Save Money And Save The Environment With Residential Solar Power

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The explosion of alternate forms of energy production is placing clean and inexpensive production methods in the hands of individuals and families in the United States. Not since the Rural Electrification Program has so much been invested by the government to enhance the lives of rural residents.

A number of grants, tax credits and other subsidies are available to those who choose to set up a residential solar power project, with the amounts obtainable varying depending on which state the solar project is located in. Average monies in the pot for assisting residential solar power projects would pay for approximately 1/3 of the initial installation costs. Funding option sources include federal, state, local, utility companies and non-profit organizations.

The notion of a solar panel on every roof may be a thought of forward thinking planners but the expansion of the number of solar panels installed on American roofs? is steadily increasing. A typical household requires 600 square feet of solar panels to supply its power needs.

A couple of positive environmental impacts of the expansion of solar electrical generation in the United states include 75 million barrels of oil saved each year and 35 million fewer tons of carbon produced by this electrical power generation method.

Pound for pound the most modern solar cells, constructed from silicon, create the same amount of electricity during their lifetime as nuclear fuel rods, but the solar cells do not produce the same highly toxic waste. Solar panels are capable of being totally recycled; other mainstream energy producing approaches cannot say the same.

Due to the initial high cost of installation of a solar system, the number of installations in the beginning was small, but with government support and an increasing understanding of the use of solar power, combined with a dropping cost of installing a system, production costs have dropped by more than 50% and this should aid steady growth.

The concept of installation of solar panels on residential homes seems like a sound one, giving some of the energy production control to individuals. These systems are set up to produce enough electricity to send their surplus to the grid, for community use.

Another approach to solar electrical production is for private companies to install and maintain the solar panel units, thus eliminating the initial cost of instillation for homeowners and no hassle and expense of maintenance.

However the production electricity is handled, cleaner and less expensive approaches will aid the environment as well as the economy. Once the costs drop due to increased development of the technology the rate of installation should significantly increase.

Edited/Published by: SB

I had a successful career actively working with at-risk youth, people struggling with poverty and unemployment, and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. In 2011, I made the decision to pursue my dreams and become a full-time writer. Connect with me on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.