#18

Go Solar

Solar panels are cheaper and more efficient than ever, even a small panel could help offset how much energy you need from the national grid & fossil fuels.

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Brewing instructions:

  • Step 1

    Research your options

    This guide from Which? has some great buying advice for solar panels. Most importantly: research is key to find the best option for your situation.

    If you're renting: speak to your landlord about the idea first (solar panels could be seen as an added bonus for them).

    If you live in a flat/apartment, speak to other residents and the building owner to see if solar panels could be added to the roof.

    Double check with your mortgage and insurance companies to make sure adding solar panels won't impact your policies in any way.

  • Step 2

    Remember it's an investment in the planet

    First and foremost: only buy what you can afford.

    When considering your budget for solar panels, it's important to keep in mind the environmental benefits of creating your own energy which are perhaps less immediately visible.

    Harvesting your own energy will reduce your demand on the national grid, which in turn, can help reduce the need for fossil fuels to meet demand.

  • Step 3

    Spread the word

    Talk to your neighbours, friends, family, co-workers, basically anyone who'll listen about the benefits of solar panels and creating their own clean energy.

    The more of us reducing demand on the national grid, the better!

    Go the extra mile: talk to your boss about installing solar at work, perhaps as part of the company's corporate social responsibility plan. Just think of all those offices and warehouses out there that could be harvesting energy too!

Why is this important?

Now more than ever we need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. To do so we need to attack the problem from multiple sides: becoming aware of how much energy we're using, reducing how much we need, and generating as much as possible from alternative, greener sources.

Take a moment and think about the sheer amount of roof space that's currently just soaking up daylight, instead we could be harnessing that energy and putting it to good use.

It's also pretty incredible to think we're now living in a time where we can turn the energy from the sun, 93,000,000 miles away, into electricity to power our lives! We should be making use of this technology as much as possible.