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Among businesses, there is growing pressure to take steps toward reducing your carbon footprint. If your company is trying to reduce emissions or get to net-zero emissions in the future, there are some important steps you can take now to get on the right path. The Business Case for Net-Zero Emissions In recent years the number of companies participating in discussions or plans to reduce emissions and address climate change have significantly increased. For many companies it’s a combination of two things: first, wanting to meet consumer demands as more people prefer to do business with companies that are conscious of climate change and doing their part to combat it. Second, it’s a business decision to reduce uncertainty in the...
If you’re following energy news you may have seen the stories about Tesla Battery Day 2020. The event was held on September 22 in conjunction with the annual meeting of Tesla shareholders. A few shareholders attended in person at the company’s Fremont, California headquarters, but most people saw the event on a livestream. After the meeting of shareholders finished, company founder Elon Musk presented to the world on what the future of energy storage at Tesla will look like. The Case for Solar The Battery Day presentation began with a discussion about why it’s so important for companies and individuals to transition to more renewable energy sources. The past 5 years were the hottest in recorded human history There has...
There are two different types of tax incentives available for solar systems, and the one you claim depends on the type of solar system you are planning to install. Both residential and commercial solar systems installed now offer significant tax benefits, but those incentives are going to change in the coming years. We’ll discuss what you need to know to understand tax credits and avoid missing out on incentives that you are eligible for based on the solar system you get. Current Residential and Commercial Solar Incentives (2020 and 2021) Right now the tax incentive for residential and commercial solar arrays are the same. If you install a solar system on your home or business in 2020, you can claim...
One of the biggest incentives to get solar energy for your home (besides being very eco-friendly and reducing your carbon footprint) is the tax incentives. Both federal and state governments have offered tax credits that help offset some of the up-front costs of purchasing a solar array for your home. They were as high as 30% in previous years, but they are declining and will eventually go away entirely as more people adopt solar and the cost to purchase it gets lower. In 2020, the federal tax incentive is 26%, but it’s important to act quickly to take advantage of this incentive. It will go down to 22% in 2021, and by 2022 it will be gone entirely for homeowners...
One of the decisions that homeowners have to make about their solar system is whether to get a battery backup. These batteries can store energy from your solar panels, providing power when the local grid is down or when your solar panels are not actively capturing and converting electricity (such as at night or on a cloudy day). Installing a battery backup does add to the overall cost of your system, so homeowners need to understand what they are getting and what other costs might be associated with a solar battery. How Solar Energy Capture Works A residential solar energy system uses photovoltaic panels to capture energy from sunlight by activating electrons from atoms, but those panels create direct current...
Installing a solar system on your home is one of the best ways to save money and protect the environment by reducing your reliance on fossil fuels. However, as many homeowners examine the options for solar they discover a potential challenge: solar panels capture energy during the day (obviously), while most of your energy consumption occurs when the sun is down. One solution is to install a battery backup, which stores the energy from the daytime for use at night, but that adds to the cost of installing your system and can put solar out of reach for some homeowners. An alternate solution is to connect your home to the local grid and send excess solar energy to the power...
Solar panels are by far the most popular form of renewable energy for residential homes, but many homeowners still wonder if they can afford solar energy, and if installing it will really save money. The good news is that the answer to both questions is probably yes. What is Solar Energy? Solar is a renewable form of energy that converts sunlight into electricity to power your home. It requires photovoltaic panels installed somewhere on or near your home, plus a converter and a battery system if you want to have a backup. Most homeowners install the panels on the roof, but you can also put them in the yard if your roof isn’t suitable for the panels or doesn’t get...
Many people today are looking for ways they can reduce fossil fuel energy consumption, and the best way to do that is to turn to renewable energy. There are multiple types of renewable energy that can provide an alternative to burning fossil fuels, including: Solar Wind Hydropower (water) Geothermal Biofuels However, not all of these types of energy are realistic for homeowners to consider. Biofuels, for example, come from harvesting plant materials and animal waste. Hydroelectric power generation involves building huge dams that can channel energy from large waterways into usable electricity. While those things might work for large companies or governments, for most people the effort to get a usable amount of energy isn’t worth the costs. For homeowners,...
Summer is usually a time when many people across the intermountain region see their power bills skyrocket, especially in places like Nevada and Southern Utah, where temperatures can easily top 110 degrees on any given day. If you’re tired of wondering how much you are going to have to spend on power bills to cool your home, or you’re afraid of opening that bill when it arrives each month, now is the time to switch to solar energy. Predictable Energy Costs One of the greatest benefits of switching to solar energy is the ability to predict your energy costs from month to month. During the hottest months of the summer or the coolest winter months, your bills are going to...
In part one of this blog post we talked about all the benefits that wind energy can provide, including virtually eliminating your total energy bills. Many large corporations have decided that wind energy is a great investment and have built large-scale wind farms to generate electricity. Small businesses can also take advantage of this type of renewable energy, but there are some important things to understand for those companies that don’t have the same financial resources as Google or IKEA. If you’re thinking about wind power for your business, here are some of the drawbacks and other considerations to help you make a final decision. Potential Drawbacks of a Wind Turbine While wind power is more affordable and easier to...