In our last article we acknowledged the BP oil spill tragedy and started to question some of our everyday habits, such as asphalt roofing, that create the demand for oil and ultimately lead to oil dependency and catastrophes like the one currently en-Gulfing us as we speak!
What we didn’t fully address last time was the severity of the down-the-road consequences that this spill is generating. Now on it’s 51st day we are starting to see serious political reactions, economic implications and wildlife deaths everyday. Because this world is one big ecosystem and in many ways so is our economy (all inter-connected) let’s look at the quality of life consequences we are soon to face and what we NEED to plan to do about it.
• According to the US government 600,000 to 1.2 million gallons a day of oil are leaking into our ocean
• Marine scientists have already found a 100-foot-thick layer of oil 1,300 feet below the surface about 45 miles from the well site with more discoveries each day
• The National Wildlife Federation reports that already more than 150 threatened or endangered sea turtles are dead as well as 316 sea birds with more dying everyday
• The oil is already in the Loop Current a significant hazard to the Florida Keys, (and entire East Coast) as well as areas of the west coast of Florida, Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico
In addition, more immediate and grave threats include:
• The risk of even more ferocious hurricanes with oil skimming off the surface and onto our mainland because crude accumulating at the surface could be raising the temperature of the surrounding water
• The risk of disease and widespread illness as the oil passes through the food chain and reaches us due to the bioaccumulation of chemicals and toxins
NOW THAT I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION!!!! What can be done to save our planet and our economy??? One of the answers is Solar Thin Film and Metal Roofing
Although, this is not the complete answer it represents a better way of thinking based on:
• Renewable and clean energy
• Low lifecycle costs
• Sustainable material usage
• Long-term economic value
I don’t think any of these concepts are radical but they all make sense. And here’s how:
Renewable and Clean Energy
The Sun blasts Earth with enough energy in one hour-4.3 x 1020 joules – to provide all of humanity’s energy needs for a whole year! Solar thin film is made to harness that electricity, and convert it to usable energy that gets hooked up to your energy meter and sent back into the electrical grid. On average, homeowner’s offset anywhere from 30-60% of their home electrical usage for the entire year.
This fairly new solar thin film energy system has already offset 14.2 barrels of oil in its lifetime! That’s over close to 600 gallons for just one house in less than 1 year!! Extrapolated, that’s over 15,000 in it’s lifetime.
Low Life-cycle Costs
As mentioned before, metal roofing is the least expensive roof over the lifetime of the metal roof. That includes maintenance, replacement costs and energy savings. That is just one of the reason’s solar thin film loves metal roofing. The other reason is that you get a tax credit (30% with no limit) for the metal solar roof when you laminate the solar film onto the panels. These two products combined give you 50+ years of roofing and 25 years of solar output at a high level.
In addition, the efficiency and low cost to product of solar thin film will eventually combine to eliminate crystal panels all together. At that time you will just have to re-laminate new solar panels over top the metal roof when the 25 years is up.
Sustainable Materials
Solar thin film is made in America and is much less expensive to mass produce than traditional silicon photovoltaics. Thin film solar cells use a fine layer of semi-conducting material, such as silicon, copper indium gallium selenide or cadimium telluride to harvest the electricity form the sun at a fraction of the cost.
Long-term economic (and ecological) value
As mentioned metal roofing is already a more sustainable, longer lasting and a more value-adding product over time than any other roof, especially asphalt shingle. But, what about the solar aspect?
Solar installations on metal roofs have become more and more popular because of the quick payback period (3-8 years) and the long term ROI (20-30%).
Another reason for the recent increase of metal and solar installations is the ever increasing price of OIL and FUEL. When estimating solar ROI it is impossible to predict the future oil prices but with recent events such as the BP oil spill, government regulation will increase, causing supply to decrease and energy prices to increase.
At Green is Global, it’s our hope that almost every home in America can afford solar and metal roofing. Think about your Flat Screen TV, with all the benefits at the current prices, isn’t it hard to live without one? The same goes for solar including same-as-cash financing up to $45,000!
Call Global Home Improvement at 888-234-2929 or email adam@greenisglobal.net to tell us how you feel about our solar thin film, metal roofs and the world (global) views addressed in this article.
The BP Oil Spill and Your Roof Part II: Solar thin film on your roof prevents oil film in our oceans
In our last article we acknowledged the BP oil spill tragedy and started to question some of our everyday habits, such as asphalt roofing, that create the demand for oil and ultimately lead to oil dependency and catastrophes like the one currently en-Gulfing us as we speak!
What we didn’t fully address last time was the severity of the down-the-road consequences that this spill is generating. Now on it’s 51st day we are starting to see serious political reactions, economic implications and wildlife deaths everyday. Because this world is one big ecosystem and in many ways so is our economy (all inter-connected) let’s look at the quality of life consequences we are soon to face and what we NEED to plan to do about it.
- According to the US government 600,000 to 1.2 million gallons a day of oil are leaking into our ocean
- Marine scientists have already found a 100-foot-thick layer of oil 1,300 feet below the surface about 45 miles from the well site with more discoveries each day
- The National Wildlife Federation reports that already more than 150 threatened or endangered sea turtles are dead as well as 316 sea birds with more dying everyday
- The oil is already in the Loop Current a significant hazard to the Florida Keys, (and entire East Coast) as well as areas of the west coast of Florida, Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico
In addition, more immediate and grave threats include:
· The risk of even more ferocious hurricanes with oil skimming off the surface and onto our mainland because crude accumulating at the surface could be raising the temperature of the surrounding water
· The risk of disease and widespread illness as the oil passes through the food chain and reaches us due to the bioaccumulation of chemicals and toxins
NOW THAT I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION!!!! What can be done to save our planet and our economy??? One of the answers is Solar Thin Film and Metal Roofing
Although, this is not the complete answer it represents a better way of thinking based on:
· Renewable and clean energy
· Low lifecycle costs
· Sustainable material usage
· Long-term economic value
I don’t think any of these concepts are radical but they all make sense. And here’s how:
Renewable and Clean Energy
The Sun blasts Earth with enough energy in one hour-4.3 x 1020 joules – to provide all of humanity’s energy needs for a whole year! Solar thin film is made to harness that electricity, and convert it to usable energy that gets hooked up to your energy meter and sent back into the electrical grid. On average, homeowner’s offset anywhere from 30-60% of their home electrical usage for the entire year.
This fairly new solar thin film energy system has already offset 14.2 barrels of oil in its lifetime! That’s over close to 600 gallons for just one house in less than 1 year!! Extrapolated, that’s over 15,000 in it’s lifetime.
Low Lifecycle Costs
As mentioned before, metal roofing is the least expensive roof over the lifetime of the metal roof. That includes maintenance, replacement costs and energy savings. That is just one of the reason’s solar thin film loves metal roofing. The other reason is that you get a tax credit for the metal roof when you laminate the solar onto the panels. These two products combine give you 50+ years of roofing and 25 years of solar output at a high level.
In addition, the efficiency and low cost to product of solar thin film will eventually combine to eliminate crystal panels all together. At that time you will just have to re-laminate new solar panels over top the metal roof when the 25 years is up.
Sustainable Materials
Solar thin film is made in America and is much less expensive to mass produce than traditional silicon photovoltaics. Thin film solar cells use a fine layer of semi-conducting material, such as silicon, copper indium gallium selenide or cadimium telluride to harvest the electricity form the sun at a fraction of the cost.
Long-term economic value (and ecological)
As mentioned metal roofing is already a more sustainable, long lasting and more value-adding product over time than any other roof, especially asphalt shingle. So, what about the solar aspect?
Solar installations on metal have become more and more popular because of the quick payback period (3-8 years) and the long term ROI (20-30%).
Another reason for the recent increase of metal and solar installations is the ever increasing price of OIL and FUEL. When estimating solar ROI it is impossible to predict the future oil prices but with recent events such as the BP oil spill, isn’t it time that you hedged your energy bill??
Call Global Home Improvement at 888-234-2929 or email adam@greenisglobal.net to tell us how you feel about our solar thin film, metal roofs and world (global) views.
Loading ...
