Self-storage is often seen as consumerism gone wild: we’ve accumulated so much stuff that we now have to rent extra space to store it. Arguably, a bigger problem is that we buy disposable, single-use items and just toss them out.

Many people choose to use storage while downsizing their living space, or to save items for friends and family to use, which is more green than repeatedly buying disposable items to cycle through and toss out.

Storage facilities are getting into the green game to make their facilities more appealing to consumers, save energy and save money.

While climate-controlled facilities are ideal for patrons who want to protect furniture and other delicate items, many owners are turning to seasonal climate control instead: it doesn’t make sense to cool a unit in winter, so renters can sign up for seasonal agreements and help conserve energy.

The layout of storage facilities makes them ideal for solar energy panels. Green Warrior, a company that specializes in solar panels for mini storage, points out that rooftop solar power makes sense in the dense structure of a storage facility, where units are tightly packed and buildings are simple. (See an example at Cedar Storage in Utah.)

Green Warrior also suggests installing carports on large storage parking lots – the carport roofs make a good space for additional solar panels.

Most storage facilities already use a minimal amount of energy, and installing solar panels could make them entirely self-sufficient. Some solar-enabled sites generate enough surplus power to sell it back to their local energy company. The cost to the consumer to rent at a solar-powered facility is usually the same as a standard facility; if owners offered discounts to renters who used solar-powered units, it’d be win-win.

By Nadine Long
Excerpt from National Geographic