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on December 5th, 2011% ![]()
Installing a new solar water heater is a rewarding purchase, buying into energy independence pays for itself. With Tax credits and Utility rebates the time is now to install new solar power and solar thermal home energy systems.
Solar Thermal is the practice of converting the energy from the sun hitting your roof into hot water for your entire home: Baths, Showers, Cooking, all heated with solar energy and stored in your homes new solar water heater, similar to a thermos with backup heating elements for none solar days.
In Tampa Florida we have the most solar days, if your electric bill exceeds 180 a month you should be buying into a new solar water heater today. Solar water heaters save 30-40% off your electric bill, couple this solar thermal system with a new High Efficiency air conditioner, thorough duct inspection and seal , and a new water conditioner and Reverse Osmosis system for the combined savings within 10years of a new car.
-Tax credits pay you back
-Fuel savings reduced by 40-50%
-Home energy smart
If your family ever needs more hot water than the sun can provide, or in long periods of inclement weather, most include a back up heating element which automatically takes over, insuring that you will always have all the hot water you need during none solar hours.
* Eligible for up to $2,000 federal Tax Credit
* Eligible for up to $1,500 from State Government
* Eligible for up to $450 rebate from utility company
This system is a whole house solution for family homes with at least 3 persons. we have larger systems as well, if you need two or more collector and a larger thermal storage tank we can still accommodate your family.
Massive savings, Massive Tax Credits, Massive independence from foreign oil. it pays for itself.
on December 3rd, 2011% ![]()
THE State Government has been accused of running a hypocritical green energy policy by forcing homeowners to install expensive, energy-efficient hot water systems while exempting itself.
An exemption offered to HousingSA, which allows cheaper, non energy-efficient systems to be installed at a quarter of the cost, is now fuelling a black market of illegal installations.
The old non-compliant systems, 3000 of which were installed in HousingSA homes in the year to July, are still being bought by homeowners dodging the regulations.
Compliant hot-water services cost about $4500 compared with $1000 for the older systems.
Plumbing Industry Association of SA chief executive Andrew Clarke said it was farcical that HousingSA properties were exempt until next July from the regulations requiring old hot-water systems to be replaced with energy-efficient models – an exemption that has been in place since legislation was introduced in 2008.
"They are making everyone else pay the high costs and they can get away with the cheap option," Mr Clarke said.
"It has created a black market for plumbers to install the old systems in other places for cash.
"They cannot police it because you can still readily buy the old electric storage systems.
"There’s a lot of it going on. It is running rife. You can’t just introduce new legislation that has such a dramatic effect on the community when the policing is not in place and there are different rules for government than there are for everyone else."
Mr Clarke questioned the green credentials of the State Government and suggested the policy was a case of "looking to be green but not really caring".
HousingSA figures show almost 3000 hot-water units that did not meet the tough standards imposed on regular homeowners were installed at its properties in the year to July.
Homeowners can receive the federal Solar Hot Water Rebate. Changes have been made to that rebate scheme this week.
Unveiling the regulations in 2005, then-premier Mike Rann said measures including greener hot-water systems were part of a campaign to combat climate change.
"we want the message to get out to all South Australians – while climate change is frightening we can all act now to do something to help stop it," Mr Rann said at the time.
Since the legislation was introduced in 2008, HousingSA has installed 1832 energy-efficient hot water systems that meet the regulations in new homes.
A spokeswoman for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation Minister Paul Caica said Cabinet took the view when legislation was introduced that, as the state’s biggest landlord, HousingSA had reason to be given a delayed implementation.
"The reality is HousingSA is responsible for 45,000 houses and enforcing an immediate implementation would have either drained all annual maintenance funds or taken funds away from people in need," she said.
on December 1st, 2011% ![]()
OAKLAND, Calif., Nov. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –Sungevity, Inc., recognized as a national leader in solar innovation and customer satisfaction, announced the hiring of Lakers’ stars Metta World Peace and Devin Ebanks as part of the company’s “Rooftop Revolution” campaign – marking the first time out-of-work NBA stars are putting their energy into the nation’s hot solar market and emerging green economy. in the land of abundant sunshine, the two Lakers will drive Sungevity’s solar-powered, bio-diesel ice pop truck to Los Angeles hot spots and provide free, all-natural treats while promoting the ease and affordability of residential solar panel installation.
Sungevity’s ice pop truck includes specially-installed iPads to introduce consumers to the company’s innovative iQuote process – the solar industry’s easiest and most efficient process for getting customized information about going solar. The iQuote, which is available at sungevity.com , generates a firm proposal that is sent directly to consumers within 24 hours without the necessity of a home visit.
“Without basketball or dancing on my schedule, I need a job!” joked Metta World Peace. “Sungevity is about positive, renewable energy, and I can’t think of a better way to spend my time than interacting with the fans and promoting the power of the sun to the city of Los Angeles.”
Ten years ago, there were just 500 home solar rooftops in California. Today, that number is over 60,000 and California is well on its way to reaching its goal of one million solar roofs by 2018. With the recent reintroduction of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) Solar Incentive Rebate Program on September 1, homeowners can enjoy added savings on their solar units. The LADWP is awarding rebates until the $40 million budget earmarked for its fiscal year runs out.
“While we share Los Angeles’ hopes of seeing Metta and Devin back on the Staples Center court soon, we’re thrilled to have them on our team promoting solar energy as the key to minimizing utility costs and gaining energy independence,” said Danny Kennedy, Founder, Sungevity. “Between our fast, free iQuote process and the LADWP solar rebate program, there has never been a better time for Los Angeles residents to go solar.”
Metta World Peace, Devin Ebanks and Sungevity’s solar-powered ice pop truck will be at the Hollywood and Highland Center outside the Grand Staircase on Friday, November 11, between the hours of 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. PST. Event photos to be available at apimages.com in the afternoon on November 11. for assistance accessing the photos, please contact .
Sungevity is the nation’s most innovative and customer-centric residential solar company. Leveraging web-based solar analytics and satellite imagery, the company’s online iQuote process – combined with its Solar Lease program – provides homeowners with the easiest, most affordable solar energy solution. Sungevity is growing at a rapid pace, increasing its customer base by ten-fold and quadrupling employee headcount over the past year. The company currently provides solar services in five states including, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, and is the exclusive residential solar partner for Lowe’s, the world’s second-largest home improvement retailer. for more information, visit Sungevity.com.
Copyright (C) 2011 PR Newswire. all rights reserved
on December 1st, 2011% ![]()
Both Federal and State Governments offer a number of incentives for home owners and businesses to go Solar.
Solar Power
On 1 January 2011 the Renewable Energy Target was split into LRET – (the Large-scale Renewable Energy Target ) and the SRES (Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme).
- RECs created from 2001 to end 2010 are reclassified as Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGCs) and will be placed in the Register of Large-Scale Generation Certificates.
- Renewable Energy Power stations will create LGCs from 1 January 2011.
- RECs created for Solar Water Heaters (SWH) and Small Generation Units (SGU) installed after 1 January 2011 will be classified as Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs) and will be placed in the Register of Small-scale Technology Certificates.
The major Federal Government incentive now for Homeowners is trading STC’s.
An STC can be classified as a currency where one megawatt hour of power equals one STC. Many Solar companies account for the value of the system’s STCs and will in turn reduce the price of your Solar Power system accordingly.
For further information visit https://rec-registry.gov.au/home.shtml.
Solar Hot Water
The Federal Government from November 1, 2011 have changed the policy surrounding the Solar Hot Water Rebate. Now to be eligible for the rebate under the rebewalble energy bonus scheme (REBS) your system must generate at least 20+ small-scale technology certificates (STCs) at the time of purchase.
The Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator (ORER) determines the number of STCs assigned to hot water systems. From 1 November 2011 ORER will apply a new calculation method for the number of STCs assigned to hot water systems.
As a result some systems will no longer attract the minimum 20 STCs required to be eligible for the rebate under REBS.
Therefore, it is important that you check with your supplier or the manufacturer that the system you are purchasing attracts 20 STCs or more from 1 November 2011.
Alternatively, from 1 November 2011, the new STC value of your intended system will be available on the ORER website when using the SHW Calculator.
For further details visit climatechange.gov.au/government/programs-and-rebates/solar-hot-water.aspx or https://rec-registry.gov.au/home.shtml
on November 30th, 2011% ![]()
Residents could see 18,000 square feet filled with solar panels along U.S. Highway 160 by the Giant gas station in west Durango if City Council approves a plan proposed by the Twin Buttes development.
The panels would provide electrical power to the first 100 homes built in the development.
An 8-foot stepped retaining wall at the toe of the sloped hill would be built to attach the panels. The retaining wall would link with the existing retaining wall at the Giant gas station, and it would be the same design.
The wall would be about 300 feet long, and most of it would be built on a slope already graded by the developer, but additional slopes would have to be graded to the 30 percent slope required to accommodate the solar panels.
The panels are less reflective than windows and shouldn?t present a problem for drivers along the highway, said Nicole Killian, a planner for the city.
The panels would require minimal maintenance and are designed to last 30 to 50 years and have a 25-year warranty, said Ben Jason, owner of Living Solar, a firm that would install the panels.
The amount of moisture the city gets would keep the panels clean unless there is a fire season, he said.
The panels are designed to be 20 degrees warmer than the outside air.
Jeff Perino, project engineer for Twin Buttes, said the solar panels provide a bold statement that Durango is creating a new kind of energy.
The city?s Planning Commission approved the panels at its meeting Monday night, and the proposal goes before City Council on Dec. 6.
on November 26th, 2011% ![]()
Solar Hot Water Panels really are the most cost-effective methods to produce warm water to your house. Solar hot water systems can be employed in almost any environment and also, given that the supply they’ll use is produced by the sun’s rays, the power which is used to heat up the water is perfectly 100 % free.
These solar water panels, also termed collectors, would be the temperature collecting part of every solar water heater. These solar cells, must always make best use of as much of the site’s photovoltaic source as it possibly can.
Solar water panels are generally solar driven gadgets employed to create electric power which is used to heat up water, chargers, radios, lamps, or run razors. Simply because work most effectively with a lead battery to be able to keep the energy obtained from the sun, they may not be that transportable.
Solar panels at the same time aide in reducing the necessity for combusting non-renewable fuels to heat the water. Solar power panels generate warm water by permitting the power from the sun running through copper pipes inside solar panels.
Heat generated by the panel heats up the water (or oil or even other fluid) that passes through a circuit of pipes in to a copper coil within your hot-water container. Heat will be transferred to the hot water reservoir, and then cooled down water (or fluid) comes back towards the panels to get further heat.
Heated air will then be dispersed instantly intended for purposes just like room warming as well as drying out or perhaps could be saved for future use. Heat is actually received from the sun in one or two ways.
Any solar panel heating system both works on the flat plate system which usually utilizes a plate to soak up the sun’s heat or an evacuated tubing system which has a row of glass pipes that holds absorber plates.
Absorber films they fit over the absorber plate, to aid with the gathering of solar energy. The films employed will be different from manufacturer to manufacturer.
Solar water heaters cost way up of $6,000 prior to when any rewards or perhaps rebates were given. that is undoubtedly not just a little amount of change (however it ought to be observed that solar heaters will certainly last around 40 years with routine upkeep).
Solar water heating units meet the criteria for a 30% Renewable Energy Tax Credit from the federal authorities. The solar hot water heater is going to generate hot water all year round and can also last twenty five years or longer with frequent assessment and even repair. Solar hot water heating units really are ecological friendly.
Solar water heaters may help keep money. In a flailing economy, people are continually searching for means in order to reduce the expenses of running their own homes.
Solar water heaters are really easy to build and perhaps less difficult to work with. The supplies essential are generally provided by a range of cost-free resources which enables it to provide years of maintenance-free hot water. Photovoltaic water heaters use the sunlight in order to passively heat the water within a container.
Coming along with multi-benefits under its coverage, the leading reward of using Solar Hot Water Panels is the considerable decrease in energy charges as a result of lessening in power required to heat water.
on November 25th, 2011% ![]()
Adding solar power systems for your British property is a sensible way to save the energy, but there are many unique belongings you will spot on your own utilizing. Most of these concerns are generally pretty normal with regard to solar power systems, even so, many are generally particular for your British. Nevertheless, whenever you avoid them, you will find on your own experiencing halloween props , spending less monthly, and improving the environment.
As with all major supplement to your dwelling, setting up solar power systems is sort of expensive. one of many difficulties with British houses, even so, is the fact that many of the older types may possibly not have homes sufficiently strong enough sufficient to help solar power systems. As the cells less difficult lighter compared to that they have been once the technology was designed, putting a whole solar panel variety within your roof structure continues to be planning to put in a tremendous amount involving bodyweight to your dwelling. Prior to starting getting things for your solar panel extractor, employ a skilled examine your houses roof structure as well as your house’s Coventry SEO to be sure it can deal with the stress.
Residing inside a huge area (Birmingham, for example), you could find your home is inside shadows involving other, taller houses as well as trees. this can always be a thing in case these kinds of houses and trees cast shadows within your roof structure for some for the entire day. in case these kinds of trees are saved to your house, you have the choice of chopping them along as well as shaping them, even so, in case they aren’t, you possibly will not have the ability to do just about anything concerning them. 1 selection, though, would be to put in solar panel lovers in your yard. without a big lawn, though, as well as don’t wish to fill it up using solar panles Kenilworth, this may not be a possibility.
one more solar panel British dilemma is weather. As the stereotype located in birmingham always becoming stormy plus the errors will possibly not always be accurate, the simple truth is the town will knowledge this sort of weather often. although solar power systems accomplish continue to perform even though it can be over cast as well as foggy, they certainly so in a very lowered capacity. Therefore you’ll likely ought to maintain your residence connected to the nearby power grip should your solar power systems usually do not generate sufficient energy. Ultimately, naturally, they will still decrease your power company bill and acquire them selves, even so, a person is probably not able to find from spending money on energy entirely.
on November 25th, 2011% ![]()
Solar Panels Installation will I lose Money?
Most major home improvements add value to your home. Read on and see how a solar panels installation will impact on your home and your energy costs.
Don’t move Extend & Carry out Home Improvements
That’s seem to be the current theme as there has been a huge increase in the number of planning applications for major home improvements including solar panels installation within the past year.
Now that house prices have stabilized we can start looking at our property as a home again rather than an investment to be discarded when the price is right.
Solar Panels Installations Are They Worth it?
It all about timing, had you asked this question a few years ago the answer would have been a resounding yes as you would defiantly be losing a bit of money but times have changed and now the shoe appears to be on the other foot.
For starters let’s take a quick look at energy prices to see which direction they have gone in the past ten years. This is a pretty easy task as anyone with half a brain can see that energy prices have risen dramatically every year and it is now costing an arm and a leg to make the quarterly energy payments.
Now let’s look at another important factor which of course is the price of solar panels. How do you think they compare with 10 years ago? again, a pretty easy question as a solar panel installation 10 years ago would have set you back 30,000 or so whilst the average cost of a Solar Panel Installation today comes in around 12,000.
Pay Pack Period for Solar Panel Installations
So much as been written about the payback period on solar panels installation and almost all of it points to a loss of money for the property owner as it used to take so long to get your money back through the energy savings.
However times really have changed and given that energy costs have gone up substantially you are now saving far more than a few years ago. To make it even better solar panels have fallen in to the mass production market and their cost have fallen dramatically allowing us to have a far cheaper solar panels installation and to save a much higher amount each year.
Work it out for Yourself
Okay, so let’s keep it simple here. if the average cost of installation is 12,000 and the average yearly energy cost for electricity and gas for a 3 bed house is in the region of 2,500 you can see that the payback period is currently about 5 years.
Given that the lifespan of a solar panels installation is a minimum of 20 years and can go as far as 40 years you could take an average installation period of 30 years to base your calculations.
When you look at energy prices for the future you can also see that they are only going in one direction which of course is skywards so the savings are actually going to be far more substantial as the years go by.
Based on a an average solar panels installation to a three bed house at 12,000, an average fuel cost of 2,500 per year and a life span of 30 years for the solar panels installation we work it out at a minimum saving of 60,000 plus.
Solar Panels Installation Survey
So the message is clear, book a solar survey and find out if your house is suitable for a solar panels installation and find out the costs involved. You can book a survey and find the best solar panels prices from the top UK Solar Panels installers at Solar Panels Supermarket.
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on November 20th, 2011% ![]()
Ah Africa, the continent that evokes images of bright sunlight spilling over deserts, jungles and savannas. Turning that sun into electricity makes good sense, but lining up financing for solar power projects has always been a big challenge. the World Bank has stepped up its financial support for solar in Africa and announced this week loans for two large solar power projects.
The bank on Thursday approved a $297 million loan for a solar power plant in Morocco, which will develop the project with help from the German-led Desertec Industrial Initiative. Desertec belongs to a consortium of European firms that aims to build solar and wind farms across North Africa and the Middle East and ship some of the power back to Europe.
The bank also announced the signing of a $250 million loan for two renewable energy projects in South Africa. the loan brings the total of the bank’s financing for the two projects to $510 million, which will be used by South Africa’s utility, Eskom, to build a 100-megawatt solar power plant and a 100-megawatt wind farm (the bank couldn’t provide a breakdown of the loans for the two projects).
The bank has financed solar power development in the past but usually at a smaller scale. from fiscal year 2007 through 2011, the bank issued $759 million for solar projects.
The bank, which offers financial help to developing countries, approved the loans just before the United Nations is scheduled to hold a climate change conference in Durban, South Africa, later this month. the bank has made it clear that it wants to highlight opportunities for renewable energy development in Africa during the meeting. It’s noted that only 31 percent of residents in the continent have access to electricity. the International Energy Agency pegs the access rate at around 42 percent.
“If you care about poverty in today’s world, you have to care about climate change,” said Andrew Steer, World Bank’s special envoy for climate change, during a conference call on Thursday. “This is a decade when action is absolutely central, and yet it’s also a decade in which obviously the economic conditions are not conducive to breakthrough.”
Steer said policy and finance are the two big issues to discuss during the U.N. meeting. the current climate change treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, will expire at the end of next year, and it’s unclear whether it will have a successor. the Kyoto Protocol requires industrialized countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. A big part of the ongoing international debate for a new treaty involves getting developing countries and the United States to commit to emission reduction goals. the United States refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol because, according to then President George W. Bush, abiding by the treaty would hurt the economy.
Steer said a growing number of developing countries are seeking the World Bank’s help to fight climate change, and part of that fight involves creating cleaner sources of power. the bank said it has boosted its renewable energy loans and loan guarantees from $840 million in fiscal 2007 to nearly $3 billion in fiscal 2011, which ended in June this year. Renewable energy projects grew to account for 23 percent of its portfolio during that period.
The bank has attracted criticism for counting hydropower as renewable energy and financing projects in places like Ethiopia, Uganda and Sierra Leone, however. in fact, the bank has offered more financial support to hydropower projects than any other types of renewable energy — $3.9 billion between fiscal 2007 and 2011. Environmentalists have long contended that hydropower plants aren’t eco-friendly sources of electricity – dam building leads to severe habitat losses for fish and other wildlife. Steer reiterated the bank’s support for hydropower and noted, “Africa has still only exploited less than 10 percent of its hydro, and it also has a huge potential in renewables that are increasingly competitive.”
While hydropower development is popular in Africa, solar project development is growing. the bank has mostly supported solar projects that use solar panels, but the two projects announced by the bank this week will use a type of technology commonly called concentrating solar thermal. this technology uses mirrors to concentrate and direct the sunlight to heat up water or oil to produce steam, which is then piped to run a turbine and generate electricity.
It’s the same type of technology that has attracted some of the biggest environmental opposition in the American Southwest, where several projects are under construction. Solar thermal power plants are typically large in size and require huge tracts of land if not water, which is used to condenses the steam for re-use.
Companies such as Abengoa Solar have been developing solar thermal power plants in Africa. Abengoa has built a 20-megawatt project in Algeria that sits next to a natural gas power plant. the steam from the solar field will run the turbine at the gas plant. Solar Millennium has constructed a concentrating solar thermal field to help fuel a natural gas power plant as well. and California-based BrightSource Energy also is developing projects in North Africa.
on November 20th, 2011% ![]()
College environmental organization Sunday Night Group (SNG) is planning to write a proposal to install passive solar water heaters on campus-owned houses. Passive solar is anything that captures the sun’s energy without photovoltaics, or silicon chips, and other mechanical or electrical devices. South-facing windows are considered to be passive solar, as the greenhouse effect can maximize the sun’s energy and heat a home naturally. Ben Wessel ’11.5 and Jake Lessing ’14 are spearheading the initiative. they have been working with the Vermont Public interest Research Group (VPIRG) on their Solar Addison County program, which seeks to make the installation of passive solar water heaters more affordable for county residents. If installed, passive solar could reduce water-heating costs by 60-70 percent annually, cutting 100 percent of water-heating costs during the summer and 30 percent of costs during the winter months. The system would cost an estimated $8,000 to $10,000 per house and generally pays for itself within ten years. “[Installing the system would be really simple] because there’s no real re-working of electricity,” Lessing said. “You just change some pipelines and run a pipe from the hot water tank that the house already has, to a passive solar panel on the roof and then connect it back down to the water tank.” Initially approached by VPIRG to promote solar hot water panel installation across the county, Wessel and Lessing saw potential for the water heaters to be installed at the College. “we own a lot of houses,” Wessel said, and “the houses are [probably] all using [fuel oil or electric] to heat hot water. Why not go solar?” The College experimented with passive solar water heaters several years ago under “Operation Boiling Point.” The project was a joint effort between will Drucker ’08 and the College Facilities Services Office, and resulted in the installation of a solar water heater on 149 Shannon Street, though did not expand beyond that. With support from VPIRG and the prospect of state or federal funding, SNG hopes that passive solar will be more successful this time around. VPIRG’s interest in the College’s installation of passive solar water heaters is twofold. Most obvious is the fact that passive solar water heaters are inherently green and environmentally friendly. Less apparent is the fact that installing passive solar water heaters would give the College a new leadership role within Addison County. “One of the biggest hurdles to renewable energy is the fact that the people who use and pay for heat and fuel don’t have any control over improvements,” said VPIRG Solar Community Coordinator Dan Conant. “Middlebury can show how landlords can reduce costs for their tenants.” The Sunday Night Group’s goal is to have passive solar water heaters installed on College-owned homes that are most commonly rented out to faculty and staff. The roughly 100 houses currently use fuel oil or electricity to heat their water. The price of both conventional energy sources is rising and is expected to continue doing so, especially if the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant shuts down. Vermont Yankee provides approximately one third of all power in Vermont, and has come under fire in recent years for the risk to the environment and surrounding communities it may pose. VPIRG would not be able to help fund the College’s passive solar water heaters directly, as the College is nonprofit and VPIRG works primarily with private homes. “There are … federal and state rebates for nonprofits like [the College], but those are going to change by December when the year ends,” said Lessing. “Anything we propose definitely won’t get built by the end of this year, so we just have to wait to see what new laws are coming out.” The Sunday Night Group aims to have a proposal finalized by spring and anticipates that the College will act quickly on their project. “This is the kind of thing that saves the College money, reduces our [carbon] footprint in a way that we hadn’t though about before and it’s a great PR messaging point, so it seems like it’s a win-win-win,” said Wessel.
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