Transitioning to solar energy provides tremendous environmental advantages over fossil fuel-generated electricity, according to the experts at Vivint Solar. Home solar panel systems allow households to use renewable energy while avoiding the air and climate pollution created by traditional power plants.
How Home Solar Energy Reduces Emissions?
The natural gas, coal and oil burned to produce electricity at conventional power plants releases massive amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. These emissions contribute heavily to climate change, smog, and health problems like asthma.
In contrast, solar panels generate clean, renewable electricity from sunlight while not releasing harmful pollutants. Adding solar panels to your home reduces reliance on grid power from fossil fuels. Any household activities that tap into your solar energy system instead of the utility grid prevent some amount of emissions from occurring.
With a properly sized system, the average home can offset 30% to 60% or more of its electricity usage with solar power. Multiply that by the growing number of homes adding solar panels, and the overall reduction in emissions is substantial. Widespread adoption of home solar power translates into cleaner air for everyone.
Quantifying Your Home’s Carbon Footprint Reduction
Several user-friendly online calculators allow homeowners to estimate the specific carbon footprint reduction your solar panel installation will provide. Based on details like your system size, average sunshine hours in your area, and percentage of power offset from the grid, the tools estimate annual emissions avoided.
For a typical 5 kW solar electric system in Arizona, for example, calculators estimate annual savings of around 8 to 10 metric tons of CO2. Over 25 years that totals up to 200 to 300 tons of carbon dioxide that your solar panels kept out of the atmosphere.
Contributing to a Zero-Emissions Future
In addition to reducing current emissions, distributed home solar energy generation is paving the way toward a zero-emissions future. As solar panels become more prevalent and affordable, they reduce reliance on building large, centralized fossil fuel power plants to meet electricity demand.
With enough solar-powered homes, the need for new coal and natural gas plants diminishes. And aging generators can gradually be phased out as existing homes and buildings transition to rooftop solar. America has already begun retirement of old coal plants that cannot compete economically with low-cost renewable energy.
Improving Public Health through Cleaner Air
Fossil fuel emissions worsen air quality and related health effects when pollutants react to form smog. Studies confirm that higher smog levels increase hospitalizations and emergency room visits for respiratory problems like asthma attacks. Solar energy helps alleviate these public health impacts.
Communities of ethnic minorities and lower income households located near power plants bear a disproportionate burden of health issues caused by air pollution. Widespread utilization of rooftop solar provides environmental justice by avoiding emissions that directly harm these vulnerable populations.
The Carbon Footprint of Solar Panels
A common question is whether manufacturing solar panels has its own significant carbon footprint. Producing metals, plastics, silicon, and other materials to build solar modules does involve some greenhouse gas emissions.
However, researchers have confirmed that the net carbon benefit from displacing fossil fuel electricity vastly outweighs the modest upfront emissions from manufacturing panels. Over their working lifespan, solar systems effectively “pay back” their carbon footprint many times over through clean energy generation.
Conclusion
Financial incentives for purchasing home solar panels often factor in the environmental benefits. Federal tax credits, state/local rebates, and innovative financing programs all aim to accelerate adoption of residential solar power. As solar costs continue to decrease over time, utilizing sun power without fossil fuel emissions will become ever more attainable and practical for your family.