You Can Reduce Your Carbon Footprint with Solar

More and more people are aware of how they can be part of the solution when it comes to our environment. One phrase you hear frequently is “carbon footprint”. What is your carbon footprint and how can solar help you reduce your carbon footprint?

Your carbon footprint is the amount of all the greenhouse gases which you generate by your actions. Nature.org states the average carbon footprint of a person in the United States is 16 tons. As Americans, we have one of the highest rates for carbon footprints in the world. The global average is closer to 4 tons. If you visit the article linked in this blog at Nature.org you will find a carbon footprint calculator. You can see where you stand today.

Solar energy has a much lower impact on the environment if you compare it to other sources of energy like coal. This is because solar does not produce ANY greenhouse gases. It also does not pollute the water. Solar requires very little maintenance as well. These factors are quite big when it comes to reducing your overall carbon footprint, whether you are a homeowner, business owner, or city. One more factor to keep in mind if you are a business. As people become more and more conscious of their personal effect on the planet they may seek out businesses who are actively seeking to be greener. Solar can be a great tool for your business to show you are trying to reduce your carbon footprint.

While there is no cookie-cutter approach to developing a customized solar energy solution to fit everyone’s needs, there are some similarities with regard to the amount of energy an average residential home in the Midwest consumes. Many residential solar energy systems in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois are often sized to produce a range of 8kW to 12kW DC of electricity. How much energy the household consumes is directly tied to the size of the array needed to offset their use of grid-purchased electricity. An 8kW residential solar array can greatly reduce your carbon footprint. Over the lifetime of a solar energy system, it is estimated the solar owner of an 8 kW system will offset 175 tons of CO2.

 

 

To learn more about how solar can help you and the environment please reach out to the Eagle Point Solar team. We would be glad to share our story with you and help you take a step to reduce your carbon footprint. We are proud to be part of an industry working towards a healthier, greener planet… one carbon footprint at a time.