The demand for electricity in the world today is very high, and it’s quite understandable. Somehow, electricity became a necessity for humans because our houses (appliances), businesses, and gadgets need it to function properly.
Let’s use the Nigerian national grid as an example: once it collapses, the whole country will be thrown into chaos because not everyone has other sources of electricity, and we all need it for one thing or another.
Having options for generating electricity is among the awesome inventions in the world today. We are privileged to choose from three sources, but I usually don’t consider using the power generator that runs on any form of gas because of pollution.
When speaking about the pollution caused by power generators, the gas emission is often discussed, forgetting that noise is also a pollution. I used to live in an apartment where some tenants put on their generator overnight, and it was hell for me because I barely slept most nights. The noise kept me awake, and it’s one of the reasons why I don’t use my generator past 9 PM because it’s a problem for me.
The cost of running a generator is terrible in today’s economy, and it’s not a smart option at home or even for businesses. I had to abandon mine because the expenses were choking.
The other two options for generating electricity are paying the government or installing a solar generator that is powered by the sun.
These are the sources I consider healthy, even though the government isn’t totally reliable—their electricity can go off for days without any information or clue of what’s happening. I consider the government source a good one when you use a prepaid meter; it only reads when there is electricity, unlike the estimated bill that wants to send Nigerians back to the village.
As of today, many Nigerians do not depend solely on the government for electricity anymore since they can install solar batteries in their homes. Even the government is tapping into the benefits because the majority of the street lights on the road are now solar-powered.
My preferred choice of electricity would be the solar battery installation because I consider it almost perfect.
The very first time I read about it was from a German magazine many years ago, and it was stated in it that there is a community that solely depends on solar—they have a solar plant with panels covering a mass area of land. I started wondering what kind of magic was used to generate electricity from solar energy, and when it eventually became a trend here, I got to know more about how it works.
I mentioned that solar power is close to perfect because it’s noiseless; none of the components makes noise. Components are renewable, the cost of maintenance is low, and the best part of all is zero emissions, meaning it doesn’t release harmful gas into the ecosystem.
I have seen cases where people claim that solar panels can easily burn, but that hasn’t happened around me. So many things can go wrong with installation, so consequences are expected, which is why I advise people to call a specialist in that field when planning to install a solar system.
The setback with solar power is the cost of installation when you actually want to use it for more than just powering a bulb or charging phones. The components cost a lot, and renewing old batteries doesn’t come cheap; they can be very expensive depending on how big your system is.
I also consider it cost-effective because there are varieties of products and sizes of solar batteries in the market; you can decide to go for the big or small ones depending on your budget. With solar power, energy independence is certified.
You can decide to run completely on it or behave like my neighbor who uses it when the government source is out—whichever way you choose definitely saves you cost.