Why Your Local School Should Go Solar

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School is all about learning, improving and creating a better world. Over the years, electricity prices have been rising and the cost of energy is expected to continue to increase over time. A great way to take control of energy costs is to go the solar energy route and generate your own power from your schools rooftop.

Save money

Why not save and use a stable and clean energy source? If solar panels are installed, your schools electricity bill can significantly be reduced. Solar panels can last up to 25 years and a solar investment can save millions in the long run. To make your schools budgeting easier and to protect against rising electricity costs, your school can sign a contract to purchase a solar system which allows the school to guarantee their electricity prices for up to 20 years.

Promote educational opportunities

Students are able to see first-hand how sunlight is converted into electricity with solar systems at their school. Schools often have a large incentive to go solar not just to save money but to also create a sustainability- conscious student body. Solar energy installations can be integrated into science, math and technologies programs within schools which could then potentially improve test scores in those fields.

Improve our planet

Not only will your school save money and create educational opportunities for students with solar energy, it will also help our planet. Solar power is a renewable substitute to fossil-fuel burning sources. It is free from the sun and never runs out, therefore switching to solar energy is one of the biggest changes we can make in our communities to restrain global warming.

To improve the health of the environment and generations to come, solar is an extremely wise investment, especially in schools. 

Have you been thinking about getting solar panels for your home or local school? If so, call  Solar Solutions at 915-581-0461 and talk to a professional who can answer any questions you may have.

Google’s Latest Feature

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Google knows and does just about everything, but the latest feature might just blow your mind away. Google’s Project Sunroof allows you to check if your neighbors have installed solar panels on their rooftops.

This tool has been around for a few years, allowing you to check whether installing solar panels will cut your energy bill or not, but now you’re able to zoom in on a satellite map and a red dot will show you homes and building that have solar panels. Project Sunroof was launched in 2015 but has now expanded outside the US earlier this year.

How does it work?

This tool tells you how much sunlight hits your rooftop, how much you could save by installing solar panels and it gives you information on local panel providers to help with the installation.

Where does the tool get the information?

It’s gathered by a machine learning algorithm that’s trained to recognize solar panels from satellite images. According to The Atlantic, this intensive information is available on 60 million buildings in the US as of right now, but Google is hoping to add 40 million buildings in the next few years.

Why was this tool created?

The goal of Project Sunroof is to encourage more people to commit to solar panels. People are more likely to install solar panels if their friends and neighbors have, especially if the panels are visible from the road.

Use the power of the sun to your advantage and contact Solar Solutions at 915-581-0461 today to help get your solar panel installed. We are looking forward to working with you!

Why You Should Camp With a Solar Panel

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With summer shortly approaching, your mind is automatically planning trips you want to take with family and friends. Perhaps you want to get back to the simplicity of nature by going camping, but you don’t want to completely go off of the grid. In that case, bringing a solar panel camping will allow you to enjoy electricity at any time without doing any damage to Mother Nature.

Are you worried about running out of battery on your next camping trip? No need to panic. You’ll still be able to run your refrigerator, mobile device and camping lights if you use solar power. You won’t have to detract from the peace and quiet you went outdoors to find, like generators tend to do. Instead, you can use solar power, a clean form of energy that’s natural, renewable and free.

What you’ll need

A compact and portable solar panel, a solar regulator, a deep-cycle auxiliary battery and an inverter (if you’re planning to charge large appliances such as a television or laptop.)

How it works

A solar panel gathers power from the sun, which then flows into the battery through the solar regulator. Solar regulators are important because they prevent damage to your battery from fluctuating charge or overcharging. How much power your panels gather depends on their size, how they’re used and the amount of sunlight hours in a day. Keep in mind that not all sunlight is created equal. Factors such as geographic location, surrounding temperature and the time year all have an influence over how much power your solar panels are able to gather.

How to calculate your solar power requirements

Knowing how to calculate your equipment’s power usage is key to creating a solar power system that’s tailored to you. If you don’t have a basic understanding of how much power your appliances are using, you could end up buying the wrong-sized solar panel or incorrect battery.  To calculate your usage, look at your devices and see if they have a power draw on the label, then figure out how long per day you will operate the equipment to calculate its overall power draw. To figure out how to calculate your solar power requirements in depth, check out iTechWorld.

How to set up your solar panel

In order to optimize its best performance, position and align your solar panel perpendicular to the sun, it will capture the maximum amount of solar energy. When possible, try to align your panels according to the sun’s position in the sky and clear off any dust that gathers on the panel with a microfiber cloth.

Now that you’re thinking about solar panels, call GR Solar Solutions, one of the most experienced solar power companies in Texas and New Mexico, at 915-581-0461 for more information.