When you hear the word “farm”, the city of Los Angeles probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind.  However, a recent move by L.A. city leaders has opened up 12,000 acres of prime real estate in the City of the Angels.  Where exactly is all of this land?  It’s on rooftops all over L.A.  The development will be one of the largest solar panel farms on the planet.

The project, known as Clean L.A. Solar, is led by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Solar.  It has been made possible by a feed-in-tariff agreement led by a coalition of 30 environmental and non-profit groups.  These include the CLEAN Coalition, Tree People, the Sierra Club, the American Lung Association, and the L.A. Conservation Corps.

A feed-in-tariff (FiT) agreement is a mechanism for encouraging the growth of alternative energy sources.  Under its provisions, both individuals and companies are paid for generating electricity through sustainable means.  Usual terms include guaranteed grid access, energy purchase prices tied to production costs, and long-term contracts between the city and developers.

Under such a plan, anyone who can install a panel on their rooftop will be able to participate in the new solar panel farms.  This holds the promise of bringing much-needed funds to the poorer areas of Los Angeles, as they are the ones with the greatest potential for solar power creation.

The feed-in-tariff model was first proposed in the US by President Carter ‘s administration, as part of the National Energy Act (NEA) signed into law in 1978.  One of its provisions requires utilities to purchase power from qualified producers who use alternative methods to create energy.

Currently, over 50 nations across the globe have active feed-in-tariff agreements.  Though they fell out of favor in the 1980s and 90s, they have enjoyed a surge in popularity in recent years, driven largely by the high costs of petroleum.

The Los Angeles plan calls for the installation of enough panels to generate 150 megawatts of electricity within the next four years.  By 2020, the goal is to reach the full 600 megawatts granted by the FiT.  This is in conjunction with a California state mandate.  It requires utility companies to generate at least 33% of their energy from renewable sources by the same year.

“The 12,000-plus acres of rooftop space available for solar could generate as much as 5.5 gigawatts of power for Los Angeles,” said Los Angeles Business Council chairman Jacob Lipa.  He also said, “while getting to a 600 megawatt FiT only takes advantage of a fraction of the total capacity in the city, it’s a great start to encourage investment.”

The initiative will be a boost to the area’s economy.  A study conducted by UCLA predicts that 18,000 green jobs could result from the plan, as well as revenues from as much as $2 billion in investments.  In addition, businesses will enjoy a reduction in their operating costs and a boost in their revenues, both from their efforts to generate power.

The top 10 rooftops for these solar panel farms in each district have already been chosen, according to Adam Jacobson of the L.A. Business Council, who is enthusiastic about the project.  “We’re the first large city to implement a solar program,” he said.  Los Angeles is the single largest municipal utility in the United States.

It’s clear that sustainable energy and building development are the ways of the future.  However, to successfully integrate them into your own business model, you’ll need input from experts in the subjects.  That’s where we can help.  Our consultants can guide and support you through every phase of adopting eco-friendly products, procedures, and technology.  Contact us today.

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Los Angeles is becoming greener by the day, and one sign of that is the growing presence of photovoltaic panels across the city.  So, if you’re considering using the sun to help provide your energy needs, then we congratulate you on being both thrifty and environmentally conscious.  As solar panel inspection experts, we also recommend that you let our building code consultants make sure that your project’s plans meets all applicable building and fire codes.  L.A.’s regulations regarding solar power installations are reasonable, but also rather stringent.  Here are just some of the many things the city will expect to see on your plans:

• The building’s footprint and north reference point
• The locations of all on-site structures
• The street address of the building
• All access points from the street to the buildings
• The locations of the solar arrays
• The locations of all disconnects
• The locations of all required signage
• The locations of all required access pathways
• The locations of all required markings, warning signs, and labels

The city will also need elevation views of the buildings on your property.  They will need to show the following:

• Placement of the arrays
• Ridgelines for the roof
• Eave lines
• All equipment on the roof
• Skylights, roof hatches, vent lines, and all other objects present on the roof

In addition, you should provide photographs of the area where the array is to be placed.  This will assist city officials in evaluating the feasibility of your plans.

Regulations Regarding Labels, Warning Signs, and Marking

City codes are detailed in their requirements for all signage, as it will be referenced by emergency responders in the event of a fire on the premises.  Here’s a list of some of the things they will be looking for:

1. Markings inside the main service disconnect.  These must be placed on the exterior cover if the main service disconnect can be operated with the service panel closed.
2. For commercial buildings, the marking must be adjacent to the main service disconnect.  It must be clearly visible from the point where the lever is operated.
3. The verbiage on the markings must read CAUTION: SOLAR ELECTRIC CONNECTED.
4. It must be white lettering on a red background.  All letters must be capitals and be a minimum height of 3/8 of an inch.  The font used must be Arial or something similar, and the letters cannot be in bold.
5. The material used for the markings must be reflective and weather resistant.

For DC conduits, enclosures, raceways, DC combiners, junction boxes, and cable assemblies, the following is required of all markings:

1. They must be placed every 10 feet.
2. The verbiage must read CAUTION: SOLAR CIRCUIT.
3. Markings will also be required at turns, above and below penetrations, and on all DC combiners and junction boxes.

Regulations Regarding Access Pathways and Smoke Ventilation

For one and two family dwellings, the following are some of the requirements you will be expected to meet:

1. For buildings with a hip roof layout, solar panels must provide a three-foot wide access pathway from the ridge to the eave, on each slope where panels are placed.  The access pathways must be located along load-bearing walls or other structurally strong points of the building.
2. For buildings with a single ridge, the panels must provide two three-foot access pathways, from the eave to the ridge, on each slope where the panels are placed.  Access pathways cannot include any eave’s overhang.
3. Panels cannot be placed closer than 1.5 feet to a hip or valley, if they are placed on both sides of the hip or valley.
4. If the panels are placed on only one side of a hip or valley of equal lengths, then the panels can be located directly adjacent to the hip or valley.
5. In cases where there are two or more access pathways, the clear pathways must be arranged so that there are no dead ends longer than 25 feet.  Any access pathways that leads to a dead end if greater than 25 feet in distance, it must continue on to the next access pathway.  However, at no time can any access pathway cause an individual’s travel to be greater than 150 feet prior to arriving at another access pathway.
6. Arrays of photovoltaic panels must not exceed 150 feet by 150 feet in dimension.  This applies to both axes.
7. Panels must have a clearance of at least three feet below the ridge, UNLESS the fire department has determined that an approved method or product will provide equal or greater opportunities for ventilation.

For housing units intended for three or more families, additional regulations must be met to pass solar panel inspection.  These are spelled out in detail on fire department and building safety department websites.

Further Rules and Guidelines

The locations of your wiring systems and raceways are also important.  They must be as close to the ridge, hip, or valley as possible.  Conduit runs must follow the shortest paths from the array to the DC combiner box.  Those combiner boxes must be located so that conduit runs in the pathways between the arrays are minimized.  DC wiring must run along the bottoms of load-bearing walls.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg…

The city has many other rules that must be followed when solar panel arrays are installed.  Though all of this may sound excessive, in reality, it’s not.  Every sub-section of every heading of every page in the manual of regulations is there because it helps to ensure not only your safety but also that of your residents, your neighbors, and the public at large.

That being said, we hope that you can understand how important it is to have the help of a company like Burnham Nationwide.  We’re experienced building code consultants and can perform many types of third party inspection.  If there are problems in your setup, we will see them and point them out, allowing you to make the necessary changes so that you can pass when the fire marshal does come out to look over your project.  Let our expertise help you avoid needless delays.  Contact us today.

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Some critics still say that deriving significant amounts of power from the sun’s rays is a pipe dream, but a growing body of evidence is proving them wrong.  As an article published in the March 16^th 2011 issue of Scientific American shows, the costs of harvesting solar energy have declined dramatically over the past several decades.  In fact, it appears that high efficiency solar panels are following their own version of Moore’s Law.

For those of you unfamiliar with that term, it stems from a prediction made by Gordon E. Moore, one of the founders of Intel.  In 1965, he predicted that the number of transistors that could be placed on a silicon chip would double every 24 months “for at least 10 years.”  The prophecy was later clarified by Intel executive David House, who said that actual chip performance would double every 18 months.

Moore’s and House’s predictions have proven uncannily correct, so much so that Intel and other chip manufacturers set their research and production goals according to them.  In 1965, computers with the processing power of an arithmetic calculator filled giant rooms.  Today, a single laptop computer can do vastly more work than ones built just a few years ago.  As far as calculators are concerned, today we have ones that not only add and subtract, they also compute complex data using trigonometric and calculus formulas and perform other highly advanced functions – yet they fit in a shirt pocket.

Solar cell prices have followed a Moore’s Law-like trend during their history.  In 1956, it cost $300 to generate a watt of electricity from sunlight.  This figure fell to $50 per watt in the 1970s, then to $10 a watt during the 1990s.  Today it hovers around $1.00 on average, with manufacturing prices as low as 75 cents a watt in some settings.

This amount is still prohibitively high compared to coal-fired power generation, which currently costs a shade under 10 cents per watt.  However, if current trends continue, by 2030, high efficiency solar panels will generate energy at half the cost of methods that use fossil fuels.  Years before then, they will be competitive with coal, oil, and hydroelectric plants on an economic basis.  Additionally, that’s not taking into consideration the environmental and financial benefits of cutting the amount of greenhouse gasses pouring into the atmosphere.

Several factors are driving the reductions in expenses.  The silicon wafers in solar cells can now be made more efficiently, thanks to the use of diamond-tipped industrial blades and other enhancements to the manufacturing process.  Advances in software allow panel farms to track the sun’s path across the sky more precisely.  Sanyo has pioneered the construction of double-sided panels, and developments in thin-film and quantum dot technologies promise a revolution in efficiency.

The potential for harvesting energy from the sun is astounding.  Every day, the amount of power that reaches the earth’s surface from our home star totals 89 petawatts of power.  That’s 89,000,000,000,000,000 watts, more than 6,000 times the energy consumed by all human activities in a year.  By capturing 1/1000^th of that energy, we could supply six times the amount of electricity needed to maintain civilization at its current level and produce virtually no pollutants in exchange.  The potential benefits of pursuing solar energy stagger the imagination.

Becoming part of this revolution requires going through a variety of permit applications and inspections.  Let us help you with that end of things.  We can assist in expediting the permit process, allowing your project to commence faster.  Also, upon completion, we can help with solar panel inspection as well, letting you enjoy the benefits of sustainable power generation sooner.  Contact us today.

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Solar panel technologies offer the potential to generate enormous amounts of power while being environmentally friendly.  However, they have faced a number of barriers to widespread acceptance, due to efficiency and other limitations.  That’s why recent news from MIT researchers is so exciting.  They have developed a way to use three-dimensional design techniques to increase solar panel output by as much as 20 times that of traditional flat arrays.

Rooftop panels are limited in how much power they collect by the location of the sun.  When it’s directly overhead, they are very effective, but this diminishes in the mornings and evenings.  The collection amount is also reduced in winter and in areas far from the equator.

Aware of this, the MIT researchers set out to determine the ideal shape for panels.  They tested a number of configurations in a variety of latitudes, weather conditions, and seasons of the year, using a computer algorithm.  After that, they settled on three designs, which they built models of and installed on the roof of the MIT lab building.

The solar cell arrays out-performed traditional flat panels, creating anywhere from two to 20 times the amount of electricity.  The power output was also more consistent over time, even after the effects of clouds and shadows were taken into account.

Each of the designs is accordion-shaped and is meant to be vertically mounted on rooftops.  According to Jeffrey Grossman, the study’s senior author, they could also be installed on parking garages to provide power for vehicles that run on electricity.

Solar energy has long been touted as an answer to the world’s energy needs, but several limitations have prevented its widespread adoption.  One of these is the cost of manufacture versus the amount of energy produced by these solar panel technologies.

“Even 10 years ago, this idea wouldn’t have been economically justified because the modules cost so much,” said Grossman in a recent interview.  However, these costs have been falling in recent years, leading him and his colleagues to believe that now is an ideal time to explore new types of panels.

At Burnham Nationwide, we know solar panels and the ins and outs of installation, efficiency, and much more. Contact us today to learn how we can help you!

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The degree of solar panel maintenance is directly correlated to the region of the country in which one lives. If you live in an area accustomed to snow, you can pretty much expect a higher degree of maintenance, but short of that, solar panel maintenance requires rather minimal effort.

Why is solar panel maintenance so minimal a task? Three words: No moving parts. The first clue to solar panels’ inherent low maintenance needs lies in the life of their warranties—most coming with 25- to 30-year manufacturers’ performance guarantees. The only moving part involved in a solar array is the pump; so, if anything, that might be the main focus of attention.

Early versions of solar panels had somewhat fragile surfaces, which heightened the need for maintenance. However, today’s versions feature practically indestructible surfaces. Despite this virtual indestructibility, solar panels are not immune to getting dirty. So removal of grime—dirt, soot, pollen, dust, bird droppings, leaves, and the like—represents the biggest single area of solar panel maintenance. In some regions of the country where pollen is prevalent, homeowners and business owners who have outfitted their buildings with a solar panel array report big accumulations when pollen particles start to bond. For this reason, pollen—a fine or coarse powder derived from seed plants—poses a major maintenance menace. Other parts of the country are dustier, and while dust may seem benign, its accumulation can negatively impact energy output.

As a result, it is recommended to clean panels at least twice a year, perhaps in March or April after the end of the rainy season and again in August or September toward summer’s end. Such upkeep is a key consideration, as dirty panels tend to lose up to 15 percent of their output versus those that are kept clean.

You can take the hose to them with a moderate stream, using a gentle brush if needed to clean major grime or dirty accumulation. If you live in an area of hard water on tap, you might consider cleaning solar panel surfaces with bottled water to avoid the residue sometimes associated with some tap water.

It’s not advisable to use strong detergents in cleaning solar panels. It’s best to use soapy water containing a mild solvent that can then be hosed off gently.  Just because panels are all but indestructible doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be gentle with them!

As with any technology, malfunctions might also occur with solar panels. It’s a good idea to monitor power output regularly to discern if there are any variations that might alert to malfunction. Check your solar inverter’s display to keep an eye on such variances, monitoring consistently on each month or with an even greater rate of frequency.   In doing so, you arrive at a baseline as it relates to energy provision and can more easily spot any deficiencies.

The only other area of solar panel maintenance revolves more around their surroundings rather than the panels themselves. To avoid pollen accumulation and obstruction from falling leaves, it’s good to always keep an eye on tree limbs that may stretch onto the vicinity of a solar panel array.

In short, solar panel maintenance requires little effort that building owners can easily accomplish themselves with minimal physical exertion. If this still poses a challenge, however, cleaning companies often include solar panel maintenance as part of their services.

As the trend toward sustainability grows, we have detected a growing number of clients intent on environmentally conscious design. As a result of this, Burnham increasingly advises clients on such matters. If you need more information on solar panel maintenance or related matters, feel free to contact us toll free at 800-407-7990. You can also find us on Facebook where we encourage you to hit our “like” button!

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This year Burnham celebrates its 20th anniversary and we’d like to take this opportunity to share with you the story of how Burnham Nationwide came to be, where we are headed and how Daniel Burnham’s message has inspired us along the way.

 > Fast forward 6 years…

It’s 1998 and at Burnham Nationwide we have fully embraced Daniel Burnham’s sentiment to make no little plans. We’ve aimed high and made some big strides, and most importantly learned from our experiences. After the first couple years in business it became quite clear to us that in order to succeed we would need to develop partnerships with leading architects, contractors, and building managers who understood our values and appreciated our platform for managing their compliance obligations. Like many other companies, we recognized the importance Customer Relationship Management (CRM) would have in our future growth and success.

Big Changes in Technology  Service Lines and Locations

 Information systems that had been developed to manage the Chicago process were at their limit, for example: we needed bigger and better bandwidth. Working with Siebel Systems we developed a robust CRM system that would effectively manage our information and enhance the special experience in which our reputation was built.

 The Code Group was launched in 2001, and focused on developing a deeper understanding of building codes. This commitment has enabled Burnham to better define our technical services, and provide us with the credentials to provide services beyond that of a typical “Permit Expeditor”.

 Physically, we needed to be in more places to service our growing client base. We opened our first satellite office in New York City, a temporary office in St. Louis, and Detroit followed shortly thereafter. We also began efforts to find partners for offices in Seattle, Denver and Los Angeles.    

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Once you decide to install one of the residential solar energy systems, you will probably have more questions than answers. Because installing these panels can be such an expensive process, it is best to have your questions addressed by an expert. As part of the Burnham special experience, the experts at Burnham Nationwide can offer you advice on all of the issues that you may face during the installation of your residential solar energy systems.

Initially, most consumers want to know how much these systems cost and how well they will offset their current energy bills. The cost of installing panels can be anywhere from $7 to $9 per watt of solar power that will be generated. However, these numbers are reliant on a lot of factors. The number of hours that the sun shines every day will impact how efficiently the panels work, just as the cost of electricity in your area will determine how cost efficient the panels ultimately end up being. The amount of sunlight that the panels can collect is an essential part of how much energy they can produce.

You can manipulate the amount of sunlight that is collected by positioning your panels in the most optimal spots. Most people agree that South-facing is the best direction for most solar panels in the U.S. In addition, most people agree that being as close to the sun as possible with an unobstructed view of it is also the most advantageous. Thus, most opt to install their panels on the roof. However, this can have its pros and cons. Installing panels on the roof is usually the easiest on new construction or on a home that is getting a new roof. This means the roof beams will be exposed, and it makes it easier to attach the mounts. However, maintenance for roof-mounted panels may be a hassle for some. Therefore, in some cases, it is actually more advantageous to scatter the residential solar energy systems in other places on the homeowner’s lot.

In order to ascertain where the best place for your panels is, you should speak with a consultant. They can advise you about everything from angles to location. It’s very important to remember that the more sunlight you collect, the more energy you will create and the more efficient your system will be.

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To determine the cost of solar energy, it is important to consider both the cost of installing the solar panels and how much they can offset a homeowner’s electrical bills. However, it is also important to consider the fact that solar energy is advancing so much every day that even as this article is being posted, it is becoming more affordable. The information in this post is only a quick look at the cost of solar energy. For a comprehensive assessment of whether or not it would be a good idea for your next project or your existing home, you should speak with one of the consultants at Burnham Nationwide.

A conservative estimate about solar panels is that they can generate about 10 watts of power for every square foot of paneling. That means that you will usually need 100 square feet of solar panel to create approximately one kW. Obviously, these numbers are very dependent upon how many hours a day the sun shines in your area, so you will need to adjust them accordingly. The average family uses about 1 kW every hour. Depending upon price of electricity in their area, they will have an electricity bill of approximately $73 per month. That figure is based upon a cost of $.10 per KW/h. If they run a hot tub or have a lot of electronics plugged in, their bill may be considerably more.

In order to offset the costs of installing panels, a homeowner should see if their utility provider will give them net metering. This means that when more energy is being produced than is being using, the meter will spin backwards. That amount will be put in a virtual savings account for the homeowner, and he or she can access it on rainy days when they are consuming more power than they are creating. This is only possible in homes that are on the grid. Homes that are using their panels as part of an off-grid system cannot do this.

However, even with net metering, the cost of solar energy can seem high. It costs about $7 to $9 per watt to install solar panels. This figure includes labor in most cases. Thus, the price for a 5kW system can be anywhere from $35,000 to $45,000. That means that it takes approximately 20 years for a system to pay for itself based on monthly bills of $73 per month. The important thing to remember when looking at figures like these is that they are constantly changing and that they are averages. If you live in a place that is very sunny and where electricity costs are high, your solar panels will pay for themselves much faster than they will in other places.

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When answered in very basic terms, the answer to the question “What is solar energy?” is that it is energy from the sun. The sun’s radiant light and heat have been captured and utilized by humans since the ancient times. However, as technologies evolve, solar power also changes and progresses. Explaining how solar energy works is a slightly more complicated issue than defining it.

There are basically two types of solar power. These are passive and active. Each type of solar power is placed into one of these two categories. It is defined as passive or active depending upon exactly how the energy is used. Active energy tends to be stored and can be used later, while passive sources take advantage of the light without storing it. For instance, solar power that is used to create electricity through the use of thermal collectors and photovoltaic panels is considered to be active. Solar architecture techniques, on the other hand, are primarily considered to be passive. These techniques include things like designing spaces that allow for the natural circulation of air, using building materials with favorable thermal masses, or orienting buildings toward the sun.

Socrates’ Megaron House is a great example of ancient architecture that uses a passive solar design. The features on this building allowed air to circulate. This allowed the building’s occupants to enjoy a fairly comfortable range of temperatures. Modern day attempts at this type of architecture do not have to worry just about the occupants’ comfort levels. Obviously, the occupants of most contemporary buildings can be quite comfortable by using central heating or air conditioning. Instead, contemporary designers must worry about how to design a building in a manner that does not tempt its occupants to use conventional heating and cooling methods that exploit fossil fuels. Contemporary solar architecture uses features like orientation to the sun and selective shading. Then, they tailor these features to the local weather patterns in the region. By doing this, they are able to create well-lit and comfortable spaces that are not as reliant on fossil fuels. When combined with active solar features like pumps or fans, these buildings can seem amazing.

The answer to the question “What is solar energy?” is a short one. However, it is an answer that is primarily defined by how solar energy works. As technology continues to change and advance, the way that we use energy from the sun will also continue to change and advance. Ultimately, these changes will make it more widely used and more affordable to purchase and implement.

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Everybody knows that solar power is better for the environment than many other traditional forms of energy. This is due to the fact that it does not create green house gases like fossils fuels do when they are burned. However, there are many other facts about solar energy that may surprise you. We at Burnham Nationwide have gathered together some interesting facts about solar energy and the history of solar energy.

1. Cost. Sunlight, of course, is free. However, it must be collected in cells and then stored in batteries; those items can be expensive. The batteries must be able to store the energy so that it can be used when it is needed. That storage system and the technology that converts the sunlight into direct currents allow it to be used at night and on cloudy days. As solar power continues to become more widely used as an energy source, its price will start to fall. Currently, many consumers are concerned about climate change. Thus, they are turning to solar power. Some of them are making these changes after being encouraged by global legislation.  In fact, in 1985, there was only a 21MW demand for this type of energy, and now, there is approximately a 5.9GW demand per year, representing a significant increase.

2. Usage worldwide. Right now, the United States ranks third in the world for solar power usage. Spain is first in the world, and they used 285% more of it last year than the year before. Germany has recently moved from first place to second place. Korea takes fourth place and is followed by Italy and Japan. At sixth place, Japan is actually further back than it has ever been. Japan used to account for about fifty percent of the global demand for solar power only a few years ago.

3. Electricity availability. Currently, about two billion people have no access to electricity. When they start to use electricity, it may be solar, and it will be a new chapter in the history of the world and its energy sources. As the cost of implementing solar energy decreases, there is potential to bring it to more remote areas and villages.

4. Nuclear power. Energy from the sun is based on nuclear power. However, it utilizes a nuclear power plant that is about ninety-three million miles away from earth. That is correct; the sun’s energy is created by nuclear reactions on the sun!

5. History of solar energy. Leonardo Da Vinci used the sun’s rays to heat water at the Vatican. By building a system of concave mirrors, he was able to effectively heat water with them. He is notorious for many things, but some of his inventions, such as the airplane, were never built during his lifetime. Years after his death, the first airplane was built. Now, it is even possible for some of these planes to run off of energy from the sun. In 1990, a solar powered aircraft flew across the U.S. without using any other fuel. The trip took 121 hours of flying and required the plane to stop about twenty times. There are other world records that show that planes have been able to fly up to twenty-six hours without stopping.

6. Fossil fuels. If you think about it from a scientific standpoint, fossil fuels are actually forms of solar power. Fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and gas, all formed millions of years ago from the decomposition of plants. Those plants were reliant on the sun for their growth and for their very existence. Thus, without the sun, these plants would have never formed fossil fuels.

There are so many facts about solar energy to consider. The entire planet relies on the sun for its survival, and as solar power becomes more prolific, we will rely also on it for our lights, our warm showers, and our central heating, among other things. New discoveries in the coming years will continue to bring new and exciting innovations in the field of solar energy.

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