I am firmly concluding that solar energy is the only way to go. 

With fuel costs rising, drought becoming an annual occurrence in the west, and annual heat emergencies getting worse and worse. We need to find alternatives to old systems of energy production that, as the temperatures go up, continue to fail, and expose us more to the elements. 

Add to that list the sudden increase in gasoline prices. If we can get more solar panels onto roofs and electric cars into driveways we can, maybe, make a dent in the impacts of automobile pollution and air quality.

Here’s how I see solar working in the home setting:

• Solar panels on the roof
• A battery backup to store the collected energy
• An electric car in the driveway to utilize that collected and stored solar energy.

We’ll see improvement as more electric vehicles enter the marketplace and offset our need for carbon dioxide-producing combustion engines. This would be an improvement as one car can produce 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. For context, one metric ton is about the equivalent mass of a single-family house. And this is per car, per year. 

Getting regular commuter households in the suburbs that rely on daily drivers to get to and from work would benefit from this setup the most. Sure, it may not be the ideal situation for an Uber driver or tradesman with a work truck, but I’m not convinced that it wouldn’t work. Just imagine no fuel costs. 

Yes, the up-front costs might be high, but when you think that the average annual household expenditure on gas is between is close to $5,000 a year–over a very short time the costs of solar could easily amortize out and pay for themselves.

Solar to power the house

What makes solar the most exciting is the ability to get off the grid and onto a self-sustaining (with a power wall) independent home. I wish there was a more accessible, cheaper way to retrofit older homes. Also, I wonder if it’s worth retrofitting a dwelling that is pushing nearly 100 years old wood-frame bungalows, such as what covers much of the suburbs across the southland.

The obvious answer is, yes, it’s worth it for the energy cost savings and environmental impact. But it’s not worth it enough for local or state subsidies to make it price neutral (or free). If it saved revenue the state would offer grants to cover the cost and reap the benefits. Grants might be the best option here. The benefits would be huge despite the high cost. But grants for solar upgrades are few and far between the installation accessible only to the affluent.

Solarizing public spaces

An obvious solution is putting solar on every public building, parking lot, and covered public space. Why this isn’t happening more is baffling. Cities, counties, and states could leverage their monolithic purchasing powers to build, install and cover every open flat space with panels to offset their electrical costs and lower the need for power plants and unsustainable energy production. We can see the beginnings of this happening, but there’s a lot of resistance locally to putting in solar panels. 

I imagine until the federal government demands it (and funds it) municipalities and counties will act in much the same way individuals in the community have and resist and wait for the funding.

Electric Cars

Personally, the appeal of solarizing the home comes with putting an electric car in the driveway. As more vehicle options hit the market, upgrading homes to be able to power them will likely be right behind. This will be one of the biggest hurdles to getting to solar everywhere. Once we pass the tipping point of many electric cars on the road, putting in an at-home charging station becomes a no-brainer. How much more convenient and cost-efficient can it get: creating your electricity from the sun, storing it, and then using it to power your commute. This is a win-win scenario. 

With so many convincing points, it’s clear to me that solar is the answer to our need for power. This may not be true in places with limited sunlight, but in locations with bright sun, long days, and ample sky, solar becomes the simplest solution to the long-term problem of fossil fuels and carbon emissions. 

It’s only a matter of time before we’ll see solar everywhere and be reaping the benefits of the clean energy future.