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How Solar Panels Help Fight Climate Change

Having a home with solar panels can help you fight climate change. Solar panels produce clean, renewable electricity that does not produce any carbon emissions. And there are some other benefits to having solar panels.

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Is A Greenhouse Gas

Among all the greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO2) is the gas most responsible for climate change. The concentration of this gas is ten times higher than in any point in human history, and it continues to rise every year. Carbon dioxide is a by-product of burning fossil fuels, such as coal and oil.

Greenhouse gases trap heat like a blanket around the Earth. The average temperature of the Earth would be lower without greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide absorbs most of the heat, but other gases also contribute to the warming.

Carbon dioxide is one of the three major greenhouse gases, along with nitrous oxide and methane. Methane is a powerful gas that absorbs more heat than carbon dioxide. It takes about a decade for methane to leave the atmosphere, but it has a significant impact on the warming of the Earth.

Solar Panels Produce Renewable, Emissions-Free Electricity

Using solar panels to produce renewable, emissions-free electricity is a great way to fight climate change. It's not only cleaner than burning fossil fuels, it also produces less life-cycle GHG emissions.

Solar panels also generate electricity at a lower cost than other renewable energy sources. And they're becoming more affordable every year.

A good example of this is using solar power to heat a house. A solar heating and cooling system can generate 80% of the energy needed for space heating. This is enough to keep the temperature of a home comfortable without using fossil fuels.

Solar panels can also be used to produce electricity to heat water, again, reducing the burning of fossil fuels. It's also possible to store this energy in battery storage, so the energy doesn't go to waste.

Community Solar Farms Reduce Carbon Emissions

Whether you are looking to reduce your carbon footprint or simply want to be more environmentally responsible, a community solar farm may be right for you.

Unlike traditional solar panels, community solar farms produce energy at an offsite location, usually at a vacant lot. A utility then uses the energy produced to offset the cost of your electricity. These credits are applied to your bill each month. The amount you save depends on your specific project.

A community solar project can be a small scale solar powered house or a large scale solar farm. These projects can be used by a commercial, industrial, or a residential household. The average American household offsets five metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

Whether you decide to plant a forest or build a solar farm, you will be helping to prevent the emission of greenhouse gasses. The process is called sequestration and the benefits that you can get from both activities are many and varied.

The first thing you should know about carbon sequestration is that the amount of carbon in a forest is a product of the type of trees in the forest. For example, a mature forest sequesters more carbon than other types of forest. In addition, a forest will help prevent erosion and provide recreational benefits for millions of people.

There are many different ways to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, including better insulation and reducing energy use. You can also install energy-efficient lighting and appliances, or build "green" buildings.