Let Energy Freedom Ring

By July 3, 2019Blog

The 4th of July is associated with the concept of freedom as much as it is a start-of-summer marker. Despite the political definition of freedom – the power to act, speak or think without hindrance – personal freedom comes in many forms, including the right to personal and financial freedom. Thing is, despite record high employment in the United States, families are still looking at every possible way to save or make a dime because they need to stretch it more than ever before.

Irregular global weather patterns are a constant reminder of a precarious environmental balance that not only threatens our well-being, but our finances. To address both fiscal and environmental freedoms, families are looking to alternative energy to save money and contribute to a healthier environment.

If you are visiting the ESP website, it is because you have made– or are considering — securing your family’s financial future and the environment for generations to come by installing solar panels. You know that powering your home with renewable energy can reduce or eliminate your utility bills and that you can take advantage of tax incentives for further benefit.

According to an article in Popular Mechanics, rooftop Solar Panels still remain the “most common and obvious method” to access renewable power, citing that most homes can generate 10 or more watts per square foot.

Expected to rise in popularity in the future are Solar Shingles, as more sources become available. The article also suggests that Wind Turbines, often found floating offshore, are another alternative source of energy if a homeowner has enough acreage to install a small wind turbine on their property. The downside is that they’re not attractive and they might be a no-no with local zoning. Then, if your property contains a source of flowing water, you may be a prospect for Hydro Power. You can divert some of the stream or river to flow through a turbine and power your home. If slope, source and your engineering capacities all align, this alternative could work for you.

Another application of harnessing the sun’s energy is Solar Water Heating that capture heat that can then be distributed to your faucets, showerheads and radiators that makes it more cost-effective to heat your water. In the same vein, Solar Air Conditioning harnesses energy to power your home’s air conditioning and any excess can be used to heat your home’s water.

Although not widely in use just yet because of its cost, large renewable batteries can work with any home renewable sources such as solar or wind, to store electricity. It can be programmed to charge itself from grid at low-cost times discharge when prices are higher.

At ESP, as best-in-class solar system experts, we are always investigating market innovations with an eye to offer the most comprehensive solar energy resources to our customers — on rooftops or elsewhere.

For a quick primer on renewable energy, please watch this National Geographic explainer video:

We recognize that rooftop solar systems are more robust, yet, we are exploring applications of new solar technologies such as Solar Panel Windows and a myriad of other platforms. When Solar Panel Window technology has been thoroughly vetted and becomes available for commercial production, rest assured that we’ll let you know.

According to one of our favorite publications, Futurism.com, solar window technology falls into the category of Embeddable Solar Power that is currently being developed by Michigan State researchers. In theory, transparent solar windows use a building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) to capture and generate electricity. Although similar to roof panels, the technological challenge is that the window panels need to let light through as well as capture it while still harnessing enough light to use for energy production.

Other alternative energy technologies being explored include Flying Wind Power from turbines hovering 1,000 to 2,000 feet above ground where winds are steadier; Fusion Power, that works on the same concept as the sun by fusing two hydrogen isotopes; Algae Power that genetically modifies this plant-based substance to produce bio fuel; Space-based Solar Power that harnesses the 50-60% of incoming solar rays that are not harnessed by other solar sources;  and expanded Wave Energy harvesting that could potentially provide 252 billion KWh per year. Five countries are already area operating floating wave farms.

The Futurist.com article also cites Hydrogen Power as a high-yield energy source with H-cells already in use in vehicles, aircraft, homes and buildings; tapping the Earth’s Magma Power to produce heated steam to run turbines and generate electricity; and, putting the Earth’s 77,000 tons of nuclear waste to use by generating power through “fast reactors” that can harness 95% of this energy.

Let alternative energy freedom ring!