Can Solar Panels Be Good for Your Health?

To watch plants thrive in the sun is, perhaps, to wonder about whether humans or animals could one day be solar-powered. There are a few creatures that can draw energy directly from the sun, but so far Homo sapiens are not among them. Still, there are ways in which solar energy can have a beneficial effect on human health — just not in the way you might expect.

As NPR’s Martha Bebinger reports, some doctors in the Boston metropolitan area are connecting their patients with solar panels, citing their overall health as a factor. The point here is not to directly transmit energy from the fuel cells to the human body. Instead, it’s so that patients concerned about their power bill can have the literal energy to power the medical devices — from breathing machines to air conditioners — that keep them healthy and improve their quality of life.

This initiative does not involve adding bespoke solar panels to various residences in and around Boston. Instead, Beninger writes, the solar panels were installed on the roof of Boston Medical Center, with the added energy that they generate going to the power grid and resulting in credits reducing the bills of qualifying patients. It debuted in the fall of 2023, and is known as Clean Power Prescription.

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When the program began, the hospital’s president and CEO, Alastair Bell, MD, MBA, spoke of the multifaceted approach it brought to patients’ lives. “Through Clean Power Prescription we will directly support the health of our patients and community while helping to reduce energy-related financial stresses and provide greater peace of mind at home, which we know can support overall wellness in their lives,” Bell said in a statement.

Now that Clean Power Prescription has been running for over a year, NPR reports that the next step involves building on what’s been learned so far — and how other hospital systems and their patients can benefit from it.