Are you contemplating installing solar panels in your home? Why? One of the key benefits of solar power is that it reduces the carbon footprint, as it emits zero greenhouse gases. Therefore, solar is the way to go when considering making your home eco-friendly. However, solar can also adversely impact the environment during production, installation, and disposal. With the panels having negative and positive impacts, it is good to weigh them before installation.

Benefits of Solar Panels to the Environment

Solar panels positively impact the environment in multiple ways. These include:

Panels Save Energy, Lowering Electricity Grid Reliance

It is possible to entirely depend on solar energy to power your home or business. Solar power, therefore, reduces dependence on the national electrical grid, which sources its energy from fossil fuels like natural gas or coal. Even when you are not entirely dependent on solar panels, the reduced reliance on the electricity grid lowers the demand for grid energy, translating to less dirty energy, which promotes a cleaner environment.

Reduced or zero dependence on grid energy means you will save money on your electricity bills. Green energy production is the future of the energy industry.

Zero Greenhouse Gas Production

Solar panel systems do not produce greenhouse gases and therefore do not contaminate the environment, unlike the grid, which uses fossil fuels to produce energy. Fossil fuels emit greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide, which trap heat in the atmosphere and cause global warming.

Therefore, when you turn to solar panels, you reduce or entirely avoid the grid, reducing the emission of harmful gases, thus helping in the fight against global warming.

Petroleum and coal are the standard fossil fuels that power the grid. These fuels produce greenhouse gases that cause smog, a combination of particles from the fuel, heavy metals, and standard dust. The smog is not visible, but it affects the quality of life for the people living in urban areas. Also, it increases the risk of lung damage, reducing the lifespan of people living in the affected areas. So, when you cut off the use of these fossil fuels by turning to solar energy, you lower the production and release of harmful gases to the atmosphere, promoting quality and a healthy life.

The Energy from Panels is Renewable

Panels work by harnessing the energy from the sun in the form of sunlight particles. When the particles hit the solar panels, the atoms split into electrons, whose flow results in electricity production. The direct current is stored in the solar batteries, which convert it into alternating current (AC), which you use at home to power your electronic appliances, heating, and lighting systems.

The sun will never stop producing sunlight particles, making solar panels an infinite or renewable energy source. However long you use the panels, you cannot exhaust the source of the sunlight that you require to generate solar power. You conserve the environment using renewable energy because it cannot be depleted. In contrast, fossil fuels are non-renewable and will be depleted with time, meaning they do not conserve the environment. 

Panels Do Not Cause Water Pollution

Conventional energy sources like coal, petroleum, and nuclear plants depend on water for maintenance and cooling. These energy sources require a significant amount of energy to keep running, reducing the availability of freshwater. However, with panels, you do not need water to run or maintain them. Therefore, you can generate energy from a place with limited or no water. Besides, the fact that panels do not need water for maintenance helps reduce water pollution because the devices do not generate any hazardous waste that negatively impacts water sources. However, fossil fuels interact with water, and some waste material spills into the water, causing pollution.

Panels Prevent Noise Pollution

The energy production process in solar power systems does not produce any noise, meaning your investment will not lead to noise intrusion. Therefore, if you are in an urban area and are operating a commercial business where you do not want noise pollution, you should consider solar energy.

Panels Help Minimize Climate Change 

 

Fossil fuels produce greenhouse gas emissions, which trap heat in the atmosphere, causing global warming, which severely impacts the environment. Global warming is associated with rising water levels in the sea and the melting of glaciers. Additionally, global warming is related to many disasters like cyclones, floods, droughts, and extremely high temperatures.

Solar energy slows climate change because it produces zero harmful emissions in the atmosphere. Green energy does not contribute to global warming, helping prevent calamities caused by climate change. When more households and companies adopt solar energy as an alternative to fossil fuel energy, it will strengthen the fight against climate change.

Negative Impact of Panels on the Environment

Solar panels offer many benefits to the environment. However, they have a negative environmental impact too. These adverse impacts are:

  1. Negative Ecological and Land Utilization Impact

Solar farms take up much land space, depending on the amount of electricity you want to generate from solar energy. Even though you will produce sufficient electricity, the panels prevent you from using the land for other purposes, like recreational activities or agriculture. Panels in a solar farm are mounted or installed on the ground, restricting land use to utility-scale electricity generation. You must clear large tracts of land and grade them. In the process, you affect the drainage systems and compact the soil, exposing the land to erosion. All the fertile soil is swept away, leaving you infertile soil that will take years to rehabilitate and restore the original land use.

Panels cause adverse impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity. However, once the panels are uninstalled, you can reclaim the land through rehabilitation, although this takes time. Besides, restoring the land's original use could be impossible.

  1. Manufacture of Panels is Not Clean

The production of panels is not entirely clean and can cause a negative environmental impact due to the emission of toxic gases into the environment. Panels are commonly made using silicon, cadmium, and copper. These materials are obtained through mining, which, when not done properly, causes environmental degradation. For example, after mining, the land left behind cannot be used for any other activity without years of rehabilitation. Therefore, when a company handling the mining fails to rehabilitate the land, it becomes a wasteland and can be a source of water pollution.

Solar panel manufacturers are not the only companies that use these minerals for production. Other sectors of the manufacturing industry use these minerals as raw materials. Therefore, with many home and property owners going green by turning to solar energy, the demand for these materials has risen significantly. Miners are consequently encouraged to mine sustainably to reduce negative environmental impact.

Once minerals are obtained, they use various production processes to make panels. Toxic chemicals are used in the manufacturing process, which causes air pollution. Additionally, the disposal of the panels after they become old pollutes the environment. However, the negative impact of solar waste disposal is minimized by reuse and recycling. The adverse environmental effects are minimal with the panels' increased lifespan and recyclability.

  1. Solar Panels Come with Highly Toxic Materials

Manufacturing PV batteries depends on toxic chemicals, particularly when purifying semiconductor surfaces. The substances include nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, hydrogen fluoride, and acetone. States have strict laws governing the production and disposal of these cells to regulate and minimize the adverse environmental impact.

Your solar energy system will not be efficient without batteries to store excess energy. Besides manufacturing, these batteries contain harmful chemicals like lead and sulfuric acid. The substances do not have any environmental impact during their use. However, when their lifespan lapses, you must dispose of them. If improperly disposed of, these chemicals spill or leak into the environment, causing severe soil, air, and water pollution. However, many reputable solar panel and battery manufacturers and installers require you to return the batteries or panels for proper disposal to minimize environmental impact.

  1. Solar Panels Cause Water Pollution

Solar panel production requires a lot of water, adversely impacting the environment through pollution of water sources and reduced water supply. An effective central tower system must have a cooling system. However, if the panels are installed in an arid or desert area with minimal water supply, the system can cause a water shortage. Besides, the manufacturing process uses toxic chemicals. Solar cells also contain harmful materials that could spill on the ground, contaminating underground water.

  1. Pollutant Discharge

     

Solar power is eco-friendly. However, have you ever considered the environmental impact if the system catches fire? The effect of a fire outbreak can be devastating to the environment. All the toxic chemicals contained or used in the production of the panels and batteries will leak into the surrounding environment, causing severe effects to the water, air, and soil. You can avert these devastating effects by installing an emergency fire response system to prevent the fire from spreading.

  1. Panels Cause Thermal Pollution

The ecosphere must retain an energy balance between incoming and outgoing heat. Urban areas, particularly those with many solar panels, experience the heat island effect because the panels absorb light and heat, heating the surrounding air and surface. The panels also retain the heat at night, radiating it to the sky. So, the panels cause the general environmental temperatures to rise above the average, endangering living organisms. If you have a large-scale installation, it poses a danger to the lives of birds that fly above or perch on it because of the microwave radiation.

  1. Panels Cause a Visual Burden

Poor urban planning has caused a visual burden. The problem has become even worse because of the random installation of solar energy systems, causing a visually unattractive environment.

However, the physical unattractiveness of the ecosystem caused by irregular solar installation in urban areas can be averted by incorporating professional solar installers in the early construction stages. If you have already constructed, you can involve solar installation companies for the system fitting or upgrade.

Minimizing or Preventing the Negative Environmental Impact of Panels

Despite the adverse effects of panels, they are still the leading source of safe and clean energy. However, based on the system’s size, you must find a way to minimize the adverse ecological effects. With the benefits outweighing the downsides, you should consider these installations for your home or commercial property, but with measures in place to mitigate the negative environmental effects.

One way to prevent the environmental impact is to identify a site carefully to keep the ecological effects minimal. Consult with a reputable solar installation company to help you understand the most suitable location to install a solar farm to reduce the impact on natural resources, animals, and human beings. A reputable company partners with electricians and structural engineers who will advise you when building to ensure your structure is sound and suitable for panel installation without causing a visual burden.

Solar installers will install a small solar energy system for your home without involving structural engineers. Nevertheless, for large installation projects, you must involve the installation company to have at your disposal the advice of their experts, including electricians and engineers.

Advantages of Installing Solar Panels in Your Home

You can positively contribute to environmental conservation by fitting a solar energy system on your property.  Once you install the system, you will enjoy several benefits, including saving on energy bills and reducing reliance on the power grid. Again, the panels require little maintenance and are highly durable, saving you money in the long run.

The production and disposal of these installations cause adverse ecological effects. However, panels remain the safest green energy source. Besides, production and installation companies are adopting sustainable ways to produce and dispose of the panels and batteries to minimize the adverse ecological impact.

Find a Reputable Solar Installation Firm Near Me

If you are considering solar panels for energy independence and to cut electricity costs, understand their impact on the ecosystem. Knowledge of the ecological impact of the panels increases your awareness of the environment and helps you enjoy the socioeconomic benefits of the installation. You must hire a professional installation company to increase the positive environmental impact of the panels and minimize the adverse effects. Sun Solar Electric offers quality and reliable solar installation services in the Bay Area and Northern California. Call us at 707-658-2157 for a no-obligation consultation.