How Technology Is Changing the Green Energy Sector
From far way, most homes in America look like they haven’t changed much in decades, but upon closer inspection, drastic technological changes are taking place thanks to developments in the green energy sector. Solar water heaters, LED lights, EV charging stations, and a wide range of other products are helping solve two fundamental problems that have worried people for decades: scarcity and environmental damage. Green energy is the best chance humans have to fulfill energy demands in the future without causing further damage to the planet. That’s why a technological change in the market is so exciting.
Access Is Expanding
For more than a decade, improvements in technology and manufacturing have made green energy products cheaper by double-digit percentages year after year. These falling prices in Bakersfield are making things like solar panels and longer-lasting batteries more accessible to middle-class homeowners and small businesses. In the past, the upfront costs of a solar panel installation may have turned off homeowners to solar energy, but lower prices are making the period of time in which panels pay for themselves a whole lot shorter. A solar setup in an ideal location can pay for itself in as little as a couple years.
Access to green energy is not only expanding through lower prices but by attractive new products. Portable air purifiers that weigh less than a pound promise to monitor and purify the air around you. Advanced home batteries are allowing some people to go completely off the grid when it comes to their power use. New air cooling systems using natural woods are showing that it’s possible to cool your home without the use of an energy-hungry air conditioner. The more exciting the technology, the better the opportunities are for go green solutions.
Efficiency Is Improving
Overall energy consumption in the United States has been slowing down for the past 10 years, and a big reason for this is technological changes in the green energy sector. Modern dryers require less electricity to dry a load of clothes, LED lights can produce brighter light and last years longer than incandescents, and improved windows and insulation reduce the need to use expensive air conditioning and heating. All of the efficiency improvements have helped to reduce our consumption of energy without degrading the quality of life.
Almost every product that uses electricity in your home most likely has a more modern and energy-efficient counterpart on the market. Many homeowners keep using old technology thinking they’re saving money by not buying something new, but making the switch may save them significant sums in just a few years. Efficiency is not only valuable because of the money savings, it can actually reduce our carbon footprint in the atmosphere. The more you help homeowners take advantage of go green solutions, the better it will be for humans in the short and long term.
Money Is Being Made
The growth in the green energy economy that comes with improved technology means money is being made by companies who are focused on delivering these innovative products. While 2016 saw the collapse of a few large solar companies that were a short-term darling of Wall Street, green energy companies as a whole have been doing well in most of the country. According to a study by the International Renewable Energy Agency, the green energy economy is expected to contribute up to 4% of GDP growth going forward.
Jobs Are Growing
In the United States, worry about the loss of manufacturing jobs continues to dominate politics, but one of the few sectors seeing growth is in green energy. While the use of coal and petroleum has gone down, renewables like solar and wind have increased significantly. According to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Energy, there are more jobs being created in the solar electricity-generating industry than in coal, oil, gas, and nuclear combined. As technology continues to improve the efficiency and cost of solar panels and products related to energy storage, growth in go green solutions and other parts of the green economy are likely to continue.
While green energy has a long way to go to dominate the globe, technological development will continue to create jobs, improve efficiency, and expand access. It’s impossible to know where technology will lead us in 10 or 20 years, but all trends indicate that people will continue to shift towards green energy, creating tons of opportunities for go green solutions.
