One of the biggest ways to help reduce consumption of fossil fuels and the emission of carbon is for businesses to find a way to scale back their use of electricity. Companies are among the largest consumers of electricity, and electricity accounts for a huge portion of the total oil and natural gas used in the United States, second only to automobiles. Needless to say, most businesses would find it difficult to operate without any sort of electrical power, but there are alternatives to the power grid. Solar power is among the best and most practical, especially for those trying to utilize it on a commercial, rather than city-wide scale.
Converting your business to solar power is not as challenging or expensive as you might assume. In fact, the most costly aspect is simply installing and maintaining the storage system for making use of your collected solar energy.
Solar panels themselves are relatively inexpensive and they can last for years. Still, because they can lose some of their efficacy over time, they are typically warranted for about twenty years. Because each panel can only absorb so much energy, it is a good idea to install as many as possible on whatever surface areas you have available. You can even install reflectors around your panels to ensure that as much sunlight as possible is funneled into them.
The panels themselves are only one component of a solar power system that you will need to have installed. The inverters are equally important and often more expensive and troublesome. Inverters are the means by which solar energy is converted into useable electricity, so without them, solar power is of no use. Inverters do not last as long as solar panels and are not typically warranted for more than ten years. Maintaining your inverters is crucial to your business’s ability to make good use of the solar energy you collect.
Once collected, your solar energy will need to be stored in a battery. Batteries range in price from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, depending on the variety. It is wise to invest in good batteries for your
solar power system, especially if you intend to use solar energy as your primary source of electricity. While it is clear that investing in a solar power system is a costly endeavor, you can end up saving large sums of money in the long run. Not only will you reduce your consumption of electricity from the power grid, you may even receive substantial tax write-offs, depending on the laws in your state. Solar energy is the energy source of the future, and it can be as beneficial to your business as it is to the environment.
