Right now, the best electricians are already installing millions of solar panels for both residential and commercial use. Some companies are taking it one step further, testing out new solar charging stations in public outdoor areas, such as playgrounds and dog parks. St. Petersburg, Florida dog parks are among the first to embrace the new charging stations that run almost entirely off of solar power.
“Five stations, capable of charging cellphones and tablets even on cloudy days, thanks to a battery, are now available, including at Vinoy Park (which has two) as well as Lake Vista and Walter Fuller dog parks,” an April 17 Tampa Bay Times article reports. According to the mayor of St. Petersburg, Rick Kriseman, the solar charging stations are just one part of the city’s — and the state’s — efforts to consume less energy and offer residents more eco-friendly options. Each station costs $2,500; city officials believe having them is well worth it, given that the stations will help cut electricity costs and encourage more residents to spend time outdoors. City workers put up the solar charging stations.
St. Petersburg is also working on an initiative that would ultimately result in city lampposts using energy efficient LED light bulbs, instead of more traditional and more costly sodium lighting.
And Florida is not the only state to take initiative with solar contractors, solar installation, and some of the best solar services. Not only is the U.S. installing one new photovoltaic system (PV solar system) every four minutes, the nation is also pushing the envelop. One of the reasons solar continues to create more jobs every year (adding as many as 50,000 over the past four years) is that new uses for solar energy, such as the solar charging stations and even solar charging stations for electric cars, continue to be developed every day.
Solar power is incredibly efficient — reaching Earth in less than 10 minutes and providing a great deal of energy. As such, cities such as St. Petersburg — and cities all across the nation — and some of the best electricians are experimenting with new ways to use solar power, such as solar charging stations for personal electronic devices and solar charging stations for electric vehicles.