Life & Lifestyle

I’ll Take My Power Sunny Side Up Please

When I first saw a home that had a front walkway bordered by little mushroom lights, I immediately admired its charm and warmth.

This was back in the day when that lighting feature would have taken hours of digging and stringing underground cabling to each light.

Today, one buys a pack of solar-powered walkway lights and drive them easily into the ground.

Why go with solar? While products can be more expensive at first, solar is usually quieter, greener, and more efficient. Plus, the energy is free!

Even a massive solar-paneled roof ($14,000 – $32,000) has advantages. Electric bills can drop up to 75%. And, in 2020, you can deduct 26% of the system purchase from your taxes.

There are solar backup generators for your home ($2,000 – $6,000) and portable generators ($200 – $1,500) for your campsite.

You can illuminate outdoor festivities with strings of solar multi-color miniatures or Edison-style drops that run from six- to 24-feet long ($12 – $85).

Solar electric gate openers ($300 – $1,000) are an option when access to electric lines make connecting a challenge.

Solar phone chargers ($20 – $110) use folding panels and require full sun to charge devices in five to ten hours.

Solar flashlights ($17 – $80) often include AM/FM radio, phone charger outlets and a hand crank to use on overcast days.

You can install a solar fan in your pooch’s dog house for about $70.

Float a skimmer ($500 – $700) in your pool that runs all day on solar power and all night on solar-charged batteries.

There are even solar backpacks ($33 – $300) to charge all those digital devices needed in the wild.

How far can solar go? As far as our imaginations will take us.

In the United Kingdom and Africa, Cello Solar TV sales are growing.

The 22” – 32” screen units offer full 1080 HD, smart antenna and satellite tuner.

Klepper’s E-Kayaks travel up to 32 miles in slow mode with eight hours of sunlight or 9.3 miles at speeds up to 5 mph. I’ve heard it said that solar power would bring us a brighter future. Well, the future is now.

Klepper Solar Kayak
Klepper E-Kayak
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Broc Sears

Broc Sears is an assistant professor of professional practice at TCU’s Bob Schieffer College of Communication and also works with the Texas Center for Community Journalism. He has more than three decades of experience in the news, advertising and marketing industries and earned recognition from the Society for News Design, Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, APME of Texas and the Dallas Press Club. He and his wife enjoy the best days of their lives here in Dallas with their family.

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