How Renewable Energy Can Help You Recover After a Disaster
Rebuilding after a disaster is often stressful and overwhelming. You might not even know where to start, or what you can do to make things easier. If you live in an area that is prone to things like hurricanes or flooding, it’s easy to feel frustrated and scared every time you’re without power for days/weeks. It also slows restoration efforts, making it harder to get back on your feet.
While no home can be 100% protected from everything a disaster can throw at it, there are things you can do to get things back to normal faster, safer, and more efficiently.
As a bonus, you can help out the planet while doing it.
Renewable energy is becoming a more prominent and popular option when it comes to disaster recovery. When you need to restore or renovate your home, consider utilizing green energy. If everyone in your neighborhood made the switch to renewable energy resources, you’d be less likely to experience a grid outage. But it starts with one person willing to make a difference.
Thankfully, this kind of difference is extremely beneficial for your home and family. So, how does renewable energy actually help with disaster recovery?
Preventing a Power Outage
During major storms, flooding, or high winds, it’s not uncommon for the power to go out. At home, that can lead to extreme temperature fluctuations, spoiled food, and may even prevent the use of some medical/health devices that require electricity.
As a whole, we’ve become extremely dependent on electrical grids. It’s normal to expect everything to work at all times. When a power outage occurs, it’s a quick reminder of just how much we rely on the grid to keep things going.
If you’ve recently experienced a power outage due to a disaster, it might be time to consider an alternate route.
There are multiple sources of energy that people can harness. The most popular option for homes is solar energy. Over the last several years, solar panels have become a more popular option for people across the country. In California, it’s been mandated that all new single-family homes have solar panels installed to reduce dependency on non-renewable resources.
Installing solar panels as part of your home renovation is a great way to become more energy independent. It’s one of the most cost-effective options, and many installation companies even offer payment plans. In most cases, installing a full solar panel system will give you more than enough energy production to power your home – even during a grid outage.
Getting Back to Normal Faster
In addition to not having to live in the dark, renewable energy renovations can help you get things back to normal faster. First, if you’re not relying on energy sources that could be knocked out in a disaster, you’ll be able to start working on restoration efforts faster.
You should even consider having renewable energy gadgets in your household, including:
- Solar power showers
- Camp stoves
- Solar panel smartphone cases
- Flashlights powered by the sun
You can use your renewable energy sources to keep things as normal as possible all around you. When the emergency is over, you won’t have to wait for the lights to come back on, you won’t have to throw out all of the food in the refrigerator, and you won’t have to wait too long to see what kind of structural damage may have occurred.
That isn’t to say everything will be easy. Most renewable energy gadgets have a short usage life, meaning they’ll have to be charged frequently by the sun. If the disaster that occurs has caused a lot of cloud cover, smoke, or smog, your solar panels might not get what they need to fully power your home.
But relying on renewable energy rather than an electrical grid will help you start renovating and returning to normal relatively quickly. It also allows you to help friends and neighbors in their restoration efforts. Doing so might inspire them to look into renewable energy, too. The more people understand the benefits, especially in common disaster areas, the sooner communities will be able to “get off the grid” and be energy independent.
Restoring a Safe and Sustainable Home
Ready to restore your home in a green and sustainable way?
You don’t have to do it on your own. Working with renewable energy engineers and contractors who are dedicated to sustainable construction will make a big difference. You don’t have to know everything about sustainability when you choose to team up with the right people.
Renewable energy engineers can consult with you and give you the latest research in sustainable home options. They are in demand when it comes to designing and building solar panel systems, so if that’s something you’re considering, talking to an engineer is the best place to start.
When it comes to other sustainable restoration efforts, there are plenty of ways to become less reliant on traditional electricity, including:
- Investing in energy-efficient appliances
- Installing smart home items
- Adjusting your hot water and HVAC systems
- Sealing gaps around windows and doors
Even if your home experienced quite a bit of damage during a disaster, restoring and rebuilding with eco-friendly construction materials, green paint (not necessarily the color!), and even sustainable insulation can make a big difference. It may not completely take away your energy dependence, but it can greatly reduce it.
The reality is, if we continue to rely so much on fossil fuels, they will eventually run out. When you experience a power loss during a disaster, it’s a glimpse into what that world might look like.
Now is the time to seek out alternative solutions. The government, big businesses, and world leaders are already doing that on a large, global scale. But, if you want to protect yourself, your family, and your home, it’s important to start looking into renewable energy as soon as possible. Not only will it make disaster recovery easier, but you can have peace of mind knowing you’re doing something smart and beneficial to the planet, too.
