Solar panels are great—if you own a home. For those still tied to the rental racket, though, the dream of going solar seems like just that: a distant dream. It’s virtually impossible to imagine most modern landlords springing for expensive setups when they won’t even fix a leak in a bathtub!
Some of us here at Modernize are apartment dwellers ourselves, and we solar-minded renters were getting tired of gazing at sweet panel setups like that kid who can never have a puppy because his brother is allergic. Luckily, urban solar is no longer a mere pipe dream: in fact, a new study shows that city-based solar has the potential to generate much more power than the area’s needs. And the solar field has not been deaf to the calls of a growing urban consumer market. A battery of devices now exist that are poised to change how renters power and heat their apartments—from kitchens all the way to the phones in their pockets.
Solar panels are great—if you own a home. For those still tied to the rental racket, though, the dream of going solar seems like just that: a distant dream. It’s virtually impossible to imagine most modern landlords springing for expensive setups when they won’t even fix a leak in a bathtub!
Some of us here at Modernize are apartment dwellers ourselves, and we solar-minded renters were getting tired of gazing at sweet panel setups like that kid who can never have a puppy because his brother is allergic. Luckily, urban solar is no longer a mere pipe dream: in fact, a new study shows that city-based solar has the potential to generate much more power than the area’s needs. And the solar field has not been deaf to the calls of a growing urban consumer market. A battery of devices now exist that are poised to change how renters power and heat their apartments—from kitchens all the way to the phones in their pockets.
Solar Chargers
It’s not as bad as say, a clothes dryer, which uses an estimated 1,000 kilowatts of power a year, but leaving your cell phone on the charger past the 100 percent marker is still energy lost.
While not an expansive solar system, solar chargers can cut out that wasted electricity. The New York Times reports that advances in technology (and reduced prices) mean that you’ll start to see more and more of them on the market.
For our money, we love these clinging phone chargers. Just find a window, slap it on, and start charging. It’s just as portable as a normal plug-in model, so users can charge their devices at a desk or at the coffee shop, just like any normal day. Every little bit counts, right?
Balcony Style Plug-and-Play Solar Panels
Another interesting development in urban solar is the appearance of plug-and-play modular panels, which are about as close as renters can get to a large roof-mounted solar system in an apartment. They work like this: panels are mounted on the owner’s deck or balcony and connected to a micro-inverter, which in turn connects to a plug that can be inserted into any outlet. It’s not powerful enough to take city-dwellers fully off the grid, but does reduce overall energy costs.
Paying Solar System Owners for Their Extra Power
Those who can, do; those who can’t, pay other people for their services. Many renters without access to their own solar setup can still purchase Renewable Energy Certificates from their local utility company. Basically, these are power overages from residential and commercial solar systems that have been sold back onto the market for public consumption. This way, apartment-dwellers can be sure that a certain percentage of their use is from renewable resources.
Heating Through Natural Solar Power
Renters don’t need a complicated system to benefit from the power of the sun, however. Homeowners have been doing it for years using layered window treatments. A light-colored loose curtain on the window-side helps let sunlight into the home to warm it during the day, and an insulated thermal curtain closed at night traps warm air inside. Just drawing the curtains closed can reduce heat loss by about 15 to 17 percent.
Purchase a Solar Cooker
Even the kitchen can benefit from solar power with a solar oven. A specialized design and reflective paneling come together to absorb sunlight—which goes right back into any food that is cooking. Some solar-minded folks even DIY them.
There are lots of ways that renters are putting solar power to work in their apartment or home. Now there’s some sunny news!
