4 small ways to lessen your home's carbon footprint with solar power
Take these baby steps toward a greener home
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Clean energy is more affordable than ever thanks to tax breaks that make transitioning to solar power even easier for households across the nation. Solar power is well-worth the investment, as it will help reduce your carbon foot and, in turn, your dependence on fossil fuels, paving the way to an eco-friendlier future.
There are several small and affordable solar products that can help you take your first steps in using renewable energy. While these solutions cannot individually turn the tide of climate change, they can begin to establish more renewable habits and awareness.
What’s more, many of these products can help keep you safe and in communication in the event of a power outage or other emergencies.
1. Switch to outdoor solar lights
Bring light to your yard with solar power
Lighting is an old and straightforward way to bring solar power to your electrical needs. Rather than investing the time, money, and energy into running wires throughout your yard, consider installing solar landscape lighting.
These moveable lights come in numerous sizes, brightness levels, and even colors, and are powered entirely by the sun. They can be used purely as aesthetic accents, as safety and security features, or a combination of the two.
Even better, in addition to the savings from installation and zero cost of use, outdoor solar lights can be moved to suit your changing needs or fancy in just a couple of minutes, without needing to dig up and re-run electrical wires.
Solar lights aren’t just for the yard, either. Various manufacturers make lights that attach to your house beside the door, to staircases to light up the treads in the dark, and even solar holiday lights.
We tested a variety of outdoor solar lights to find the best options on the market and declared the Beau Jardin Solar Lights to be the winner thanks to their brightness, durability, and low price.
2. Power up your phone with a portable solar chargers
Solar power is a great way to power small electronic devices such as phones.
We’ve all got devices that need charging, and with all those cords, they often end up getting tangled up. One way to get control of your wires and free up outlets is to invest in a portable solar charger for your devices.
A small solar power bank is a great way to keep your phone and tablet full, whether at home or on the go. Simply charge up the battery on a sunny day, and then plug your phone in to charge each night. The best portable solar power bank on the market is the one offered by Blavor. It’s lightweight, packable, and both water and dust-resistant. It even comes with a compass.
These power banks are a great option to bring with you on camping trips as well to provide emergency power, particularly as many of them have built-in flashlights for safety. Most of these power banks can also be charged via an outlet or car power port on days when the sun isn’t shining.
Soshine sells a portable power bank that can be affixed to the exterior of your house, powering gadgets such as security cameras. It’s also small enough that you can take it with you to charge devices on the go.
3. Opt for a solar-powered security camera
This ring cam supports using a solar panel as an energy source.
Another easy way to make use of solar power is with your outdoor security cameras. Whether you need a doorbell model or more of a trail cam, numerous manufacturers make solar powered cameras for a variety of uses.
Many, like the Ring Stick Up Cam, include night vision, a wide field of view, siren, two-way talk, and other smart features that work with your Alexa system.
4. Solar generator
For larger appliances and other intensive energy needs, use a solar-powered generator.
If you’re looking for a larger solar power solution that can handle some of your bigger appliances and devices, consider picking up a solar battery backup system. These are just large-capacity batteries that can be charged in numerous ways, including with solar panels that are typically an additional purchase.
The sizes of these batteries will vary, but many have clean power outputs that can power everything from your refrigerator to cooking appliances to power tools, while also charging your home. The standard use-case for these is as emergency backup or off grid power like while camping, but there’s no reason they couldn’t be used in day-to-day life to offset some of your traditional grid power usage.
We tested the Geneverse HomePower One and were very impressed with the technology overall. Depending on usage, these batteries can provide plenty of power for a wide variety of needs. While these certainly aren’t going to power your entire home, they can run a good amount of your on-demand power needs. And the system does have the ability to charge via a traditional power outlet if the sun isn’t shining that day.
More on outdoor lighting and solar
- The Best Outdoor Solar Lights We've Tested
- 5 Smart Outdoor Lights to Spruce up Your Landscape
- The Best Solar Lanterns We've Tested
- Great lighting ideas for people who are aging in place
- 10 outdoor lights to make your backyard pop
- 6 patio trends that are here to stay for the summer
- Modern backyard ideas for a mid-century oasis
- 14 stylish outdoor rugs to upgrade your patio
- Outdoor table lamps: What you need to know
- 24 decor pieces under $50 to upgrade your outdoor space
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