Archive for the ‘General Interest’ Category

Home Appliance Energy Use

  Posted By:  Amanda Gillen

Leave it to the folks at GE to come up with a cool application that lets you view the cost of all of your home appliances. It shows an easy graphic of the appliances and lets you select if you want to see how much the energy costs to power the appliance, how much power it consumes in watts, how much energy it consumes in terms of gallons of gas and what a kilowatt hour of energy yields for that appliance.  It does have some thinly veiled sales pitches included but overall it’’s easy to use and understand and you can customize it for your location. Definitely worth checking out.

GE Home Appliance Energy Use

Home_Appliances



Gotta Love Sky Mall

  Posted By:  Amanda Gillen

Date: May 4th, 2010

Category: General Interest

Day ClockFlying to any destination lately leaves a bit to be desired. Between long security lines, being nickel & dimed for luggage, stale peanuts/pretzels and cranky travelers there is still one bright spot: The SkyMall catalog. Oh how I love the SkyMall catalog. I never new that a roll-up electric piano existed, let alone that I actually needed one. Thanks to SkyMall I can now personalize my meat (custom branding), have a glass of wine always close at hand (wine glass on a necklace), and tan my feet (foot tanner).

Yes, you can window shop to your hearts content to find everything you could ever want and everything you never knew you needed. There are also quite a few solar products available on SkyMall which tells me how mainstream solar is becoming.  Everything from solar lights and chargers to solar powered color changing gazing balls for the garden. The Smiling Solar Tiki Torches are a personal favorite!

Check out “The Most Ridiculous SkyMall Products Ever” from the Huffington Post for a good laugh and don’t forget your Solar Moler.



The Week in Solar

  Posted By:  Amanda Gillen

Cooler Planet: “Solar energy headed to final frontier”

Sunpluggers: “Vermont Starts New Solar PV Incentive”

CBS News: “The Fab 40 Who Paved the Way for a Green Revolution”

Brighter Energy: “New Jersey cuts red tape to boost solar efforts”

Huffington Post: “Eco Etiquette: How Green Are Solar Panels?“



The Week in Solar

  Posted By:  Amanda Gillen

Sustainable Business: “Regulators Approve 500MW California Solar Plan”

The Union Leader: “Solar silliness: Let PSNH build”

The Burlington Free Press: “University of Vermont selects nine clean energy projects”

Intelligent Energy Portal: “Rising Solar Backlash: Are We Creating Unsustainable Expectations?”

The New York Times: “Solar Power To the People: With A  Lot of Public Help“



A Website We Like

  Posted By:  Amanda Gillen

Happy Earth Day! I wanted to share with you a great website I found recently. It’s the NREL Open PV Project and I’m in solar heaven. For those of you solar nerds, like myself, this thing is not only functionally cool, but it has great hard data.

Two cool things to check out on the site:

  • View the solar PV installations over time for a heat map showing installations across the US since 2000
  • Go to the Explore section to see stats and data for the US and by state

http://openpv.nrel.gov/



2009 Solar Industry Year in Review

  Posted By:  Amanda Gillen

SEIA_logoThe Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) released their 2009 Solar Industry Year in Review last week and it provided some insightful information about our industry. Some highlights of the report:

  • PV installations (grid-tied) grew by 38%
  • Solar hot water grew by 10% over 2008
  • Residential grid-tied PV solar installations grew from 78 MW to 156 MW
  • The utility market for grid-tied PV grew from 22 MW to 66 MW
  • The solar industry contributed to the overall economy by adding 17,000 new jobs
  • Top states for solar installations:
    • California
    • New Jersey
    • Florida
    • Arizona
    • Colorado
  • Top countries for solar installations:
    • Germany
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • United States
    • Czech Republic

The full report can be found at SEIA.org.



The Week in Solar

  Posted By:  Amanda Gillen

Seacoast Online: “PSNH project in renewable energy Battle”

Sunpluggers: “Massachusetts to Announce New Phase of Two Solar PV Incentive Programs”

Cooler Planer: “Maryland introduces incentive-based program to reduce solar energy costs”

Earth Times: “New Study Shows Huge Potential for Solar in Maryland“



Introducing Kids to Renewable Energy

  Posted By:  Amanda Gillen

The fifth graders from Bradford Elementary School in Bradford, VT are learning all about renewable energy. From wind and biomass to hydro-power and solar, the students are learning about the benefits  and types of renewable energy sources. Today, they took a field trip around Bradford to see local business and town residents who are using renewable energy. They visited the local hardware store to learn about making your home more energy efficient, the hydro electric dam, a homeowner who is “off-grid, a restaurant that is composting food waste, and an appliance store to learn about the energy star program. The last stop on their field trip took them to Farm-Way to see the 58 kW solar photovoltaic system that Farm-Way installed with groSolar in 2009. I was on hand to talk about solar energy and Skip Metayer, of Farm-Way, showed off their system. These kids knew their stuff about solar energy! They knew all of the answers to the solar quiz and won some cool prizes. It’s great to see kids learning about renewable energy and energy efficiency early!

Mr. Williams' students from Bradford Elementary School

Mr. Williams' students from Bradford Elementary School



Why Solar Works Where it Snows

  Posted By:  Amanda Gillen

This is a re-post from Renewable Energy World blog post by Pamela Cargill:

I’ve been hearing objections for years against solar energy in the Northeast.

  • It’s too expensive.
  • It’s not reliable.
  • No one will be around to support it.
  • We get too much snow- it doesn’t work in the winter.

These objections come on the heels of bad experiences many homeowners had under the Carter years when solar domestic hot water systems were installed at a breakneck pace by companies of varying degrees of reputability, with even more varying degrees of workmanship and integrity. These homeowners instilled the distrust and malaise to their children, who grew up in homes with these sometimes completely broken systems. Many of these homeowners were completely abandoned and in the dark after the installation was complete, with no idea if their system was working or not. It was the Wild, Wild West days of solar.

And then the Sheriff came to town.

Regan pulled the plug and the solar tax credits that have built up the industry came to a screeching halt. Most of the companies fell off the turnip truck like an accident during harvest season. The industry in the Northeast crashed and the road was a mess.

Only a few companies survived these bleak days, usually through clever service contracts, branching out to passive solar work or creatively partnering and developing new programs and seeking out new renewable energy opportunities throughout the region.

Now what?

Solar is back thanks to creative financing options, great rebate and tax credits, and the international support of top-notch manufacturing and material science. However, the distrust has not subsided. The burn felt from the early maelstrom of activity has not been easily forgotten.

In the Northeast, where fuel oil prices are poised to rise significantly again, where electricity rates are some of the highest in the nation and rising rapidly, there is no better time to better examine these objections than now.

1. It’s too expensive.

The cost of inaction is even more expensive, but much harder to quantify in a simple way. However, the good news is that due to the rising costs of fuel oil and electricity, the falling costs of solar equipment, and the increased level of employee training and certification for installers are all contributing to making solar much more cost effective.

Even further, financing programs like power purchase agreements (PPAs) and residential solar electricity programs like SunRun are making solar a low-cost, low-to-no-risk proposition. If you could put a complete solar electric system on your home or business for less than $3,000, would you consider doing it today?

2. It’s not reliable.

Sure as the sun comes up every morning, solar energy is there working for you. The question of reliability is really a question of “how do I know if it is actually working?” Just think, would you drive a car with no fuel gage or spedometer? The great news is many companies are offering easy-to-use and understand monitoring equipment that can help you see real time data about the performance of either your solar electric or solar hot water system. You’ll know immediately if something is wrong. In many cases, systems can automatically notify your installer of a problem before you even know. Monitoring technology has come a long way since the 1970’s to help people have a little peace of mind.

3. No one will be around to support it.

Many companies providing solar energy solutions have or are building full support and service centers to help customers understand problems with their systems or just to be there when confusion arises. Installers are improving their websites; taking notes from the successes in the IT industry and providing online databases of frequently asked questions, online support forums, user forums, and much more.

Many companies, too, are at the point where they have a significant history behind them- 10, 20, even 30 years of combined experience in installation, program management, and industry experitise. Do your homework on your installer if you are worried about whether or not they will be there for you in 5 years or 20 years.

4. We get too much snow- it doesn’t work in the winter.

Many people in the Northeast don’t realize that we have a wonderful solar resource available. In fact, Germany, arguably the world leader in acceptance and deployment of photovoltaics, receives less average solar insolation anually than the Northeast.[*]

So while it snows in the winter, just remember- after the snow falls, the sun comes out and the sky is clearer than on those hazy July days. Soon the snow will be sliding right off your panels and you’ll be back to producing clean, renewable power. The average roof pitch of most Northeast homes is quite ideal to solar installation, too, and will encourage snow to shed from panels.

Examine your objections. Make the right choice.

There are many more reasons why people object to solar power, but as the industry and its people supporting it continue to provide better service, offer better financial deals, and continue to exceed the expectations of the doubting public we hope you will join us a become another gleaming solar roof from space and a proud part of our clean energy future.

I’ve been hearing objections for years against solar energy in the Northeast.

  • It’s too expensive.
  • It’s not reliable.
  • No one will be around to support it.
  • We get too much snow- it doesn’t work in the winter.

These objections come on the heels of bad experiences many homeowners had under the Carter years when solar domestic hot water systems were installed at a breakneck pace by companies of varying degrees of reputability, with even more varying degrees of workmanship and integrity. These homeowners instilled the distrust and malaise to their children, who grew up in homes with these sometimes completely broken systems. Many of these homeowners were completely abandoned and in the dark after the installation was complete, with no idea if their system was working or not. It was the Wild, Wild West days of solar.

And then the Sheriff came to town.

Regan pulled the plug and the solar tax credits that have built up the industry came to a screeching halt. Most of the companies fell off the turnip truck like an accident during harvest season. The industry in the Northeast crashed and the road was a mess.

Only a few companies survived these bleak days, usually through clever service contracts, branching out to passive solar work or creativelty partnering and developing new programs and seeking out new renewable energy opportunities throughout the region.

Now what?

Solar is back thanks to creative financing options, great rebate and tax credits, and the international support of top-notch manufacturing and material science. However, the distrust has not subsided. The burn felt from the early maelstrom of activity has not been easily forgotten.

In the Northeast, where fuel oil prices are poised to rise significantly again, where electricity rates are some of the highest in the nation and rising rapidly, there is no better time to better examine these objections than now.

1. It’s too expensive.

The cost of inaction is even more expensive, but much harder to quantify in a simple way. However, the good news is that due to the rising costs of fuel oil and electricity, the falling costs of solar equipment, and the increased level of employee training and certification for installers are all contributing to making solar much more cost effective.

Even further, financing programs like power purchase agreements (PPAs) and residential solar electricity programs like SunRun are making solar a low-cost, low-to-no-risk proposition. If you could put a complete solar electric system on your home or business for less than $3,000, would you consider doing it today?

2. It’s not reliable.

Sure as the sun comes up every morning, solar energy is there working for you. The question of reliability is really a question of “how do I know if it is actually working?” Just think, would you drive a car with no fuel gage or spedometer? The great news is many companies are offering easy-to-use and understand monitoring equipment that can help you see real time data about the performance of either your solar electric or solar hot water system. You’ll know immediately if something is wrong. In many cases, systems can automatically notify your installer of a problem before you even know. Monitoring technology has come a long way since the 1970’s to help people have a little peace of mind.

3. No one will be around to support it.

Many companies providing solar energy solutions have or are building full support and service centers to help customers understand problems with their systems or just to be there when confusion arises. Installers are improving their websites; taking notes from the successes in the IT industry and providing online databases of frequently asked questions, online support forums, user forums, and much more.

Many companies, too, are at the point where they have a significant history behind them- 10, 20, even 30 years of combined experience in installation, program management, and industry experitise. Do your homework on your installer if you are worried about whether or not they will be there for you in 5 years or 20 years.

4. We get too much snow- it doesn’t work in the winter.

Many people in the Northeast don’t realize that we have a wonderful solar resource available. In fact, Germany, arguably the world leader in acceptance and deployment of photovoltaics, receives less average solar insolation anually than the Northeast.[*]

So while it snows in the winter, just remember- after the snow falls, the sun comes out and the sky is clearer than on those hazy July days. Soon the snow will be sliding right off your panels and you’ll be back to producing clean, renewable power. The average roof pitch of most Northeast homes is quite ideal to solar installation, too, and will encourage snow to shed from panels.

Examine your objections. Make the right choice.

There are many more reasons why people object to solar power, but as the industry and its people supporting it continue to provide better service, offer better financial deals, and continue to exceed the expectations of the doubting public we hope you will join us a become another gleaming solar roof from space and a proud part of our clean energy future.



The Week in Solar News

  Posted By:  Amanda Gillen

GetSolar.com: “New York Solar Gets Funding, Finally”

The Street: “Shelter From Solar’s Political Storms Is… New Jersey?”

City Buz List: Baltimore: “Maryland Increases Funding for Mid-Sized Solar Energy Systems”

Richmond Times-Dispatch: “Virginia energy-efficiency rebates available”

All Headline News: “Report: Global Clean Energy Investment In 2009 Reaches $162 Billion“