Tag Archives: solar panels

Fall Safety, General Safety Issues, Hand Protection, Head Protection

ELECTRICAL SAFETY FOR NEW ENERGY SOURCES: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW (GUEST POST)

The two most popular methods of powering a domestic home with renewable energy are solar panels and wind turbines. Both of these methods produce pollution, can lessen the owners reliance on the national grid and can save on energy bills.

However, they both deal with electrical currents and as a result must be installed correctly and safely to ensure they do not become a safety hazard.

In this post I am going to outline some of the typical hazards associated with domestic energy production and what you can do to prevent them.

Solar panels:

To start with, the weight of solar panels means that they are not suitable for every building. Before you even start installing them you should have your roof surveyed to make sure that it can hold the weight of the panels and the people who will be installing them.

Attaching the solar panels to the buildings electrical systems should only be done by a qualified electrician, and should include fuse set ups and grounding.

Solar panels can become extremely hot during use. This can pose a fire risk if they are installed incorrectly. There is also a risk of burns to people performing maintenance work on them, so ensure they are properly insulated.

When installing or maintaining the panel, a full risk assessment should be carried out and all standard safety procedures for working at height should be followed.

Wind turbines

Micro wind turbines are subject to all of the safety concerns associated with their larger counterparts. The stresses placed on the system during high winds can cause a lot of problems. It is important that an isolator switch be fitted to the turbine setup and that the owner know exactly where this is located.

The size of the wind turbine means that there is a risk posed by it falling over. Installations should be fitted by a trained professional and maintained regularly to lessen the risk of this happening.  

Renewable energy for domestic use is still in its infancy, but systems are improving all the time. With expert fitting and regular maintenance a method of generating clean energy in your own home can help save the environment and save you money.

This peice was written by Mark Enright a writer for http://www.enviko.com/Enviko, the renewable energy experts.

Note: As you can see, those involved in these types of work need to wear the proper protective gear, such as safety glasses, hardhats, gloves, and fall protection. pb

General Safety Issues

SOLAR POWER FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS – INVESTING IN YOUR COMMUNITY (GUEST POST)

Energy demands are a hot topic in today’s society. Everyone is looking for a better way to conserve and live without sacrificing the creature comforts they have become reliant on. As a small business owner, you have the ability to assist your community by providing means to reduce the consumption of electricity within your establishment. The eco-friendly ramifications aside, a great deal can be accomplished by moving your system over to solar generation. Even the smallest, and most affordable, solutions can be beneficial to your community in a variety of ways.

1. Less Demand – By putting less demand on the power grid, you could essentially be helping your community in terms of power conservation. For each kilowatt-hour your business doesn’t use at its location, there is one kilowatt-hour of use in a private residence. If more businesses were like-minded, the price per kilowatt-hour could decrease as less of a demand is present, theoretically. Indirectly, this could help the economies of those locations as consumers are now able to spend more money instead of paying higher energy bills.

2. Decreasing Overhead – Even installing a few panels at a low cost to cover some of the energy demands of your business will decrease your monthly utility bills. With these bills decreasing, your business will have more money readily available for improvements, technological business advancements, payroll, or anything else you could use the extra money for. An eco-friendly establishment doesn’t just imply you are helping save the environment. It also implies you are helping to save your checkbook.

3. Promotional – Reducing your overhead means you are able to provide promotional discounts to customers with less fear of losing too much money. As you are saving money on the utilities, you could offer discounts on a regular basis which could turn into regular sales from consumers. People like a sale and offering such could greatly increase the business income. You could even go so far as to strike a deal with the solar power installation company to promote its work with a “we save so you save, thanks to…” type of campaign. Some organizations will consider the aspect of affiliate marketing and could create an additional revenue stream for your business. However you wish to spin the marketing campaign, you can use eco-friendly conscientious decisions to your benefit for creating a strong customer-base.

4. The Nights – Some will argue that solar power is lower at night greatly reducing the efficiency of photovoltaic cells. While this is true, consider how much power is actually used during the night compared to the amount of power you could feed into the grid during the day. While some businesses operate specifically at nighttime, the savings during the day should be more than worth the investment to you. Even if you close your business for the weekends, power is still generated that is being fed back into the grid which could possibly grant you a check from the electric company.

Being an eco-responsible business, you could very well become a trend-setter within your community. It’s in your best interest to at least investigate the possibilities of renewable energy sources for monetary benefits and reputation. You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars right away as you can slowly add panels piecemeal until your organization becomes a power-plant of its own putting far more into the grid than you are using.

This is a guest post by Liz Nelson from WhiteFence.com. She is a freelance writer and blogger from Houston.