Even with all of the financial benefits that a custom designed residential solar electric system provides, many of the homeowners that we speak with here  are most interested in the environmental benefits of solar. It is no secret that installing solar panels on your roof or property will reduce your carbon footprint, but exactly how much carbon dioxide will you be saving from the atmosphere by utilizing solar energy in your home?
 
Understanding Solar Carbon Savings
The first thing to understand about the carbon savings of solar energy is that it will be different for each household. No two homes are exactly alike in their sun-facing orientation  or their household energy usage. This is exactly why trusting a local solar installation contractor is so essential! Designing the best solar photovoltaic (PV) system for your home takes a nuanced approach, with attention to detail. 
 
Each kilowatt hour (kWh) that your solar PV system produces is a reduction in the carbon emissions of a single kWh of electricity produced by your local power utility. Massachusetts power utility companies use multiple methods to create electricity, some less environmentally friendly than others. Here in Massachusetts, the primary source of electricity generation is natural gas, which is still a fossil fuel but does have much lower carbon emissions than coal. 
 
Every 1 kWh of electricity produced here in Massachusetts accounts for 0.846 lbs of carbon. 
 
Solar Power vs. Carbon Emissions
Let’s do some math (some of which we’ve covered before). Perhaps you have a home that gets ample sunshine throughout the year, and you want to completely eliminate your home’s daytime electricity usage. An average residential solar system is  9 kW and would produce about 10,000 kWh in a year. If you multiply those renewable, carbon-free kilowatt hours you get:
 
10,000kWh X 0.846 = 8,460 lbs of CO2
 
8,460 lbs of CO2 is equivalent to the carbon emissions of 432 gallons of gas, which would be like taking your car off the road for almost an entire year!
 
Estimate Your Own CO2 Emissions Savings
If you are curious what kind of impact your solar energy is having on the environment, you can use your own annual kWh solar generation and the lbs of CO2  to see what amount of carbon offsetting your system is responsible for. The above mentioned 8,460 lbs of CO2 comes in at reducing the carbon emissions of 489,315 smartphones charged in a year, or 157 propane cylinders used for home barbeques. Try it yourself here:
Calculate Your Carbon Savings
 
Looking at the Big Picture
In fact, in our 8 years in business, solar systems we have installed over 4,000 solar energy systems, totaling 33,000 kW.  That’s enough to generate more than 30 MILLION kWH a year! To calculate out how many lbs of CO2 our 4,000 systems offset: 
 
30,000,000 kWh X 0.846 = 25,380,000 lbs of CO2 a year
 
That’s equivalent to saving:
190,356 tree seedlings grown for 10 years
1,295,395 gallons of gas 
437,276 light bulbs switched to LED
26,653 oil barrels 
 
If you consider the estimated lifespan of a solar system being 30+ years, our 4,000 systems to date equals…
 
900,000,000 kWh x 0.846 = 761,400,000 lbs of CO2 over 30 years
 
That’s equivalent to saving:
5,710,687 tree seedlings grown for 10 years
38,861,847 gallons of gas 
13,118,290 light bulbs switched to LED
799,594 oil barrels 
Ready to Start Reducing Your Carbon Emissions?
As we mentioned, trusting a local solar installation contractor will make all the difference when it comes time for you and your family to make the switch to solar energy.