Over the last ten years, solar energy has ramped up its game. If it seems that more and more people are choosing solar powered products and swapping their power sources for more renewable options…well, it’s because they are! Nowadays it’s easy to incorporate at least some solar into your daily life. In this blog, learn how solar works, how it impacts you and the world, and how you can use solar to your benefit at home.

How does solar work?

Photovoltaic cells absorb the sun’s energy and convert it to direct current (DC) electricity. The solar inverter then converts DC electricity from your solar modules to AC (alternating current) electricity, which is used by most home appliances. Electricity flows, powering your home and products.

How does solar impact me?

Solar can lower the costs of your energy consumption by relying less on the classic electrical grid system. Powering your home and cleaning your pool with solar energy can significantly cut monthly electricity costs by hundreds of dollars. Homes that spend an average of $200 a month on energy costs can see savings of over $55,000 over a 25 year period – that would fully cover an entire month of electricity bills for 300 months!

How does solar impact the world?

Big strides have been made involving environmental change over the last decade; baby steps into a new world of sustainability have turned into full sprints towards productive action. Just one example of this comes Tesla Motors Inc. You know Tesla as a leading manufacturer of exquisite electric vehicles. But, did you know that the company is also one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies? Tesla’s 2019 impact report says that the company, “installed almost 3.7 Gigawatts of solar systems and cumulatively generated over 16.6 Terawatt hours of emission free electricity”. To put that into perspective, 1 Terawatt is equivalent to 1 trillion watthours, which is enough energy to power 100 million 60-watt light bulbs or 1 billion LED bulbs for a whole week! Humanity’s energy consumption is about 18 Terawatts with 17% of that being consumed by Americans. That’s a lot of lightbulbs! To read the entire impact report, click here.