparison that we’ve offered was expansive enough for you to rethink your use of traditional energy. We urge you to contact us at AG-SS to understand how you can transition to solar energy, allow our experts to recommend the aptest solution according to your requirements.