As solar power and other renewable energy sources continue to rise in popularity, they also grow in affordability. With this increased accessibility comes innovation that makes it easier to power your devices — big and small — no matter where you go. Solar generators are a prime example of this type of innovative sun-powered technology.
Whether you’re heading to the mountains for a camping trip or concocting your family’s emergency preparedness strategy, a solar generator is an essential device. And thanks to technological advancements, many new solar generators are affordable, reliable, and versatile.
But when it comes to environmental advantages, is solar energy all it’s cracked up to be?
Researchers and professionals across industries have been asking these questions and searching for answersri.
When it comes to the environment, here’s how solar stacks up.
Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Producing electricity with a solar power generator instead of a petrol-powered device can drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The burning of fossil fuels is a significant contributor to the emission of carbon dioxide (C02) and other gases, like carbon monoxide, into the atmosphere. Since the industrial revolution, greenhouse gas emissions have skyrocketed. They are quickly catapulting the planet in an unsustainable direction of rapid warming.
Each year, global temperatures continue to rise. Along with that temperature rise comes a slew of environmental and ecological degradation, including melting ice caps, rising sea levels, mass migration and endangerment of species, more frequent catastrophic natural disasters, and food supply disruption.
When you go solar, you choose to be part of the solution. Utilizing solar power in place of petrol helps to reduce the demand for and dependence on deadly fossil fuels. Solar is a 100% clean energy source that produces zero carbon emissions during operation, and with devices like the EcoFlow Delta, you can get the power you need without fuel, fumes, or noise.
Solar Power Saves Water
Across the globe, shortages and droughts leave communities without vital access to water. And the extraction and production of natural gas and oil are incredibly water-intensive processes. Analysts have found that between 2005 and 2014, energy companies used roughly 250 billion gallons of water for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) alone.
While the materials used to build solar generators still require the mining of natural resources, they do not require an ongoing supply of water-intensive products to power them. Once manufactured, all they need is the sun!
Solar power generators, particularly when used en masse, can save massive amounts of water.
No Harmful By-Products
Not only does burning fossil fuel spew carbon into the atmosphere, but the practice also pollutes waterways and releases harmful chemicals into both the ground and surface water, severely threatening the global food and drinking water supply.
Near gas wells, groundwater is often contaminated by fracking fluids and gases, including methane and volatile organic compounds. The contamination is primarily due to poorly constructed and maintained equipment. Surface leaks and spills also contribute to this dangerous muddying of groundwater.
The EPA has identified over 1,000 chemical additives used during the fracking process. These deadly additives make their way into local surface water through poor land management practices, including storage, treatment, and disposal.
Meanwhile, solar generators are not associated with these nasty by-products getting into our waterways.
Solar Generators Don’t Disrupt Surrounding Ecosystems
The extraction processes for acquiring natural gas or oil can drastically harm ecosystems and permanently destroy habitats. Construction and land disturbance from drilling, mining, and hydraulic fracturing increase erosion and sedimentation of land, which enhances the risk of contamination of local water sources from equipment runoff and chemical spills.
These runoffs and spills can harm aquatic lifeforms and affect migratory patterns. They add to the strain on many species already facing endangerment and extinction.
Once that dirty fuel reaches your petrol generator, it also produces harmful air and noise pollution that can affect your immediate environment and unnecessarily strain local wildlife.
On the other hand, solar generators don’t produce any harmful toxins and are virtually silent. They have no negative impact on the local environment. Indeed, products like the EcoFlow River 2 power station are so safe that you can use them in nature without impacting the surrounding habitat.
Produces Renewable Energy
The Earth is at its tipping point. We have met and are actively pushing up against planetary boundaries, and Earth cannot sustain the demands of our current way of living, producing, and consuming. Non-renewable energy sources like petrol, oil, and coal are swiftly running out, harming our planet with every additional extraction.
Solar power is a 100% renewable power source that won’t run out for billions of years.
Additional Benefits
The benefits of solar generators extend beyond the environment. They can help your health and your wallet, too.
Positive Health Impacts
No one enjoys breathing petrol or oil fume-filled air. More importantly, constantly inhaling the by-products of petrol-powered generators can do substantial and long-lasting damage to human health.
An analysis conducted by the National Renewable Energy Lab found that using solar energy in place of dirty sources like coal and petrol could reduce the prevalence of nitrous oxides, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter emissions in the air. These by-products cause many health issues, from cardiovascular and respiratory problems to chronic bronchitis. Studies have even shown a connection between high levels of air pollution and cancer rates.
If the positive environmental impacts aren’t enough to convince you that solar generators are the way to go, this massive implication for human health might.
Financial Advantages
On top of everything else, there are substantial financial advantages to making the switch to a solar generator.
While you need to invest in the equipment upfront, the incredibly low cost over the long lifespan of solar generators can save you substantial sums of money. With EcoFlow solar generators, you can save 30% of what you’d spend using petrol-powered generators.
It’s a win-win.
Conclusion
No matter your priorities—environmental protection, fiscal savings, health benefits, and more—making the switch to solar power is a smart move.
Solar generators are a small but crucial part of the transition to renewable energy, promoting lower greenhouse emissions, safer air and waterways, and healthier ecosystems. EcoFlow makes it easy by creating top-of-the-line generators in various sizes and battery capacities. Shop today to find the perfect portable power for your unique needs.
