4 small ways to lessen your home's carbon footprint with solar power
Take these baby steps toward a greener home
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Clean energy is more affordable than ever thanks to federal tax breaks that make transitioning to solar power even easier for households across the nation. Solar power is well worth the investment, as it helps reduce your carbon footprint and, in turn, your dependence on fossil fuels, paving the way to a greener future.
While installing solar panels on your roof is a big investment, several smaller and more affordable solar products can help you take your first steps in using renewable energy. While these solutions cannot individually turn the tide of climate change, they can help establish more renewable habits and raise awareness.
What’s more, many of these products can help keep you safe and in communication in the event of a power outage or other emergencies.
1. Switch to outdoor solar lights
Lighting is a straightforward, traditional way to harness solar power for your electrical needs. Rather than investing the time, money, and energy into running wires throughout your yard, consider installing solar landscape lighting. These lights come in various shapes, sizes, brightness levels, and colors, and are powered entirely by the sun. They can be used purely as aesthetic accents, as safety and security features, or a combination of the two.
Even better, in addition to the savings from installation and zero cost of use, outdoor solar lights can be moved to suit your changing needs or fancy in just a couple of minutes, without needing to dig up and re-run electrical wires.
Solar lights aren’t just for the yard, either. Various manufacturers produce lights that attach to your house beside the door, to staircases to illuminate the treads in the dark, and even solar-powered holiday lights.
We recommend:
Beau Jardin 8-pack Solar Pathway Lights
2. Power up your phone with a portable solar charger
We’ve all got devices that need charging, and with all those cords, they often get tangled up. One way to get control of your wires and free up outlets is to invest in a portable solar charger for your devices.
A small solar power bank is a great way to keep your phone and tablet full, whether at home or on the go. Simply charge up the battery on a sunny day, and then plug your phone in to charge each night. These power banks are a great option to bring on camping trips, as they can also provide emergency power, particularly since many of them have built-in flashlights for added safety. Most of these power banks can also be charged via an outlet or car power port on days when the sun isn’t shining.
We recommend:
Blavor Solar Charger Power Bank
3. Opt for a solar-powered security camera
Another easy way to make use of solar power is with your outdoor security cameras. Whether you need a doorbell model or a trail cam, numerous manufacturers offer solar-powered cameras for various uses.
Many include night vision, a wide field of view, a siren, two-way talk, and other smart features that work with your Alexa system.
We recommend:
4. Have a solar generator ready to go
If you’re looking for a larger solar power solution that can handle some of your larger appliances and devices, consider investing in a solar battery backup system. These are large-capacity batteries that can be charged in various ways, including with solar panels, which are typically an additional purchase.
The sizes of these batteries will vary, but many have clean power outputs that can power everything from your refrigerator to cooking appliances to power tools, while also charging your home. The standard use-case for these is as emergency backup or off-grid power, like while camping, but there’s no reason they couldn’t be used in day-to-day life to offset some of your traditional grid power usage.
We recommend:
Jackery Solar Generator 2000 Plus
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