San Francisco, CA is not messing around when it comes to renewable energy resources. On April 19, the city passed an ordinance mandating that all new buildings 10 storys tall or less must use solar energy technology, effective January 2017. City Supervisor Scott Wiener introduced the Better Roofs Ordinance to help move San Francisco towards its goal of meeting 100% of the city’s electricity demand with renewable energy by 2020.
“To fight climate change and achieve a clean energy future, we need to take decisive steps to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels,” said Supervisor Wiener in a statement. “This legislation will activate our roofs, which are an under-utilized urban resource, to make our City more sustainable and our air cleaner. In a dense, urban environment, we need to be smart and efficient about how we maximize the use of our space to achieve goals like promoting renewable energy and improving our environment.”
California homeowners have been setting the trend toward adapting better home energy efficiency technologies with California solar panel incentives such as the California Solar Initiative. This rebate program funds solar on existing homes and other buildings. And with the continual drop in installation pricing the solar power return on investment has never been higher.
How do solar panels work? The panels themselves are composed of two oppositely charged plates which create an electrical field between them. This field encourages electrons to flow in one direction from the positive layer to the negative layer. The flow of electrons in one direction produces an electrical current, and when the high-energy protons from sunlight strike the solar panel, they facilitate an even greater disruption of electrons creating an even stronger current. The current in concert with the voltage from each cell’s electrical field results in the production of power.
San Francisco is taking big steps to generate clean solar energy and our team here at 123SolarPower is here to serve as a resource for solar power users and connect them with local solar power experts.
How much can solar panels save? Use our super simple solar power calculator to find out! To find San Francisco solar panel installation experts, or top solar installers in your area, enter your information below.
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Sources: http://www.digitaltrends.com/home/san-francisco-buildings-solar-panels/