There Are Ways to Prevent It From Happening?
by Ozgur L. Akkas

Scientists today have realized the harmful impacts of producing electricity by using coal, fossil fuel and nuclear power on the environment. In addition, the limited energy resources on earth, global warming and the importance of more sustainable development around the world led researchers to develop new techniques to reduce the harmful environmental changes. Some of the scientific developments for better and sustainable solutions include solar power, hybrid cars and energy efficient products, such as light bulbs, recycled papers and eco-friendly printer inks.

One of the most promising sustainable solutions is the one that involves solar energy. Solar energy is produced from the energy that comes from sun light. As it is known in physics, the first law of thermodynamics states that energy can not be created or destroyed; it can only be converted from one form to another.

Solar panels act as the mediators in this process by capturing the electromagnetic sun light with photovoltaic solar cells that are inside the panel. These cells are made from pure silicon and convert sun light into usable energy, called direct electricity. At homes, we have alternative current. Therefore, the direct current produced from solar cells must be changed to alternative current by using a voltage converter.

Solar power is nowadays, the most cost efficient and “greener” way to produce electricity. The sun produces 1000 watts of electricity per square meter during a sunny day. Currently, existing solar photovoltaic cells capture and convert up to 22 percent of this energy. There is great potential for further research and improvement of solar panels, a field in which much attention and investment has been given lately.

Home appliances such as heaters, air conditioners, refrigerators, computers as well as lighting appliances and washing machines consume electricity from the grid. Most of the electricity to these appliances can be provided by solar panels. For example, a desktop computer uses 150 to 340 watts, a medium window air conditioner uses 900 watts and a dishwasher uses 1200 watts. And many other appliances can be provided with electricity by using photovoltaic solar pales for our homes during winter or summer times.

The use of renewable solar energy for our homes, offices and schools is not only environmentally friendly but also, it reduces our electricity bills over the years.

A bright example of the savings that a family can have by embracing solar energy is the one of the Redmond family in Washington that uses 80 percent of their power from solar panels. Their monthly electricity bill dropped to $28 from $150 prior to using solar panels. At first, solar panel installation might seem expensive. However, considering it as long-term investment, we can save thousands of dollars. Solar panels are given at least 25 years of warranty and up to 50 years depending on their quality.

In this worsening economic climate, there is a simple and cheap way to benefit from the sun and light. This is usually done during the construction of homes and buildings by facing them toward sun light to obtain the heat and light in a space. Also, opening the curtains to obtain sun light in our homes is another simple method to heat and give day light into buildings and homes during sunny days. This will make the heaters and lighting fixtures consume less electricity from the grid, and reduce your electricity bill.

 Another environmentally and pocket friendly product is hybrid cars. Hybrid cars are designed to create propulsion with gasoline and electricity. In addition, any car that combines two or more energy sources to create moving force is called hybrid vehicle. Most people already know how much carbon dioxide the cars with internal combustion engines produce and how much it costs to fill a tank at the gas station. So, driving hybrid cars will help your budget and minimize your carbon footprint.

Other ways of reducing your monthly electricity bill is to replace your appliances by energy efficient ones.

A desktop computer consumes 340 watts of electricity from the grid but a laptop computer consumes only 45 watts of electricity from the grid. Moreover, compact fluorescent light bulbs consume only 18 watts, a lot less compared to incandescent light bulbs.

Clearly, replacing all traditional light bulbs in your home will help pay less to grid companies. In addition, the use of space heaters in rooms that you use instead of the entire house, replacing your top loading washer machine with a front loading one, washing your clothes in cold water and using a ceiling fan instead of air conditioner are among other things that will save you a lot of money at the end of the year.

The embracement of renewable energy sources and replacements of home appliances and fixtures will not only save you money, but will also contribute to create more sustainable environment for the future.