Between the 14th and 16th centuries, the Aztec empire ruled central Mexico, building an impressive kingdom that continues to fascinate scholars more than 500 years later. While it’s estimated that the Aztec nation grew to about 25 million people at the height of its domain, it’s often wondered how large the Aztec community would have grown had not so many been killed – not at the hands of its enemies, but at the hands of its own people.

For the Aztecs, sacrifice was a necessary ritual to please the gods they praised. Sacrifice, in their opinion, ensured bumper crops, healthy living and protection from its foes.

The empire also believed that by sacrificing their fellow man, the sun god, Tonatiuh (and no, I have no idea how to pronounce that), would be happy, continuing his daily ritual of rising in the east and setting in the west. Without sacrifice, the sun would stop rising, threatening the Aztecs’ way of life.

To the Aztecs, the sun was all- powerful.

Today, the sun continues to be all-powerful. Most obviously, it sustains life. But in addition, the sun’s energy can be used to take you off the grid and generate reliable electricity for your operations.

And while we certainly don’t sacrifice people to please Tonatiuh the Sun God, some farmers still believe that if they deploy solar technologies at their dairy facilities, they’ll sacrifice the lighting and energy quality they need to run a successful and profitable operation.

But advancements in solar technologies have made it easy to reduce energy costs without sacrifice.

Daylight best source for energy reduction
Solar day-lighting devices have become popular in the commercial and manufacturing industries because of the wealth of benefits they provide to the business and its employees. The same benefits can be afforded to you in your dairy operations.

Solar day-lighting devices are rooftop-installed pipes, essentially, that harvest natural daylight, and direct it to the work area of your facility, using no electricity. The technology replaces electric lights in your facilities when electricity is often most expensive and most in demand.

The benefits are far-reaching. You save money by simply keeping your electric lights off, and you help the environment, since the power plant that generates your electricity – most likely by coal – won’t need to produce energy to power your lights, decreasing the greenhouse gas byproducts associated with electricity generation.

And natural daylight benefits your employees. Studies have shown that natural light has physiological effects, like reducing illnesses and headaches, and boosting morale and productivity.

For farmers practicing long-day lighting, solar day-lighting devices can play an integral role, providing the natural lighting needed to boost a cow’s milk production.

When combining these light pipes with an energy-efficient lighting system, like fluorescent lighting and controls, your electric lights can be off for up to 10 hours a day, significantly reducing your energy consumption and costs.

Catching some rays: Generating electricity with the sun
While it’s certainly a benefit to be able to better control your energy consumption and costs through the addition of solar day-lighting devices, energy-efficient lighting and controls, taking the system a step further with photovoltaic technology can take you completely off the grid.

Solar panels are gaining popularity worldwide as one of the fastest-growing power-generating technologies.

In fact, between 2004 and 2009, photovoltaic use increased 60 percent annually, according to the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, which promotes appropriate policies that increase the wise use of renewable energies in developing and industrialized economies.

The addition of solar panels can provide you with the energy needed to power your dairy operations. When part of an integrated system that includes other energy efficiencies like the lighting and controls system described earlier, you can actually produce during peak hours more electricity than needed with a photovoltaic system.

The additional electricity can be sold back to the utility, or you can collect credits to offset any electricity you would need to purchase. Your utility can answer questions about what type of programs they offer for customers generating energy with renewable resources like solar technology.

And while all solar panels collect solar radiation and convert it into electricity, there have been advances in PV technology that differentiate solar panels.

New technology uses cylindrical tubes that are spaced evenly apart and are designed to collect direct, diffused and reflected sunlight, increasing the amount of sunlight that can be converted to electricity.

In contrast to traditional flat solar panels, this new technology doesn’t require roof penetrations for installations and lie flat. The cylindrical PV systems can withstand wind up to 130 mph, unlike traditional solar panels installed on an angle that can catch wind, creating undue strain on your roof, which must be penetrated for secure installation.

Solar technologies have come a long way in recent years, using the sun’s energy to generate electricity with solar panels, and to offset electric lights in facilities with solar light pipes. The technologies are energy- efficient, reliable and generate no harmful greenhouse gases, reducing your carbon footprint.

With new technologies and efficiencies, you won’t sacrifice anything when deploying solar light pipes or solar panels. Leave the sacrificing where it belongs: in the annals of Aztec history. PD

• Mike Ontrop

• National Sales Manager Agricultural Division
• Email Mike Ontrop