Connecticut has witnessed impressive growth in solar power adoption over the past few years. Besides the financial benefits, the most important reason for Connecticut homeowners to go solar is environmental responsibility. They seek to reduce their carbon footprint and save the planet from worsening climate changes caused by excessive greenhouse gases produced by fossil fuels.
Naturally, every homeowner who is interested in solar power to meet their energy needs wants to know how much greenhouse gas emissions they can save each year.Â
And, we can help you find it out.
Greenhouse Emissions in Connecticut
Did you know that 95% of the state’s energy is produced from natural gas and nuclear energy?
Natural gas alone contributes to over 50% of the power generation in Connecticut. So, every single kilo-watt of energy you get from solar panels prevents the state from producing an equal amount of power from natural gas sources.
Actually, for every kilo-watt of energy you consume, the power companies have to produce more than 1 kilo-watt of energy, as they have to account for transmission losses, but we’ll ignore that for now.Â
In the state of Connecticut, every 1kWh of electricity produced generates 0.523lbs of carbon dioxide, which is the most significant pollutant of the atmosphere.
Equivalent Savings from Solar Power
The average household in Connecticut consumes about 752kWh of energy per month. Calculated annually, that adds to 9024kWh of power.
To generate that much power, the utility companies in Connecticut burn enough natural gas to pump 9024 X 0.523 = 4719.552lbs of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
That’s the same amount of CO2 produced by burning 460.8 gallons of gasoline.
To put these numbers into perspective, by going solar, you can reduce your carbon footprint by the same amount as you would by:
- Not driving 16,072 miles in your car
- Not charging 777,923 smartphones over the year
- Not using 261 propane cylinders for your home barbeques
That’s a lot of carbon emissions saved!
Think Big
Everywhere, you hear news about planting tree seedlings, protests against deforestation, and efforts to save trees to fight climate change. By adopting solar energy, an average household can reduce their carbon footprint in 1 year by the same amount as 106 tree seedlings grown over 10 years would achieve.
That’s right, planting 106 seedlings and caring for them would save reduce the same amount of CO2 from the atmosphere as installing 1 solar panel of roughly 7.7kW capacity.
The choice is yours.