Solar power and human health

The solar momentum that is occurring today is a direct result of the climate-related matters in the news. But now, technological advances have made solar panels more efficient and less costly than ever before. This is providing yet another motivation for home and business owners to switch over to solar power. But environmental concerns are what often gets people committed to renewables initially. Pollution on our planet can be largely mitigated by our increased solar energy creation.  To demonstrate the impact, it is estimated that adding another 100 GW of solar capacity in the United States would reduce emissions of at least 70,000 tons of nitrous oxide and 126,000 tons of sulfur dioxide each year. This would considerably profit the diversity of our ecosystems but also ensure the health of our crops and freshwater resources.

Solar is the primary solution to global warming

It's important to realize that electricity generation with solar panels does not produce any greenhouse gases. Some greenhouse gases are emitted during the manufacture and installation of a solar energy system, but this sum is still at least ten times less than discharges of a standard coal-fueled power plant. Some specialists report that advances in the efficiency of solar technology will result in further cutbacks in the overall amount of emissions. This is in strong contrast with fossil fuels, which are currently responsible for issuing 75 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions globally. It is laborious to calculate exactly how much damage these have done to human and animal health.

Substituting solar makes great sense on many levels

Even though carbon dioxide is normally existing in the atmosphere, our energy sector has been increasing its natural concentrations since the Industrial Revolution to the point that our planet cannot control this increased level without consequences such as global warming. Solar power has a great potential for lessening the impact of the energy sector on global warming. A research study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) indicates that substituting coal power plants with 100 GW of solar power could eliminate over 100 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year. Even now, the 20 GW of solar installations operating in the United States offset 17 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions yearly. An important discovery recently proposed that solar panels in cities might have a cooling effect of up to two degrees on the surrounding area. This happens because structures with solar panels tend to seize and convert solar energy into electricity, while buildings without solar panels gather some of the incoming radiation from the sun, transforming it into heat. Solar panels on rooftops could, according to this theory, affect city climates by holding the urban heat island effect at a minimum during summer heat waves.

Solar helps in maintaining a healthy ecosystem

In addition to compromising our clean drinking water supply, the energy industry also adds to severe pollution. An analysis done by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revealed that 72 percent of heavy metal water poisoning arises from coal power plants. This makes them the number one condition of water pollution in the United States. Pollution also occurs when power plants pump used water back into natural water bodies. This water is often significantly warmer than normal and causes health difficulties to many aquatic animals such as fish and amphibians, who are unable to tolerate excessive temperature changes.

Make the change to solar today. In today's world, investing in solar energy is one of the best financial decisions you can make.

For more information relating to going solar, don't forget to visit our solar blog section for more handy guides and articles.

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