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Shedding Light on Earth Day: Solar Energy

April 21, 2023

There’s a Keystone in every great invention.

This Saturday marks the 53rd Earth Day – a day dedicated to celebrating our planet and the earliest movements and demonstrations made to protect its natural beauty and resources. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency was initially formed as a governmental response to the nation-wide rallies organized on April 22nd, 1970: the first Earth Day. Coincidently, it also marks the beginning of planting season; the perfect time of year to resurrect farms, gardens, and lawns from winter slumbers in preparation for fruitful blooms through spring and summer. 


Agricultural care and maintenance require nonstop attention and labor, there’s just no way around it. But as we’ve explored in previous blogs, advancements in technology and renewable energy have made it possible for all of us to become even the slightest green thumbs. With more and more commercial and residential buildings installing solar panels, or photovoltaic systems, to generate and utilize clean power, we figured we’d dive into how solar energy technology and Keystone components are impacting our environment. 

Being Green with Solar Energy

For decades, heavy-duty farming equipment and household lawn tools primarily ran on gasoline. From tractors prepping and seeding land to mowers and edgers on quarter-acre lots, many of those instruments required power generation at the cost of emitting greenhouse gasses into the environment. Water usage is also a major component of environment conservation. From crops and livestock to neighborhood yards and parks, irrigation systems and sprinklers have been operated either by hand, or more recently with battery-powered timing systems. But what happens when you forget turn the water off or the battery dies?

Solar power brings both convenience and clean energy into the fold when talking about outdoor maintenance and irrigation. While battery-powered tools have already cut the cord, solar takes it a step further. Using solar power, farmers can avoid having to be tied to a power grid in order to power field equipment and irrigation systems, crop and grain drying operations, and greenhouse heating and cooling systems. 

 

Green Initiatives and the Keystone Components Behind Them

Plants can access the sun’s power directly, but for electricity generation, solar energy must be converted into usable power. At Keystone, we develop and manufacture components that are designed to handle safe power conversion and withstand the tough environment found in photovoltaic systems. Our solar fuse holders are specifically designed to protect and insulate SPF fuses. Fuse holders accommodate Midget fuses in thru holesurface mount, and snap-in mount configurations. Keystone’s  Spacers and Standoffs as well as our Multi-Purpose Hardware can be found in many of these devices and their mounting structures. 

 


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