Climate change is the pressing concern of the 21st century. With continuous rising global temperature, it is vital for each and every sector to concentrate on the number of greenhouse gases they emit and the amount of fossil fuels they consume. Warmer temperatures are causing havoc such as drought, floods and early frost.
With such rising concerns, solar energy is proving to be a boom to mankind. Each and every sector is trying to adopt this renewable form of energy.
Agriculture is one such sector, which can benefit hugely due to the adoption of solar energy. With the rising global population, the demand for agricultural products is increasing at an exponential rate.
Solar energy possesses a huge potential for solar irrigation and can be used to pump water for livestock and crops. We need to design or renovate buildings to trap the heat available in daylight. The trapped heat can also be used to warm homes and livestock yards.
Some livestock need a continuous supply of fresh air. We can design systems to run coolers and other such boxes and avoid electricity bills. The most cost-effective approach is to ask your builder to design the structure of building in such a way that it effectively optimizes the sunlight it receives.
Solar water heaters can provide hot water for cattle cleaning and pen cleaning. Dairy operations can use hot solar water to warm and stimulate cow’s udders. The sunlight can be used to generate electricity to power homes and agriculture houses
A major percentage of agriculture produce is spoilt during the traditional open-air drying. Using solar drying method can dry crops faster and at an even rate than leaving them out open in the field with the added advantage of protection from birds, insects and worms.
Easily perishable crops are often difficult to dry and most of the percentage ends up getting spoiled, with solar drying, you can easily dry these crops and enable longer storage times and easier transportation. This will significantly decrease the number of spoiled crops and contribute to increasing farmer’s income.
There are different types of solar dryers, such as direct drying (solar box dryer), indirect drying (solar cabinet dryer), mixed mode drying (solar tunnel dryer) or hybrid drying (hybrid solar/biomass cabinet dryer).
Typically, a solar drying apparatus consists of a shed, a drying rack and a solar collector. The shed traps the solar heat coming from the south-facing window and natural convection or a solar fan propels the heat.
If your farm already has a crop dryer in place it makes sense to replace the conventional fuel powering the apparatus with solar energy. You would be able to save fuel and money by this method.
Greenhouses normally use solar energy to carry out their prescribed function. But it needs to be regulated with gas and oil to maintain a constant temperature. There are several methods you can adopt to increase the efficiency of your greenhouse but using a heat sink is commonly opted by farmers.
The easiest and opted out method to regulate the temperature inside your greenhouse is to use a thermal mass called heat sink. A thermal mass is any material which absorbs energy and stores it for later use. One such example is water. Solar heat trapped in water can be used to regulate the temperature.
Sunlight can also be used to generate electricity using PV solar panels. This is often a cost-friendly approach than conventional methods of providing electricity especially to a remote location where they have a problem in setting up power transmission lines. They have no moving parts and are easier to maintain than diesel fuels.
PV can be applied to a wide range of applications; most important ones include irrigation, refrigeration of agricultural products, milling of grains, electric fencing, poultry lightning etc. Although the application of solar PV system is limited to apparatus with smaller energy inputs, it will help you cut your dependency on electricity. Additionally, the cost of the PV systems is projected to decline over time.
Unreliable supply of electricity is one of the top concerns for many agriculture practitioners, many have even dealt serious loses. If you are thinking about the benefits of applying solar energy, we are noting some (if not all) of them for you.
On large farms, solar energy harnessed will result in low cost than fossil fuels. The installation will be costly but once you recover the invested amount the energy you used will be free of cost. Additionally, you get subsidies from state and central government which will help you to easily pay off the cost of installation.
Every year farmers worry about drought and power cuts occurring with it. With solar energy panels in place, you don’t have to rely on a third party to carry out your farming activities. Solar panels require minimal water and prove very beneficial in areas with water scarcity.
Agriculture has sometimes been slow to adopt technological benefits when compared to other sectors. With using solar energy to power agriculture activities, the farming sector proves that they are ready for more technological advancements. With solar energy on the rise, more farmers use solar energy to run their agricultural activities and this will provoke businesses and researchers to provide farmers with more technologically equipped apparatus.
As agricultural land always lives under the fear of interrupted power failures, using solar energy can prove beneficial for many. With new advancements, it is becoming easier to store solar energy for later use. Farmers can store solar energy using batteries during its peak hours and use it later when needed.
Global warming is the hot topic of the 21st century. Each sector is trying to reduce its carbon footprint in one or the other way. With farmers adopting solar energy for their agricultural land it will become easier for us to fight the dangerous effects of global warming.
Farmers are at the center of the problem regarding global warming; since the rise in temperature affects the climate change which in turn affects the agriculture produce. World population is continuously increasing and the demand for food products is witnessing a significant rise. Using solar power can help us to curb climate change and help us fight the problem effectively.
Solar energy is a natural fit for healthcare organizations — and not just because solar reduces air pollution and makes the world a cleaner, healthier place.
For starters, did you know that healthcare facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, urgent care clinics and medical practices are the fourth largest commercial building energy consumers in the United States?
Many common pieces of medical equipment — such as MRI machines and CT scanners — are in use constantly, consuming significant amounts of energy. And many of these businesses are open 24/7, with heating and air conditioning systems contributing to their sky-high utility bills.
Installing a commercial solar system for a healthcare business is a smart way to slash high electricity bills and get electricity delivered more cost-effectively.
There’s another way solar can improve the bottom line for healthcare businesses. Many medical facilities are at least partly owned by a physician and/or a physicians’ group. These owner-operators often have high tax bills, and solar can bring some relief via a host of solar tax incentives.
“What most people don’t realize with commercial solar is that a big driver on the return is tax incentives,” said Kyle Frazier, Director of Sales at the Austin, Texas-based Freedom Solar Power, a SunPower commercial dealer. “Almost half of the investment (in a PV solar system) is recovered by tax incentives of one kind or another…And doctors are one group of people who are always looking for tax breaks.”
One of Freedom Solar Power’s recent customers, Strictly Pediatrics Surgery Center in Austin, is an example of why solar is a great fit for healthcare facilities. In 2016, the center’s four-story building was outfitted with 2,500 SunPower® solar panels on the roof and the top floor of the parking garage, creating Central Texas’ largest solar system. This 812.3-kilowatt (kW) system produces enough clean energy to meet nearly 50 percent of the center’s electricity needs.
All that solar energy generation — along with the tax incentives — will help the project pay for itself in less than seven years. In fact, this system will save Strictly Pediatrics at least $2.6 million in the coming years. (Download the Strictly Pediatrics case studyhere.)
Other healthcare organizations around the country are following suit to save money and achieve energy independence, including:
As solar has entered the mainstream in the past decade, corporations and institutions with massive energy bills have started to realize how much money they can save by switching to solar power. There’s already a strong case for residential rooftop solar, but you can make an even more convincing argument for solar in the commercial sector where prices are lower and overall savings can be dramatic. In this article, we’ll focus on schools and universities, explain why many educational institutions across the country are installing solar, how much solar costs for schools and detail how the process works.
For schools considering installing solar panels, the reality is that any big educational institution will have major utility costs. Various analyses such as our latest Marketplace Intel Report revealed that larger solar systems earn a bigger ROI. Thus big entities like schools stand to save the most with solar.
When it comes to major financial decision for an institution like a school, one thing is certain: the process will not be simple. Depending on whether the switch to renewable energy is handled by an Office of Sustainability or general facilities and operations, there will likely be a committee designated to research and review solar bids and determine if the project is economically viable.
Solar is a fairly complex subject with a broad learning curve on subjects ranging from tax credits to equipment to financing options. For any primary stakeholder looking to lead the review on behalf of a school, here are some resources that will help you bring everyone up to speed on solar:
The stakeholder in charge of the request for proposal (RFP) for the solar installation will first need to review the options for both financing and installation.
In terms of how to pay for solar, the primary debate is between buying the system outright or contracting with a third party owner using a lease or power purchase agreement (PPA). Most schools are nonprofit institutions, which means they can’t take advantage of solar tax breaks. As a result, the majority of school installations tend to use lease or PPA options to finance the system. However, depending on the contractor you work with, the economics could still make more sense to purchase the system in the end.
Schools also need to decide whether to install an on-site or off-site system, which is determined by how much energy is needed and how suitable the school or university’s roof is for solar. For large educational institutions that house thousands of students and provide offices for faculty, installing off-site is the best way to build a solar array that can generate power to meet a significant portion of electricity needs. For a small or medium sized institution, it will make the most sense to install on-site – the school’s roof and surrounding grounds should provide ample space for a rooftop or ground mount installation.
For those still wondering why their school should switch to solar power, there are a number of practical reasons beyond the desire to help the environment and reduce carbon footprint. Here are the top 3 reasons schools across the U.S. are choosing solar energy:
A barrier for the residential solar market is the reality that many homes do not have suitable roofs or location types for solar, which makes a PV installation less cost-effective. For colleges and K-12s, the situation is reversed: the typical layout of a school is ideal for a solar installation because of flat roofs that provide plenty of unshaded space for the installation. A building’s roofing material and roof angle can greatly impact solar panel output and efficiency, illustrating why this suitability indicator is so important.
Over the past decade, electricity prices have been rising and the cost of energy is expected to continue to increase over time. Volatile prices set on the utility market can make it difficult for schools to plan and budget for the future. A clear way to take control of energy costs is to go the autonomous route by installing solar to generate your own power from the school’s rooftop. As of 2016, solar is the cheapest resource of energy in the world, and big commercial bids are often where the lowest prices are seen.
On the EnergySage Solar Marketplace, there’s a clear trend: as systems get bigger, the cost per watt of a solar panel system falls. The world record for lowest-cost solar energy was set last year in Dubai with a massive solar array bid at under 3 cents per kilowatt-hour, which illustrates why large institutions like schools and colleges stand to benefit the most from going solar.
Big corporations like Apple, Facebook and Google recognize the financial benefits and have launched massive solar farms to power data centers and operations in the past few years. When you pair this commercial-scale benefit with the reality that educational institutions are always looking to find ways to reduce operational costs and lower tuition dues, solar can significantly contribute to savings for a college or K-12 school.
For many students in the modern era, especially in liberal urban environments, the prospect of going to a school or university that is seen as being sustainable and eco-conscious can be a distinguishing factor. Thousands of students seek out schools that will be the best environment to study sustainable practices and green policy, which makes solar-powered universities a very attractive option.
The sustainability movement has taken off in a major way, and the majority of universities have established some type of Office of Sustainability to promote green practices. Having a massive solar array on a school’s rooftop is an easy way to establish a green power brand and offer an edge for students trying to decide between two colleges of similar appeal. Additionally, schools and universities are associated with innovation and thus, having the newest, most carbon conscious and efficient form of energy will certainly affirm credibility that a school in question is truly a progressive institution.
If you are a stakeholder for a school considering solar, you are certainly not alone. Thousands of schools have already installed solar on-site or on-campus in some form, including big names like Yale, Princeton, Northwestern, University of San Diego and University of Arizona. In addition to colleges and universities, 5,489 K-12 schools have installed solar in the U.S. to date, reaching several million students, according to the Solar Foundation’s report.
Even though many schools have already made the switch to solar, there is real evidence that thousands more would see huge improvements from sourcing their power from the sun. The Solar Foundation’s report on solar powered schools revealed that, of the 125,000 K-12 schools in the U.S., some 72,000 of them would likely see economic benefits from installing a solar system. Furthermore, the report determined that 450 school districts could each individually reap $1 million in energy savings over a 30-year period if they switched to solar energy.
As with any big ticket purchase, shopping for a solar panel installation takes a lot of research and consideration, including a thorough review of the companies in your area. A recent report by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recommended that consumers compare as many solar options as possible to avoid paying inflated prices offered by the large installers in the solar industry.
To find the smaller contractors that typically offer lower prices, you’ll need to use an installer network like EnergySage. You can receive free quotes from vetted installers local to you when you register your property on our Solar Marketplace – homeowners who get 3 or more quotes can expect to save $5,000 to $10,000 on their solar panel installation.
The bigger isn’t always better mantra is one of the main reasons we strongly encourage homeowners to consider all of their solar options, not just the brands large enough to pay for the most advertising. A recent report by the U.S. government found that large installers are $2,000 to $5,000 more expensive than small solar companies. If you have offers from some of the big installers in solar, make sure you compare those bids with quotes from local installers to ensure you don’t overpay for solar.
National-scale installers don’t just offer higher prices – they also tend to have fewer solar equipment options, which can have a significant impact on your system’s electricity production. By collecting a diverse array of solar bids, you can compare costs and savings based on the different equipment packages available to you.
There are multiple variables to consider when seeking out the best solar panels on the market. While certain panels will have higher efficiency ratings than others, investing in top-of-the-line solar equipment doesn’t always result in higher savings. The only way to find the “sweet spot” for your property is to evaluate quotes with varying equipment and financing offers.
For any homeowner in the early stage of shopping for solar that would just like a ballpark estimate for an installation, try our Solar Calculator that offers upfront cost and long-term savings estimates based on your location and roof type. For those looking to get quotes from local contractors today, check out our quote comparison platform.