Solar Energy Show

Headline: “Low Cost Rooftop Solar.” What’s not to like? If you’re a homeowner you can save thousands of dollars shopping around for the right installer and financing. If you’re an installer you are undoubtedly under competitive cost pressures -- and strive to find ways to stay competitive after 2016 when the federal investment tax credit goes to zero and utility rates change. So why does a standard rooftop solar system still cost about $20k before incentives (about $14k after the ITC)? The good news is that prices for solar panels have plunged from $1,000 each down to about $200. Inverter and racking costs have also declined. But overhead costs -- items like marketing, sales compensation, contracts, financing documents, warehousing, engineering, back office labor and maintenance -- have not seen much of a reduction (or in some cases have actually increased). For installers, it is possible to lower total installed costs -- mostly by simplifying and standardizing business processes, and taking advantage of ne

Net Metering and Future Solar Electric Rates by Barry Cinnamon 366248

Politics of Clean Energy by Barry Cinnamon 366248

Energy in the Home of the Future by Barry Cinnamon 366248

Toyota and Honda just announced their new fuel cell cars. Although these cars won’t be on the road for another year, their mere existence raises questions about the long-term future of battery-powered cars. Are battery vehicles just a temporary detour on our road to the Hydrogen Highway, or are fuel cells a last ditch attempt by the fossil fuel industry to greenwash their “well to gas station” infrastructure? A fuel cell car is pretty much just like a battery-powered EV...except the fact that fuel cells are neither clean, cheap nor efficient. All practical fuel cell cars run on hydrogen. When you combine hydrogen with oxygen you get energy (heat in an engine or electricity in a fuel cell) and water. Pretty clean and elegant, so far. But we currently get 95% of our hydrogen by “reforming” natural gas. The natural gas is combined with steam (essentially H2O), with the end products being hydrogen gas and CO2. So “reforming” is kind of like a school for bad fossil fuels. Fuel cell cars using reformed natural ga

Solar panels are commodities — not very different than the bottled water you find on a supermarket shelf. Granted some panels are more efficient, some cost less, some may be easier to install, and some may have better warranties. But to the average consumer — and for that matter experienced installer — there is really not much difference between one manufacturer’s panel compared to another. So why are some companies selling more solar panels than others? To a large degree it is the sales and marketing efforts they make to reach their initial customers: solar installers. Generating awareness, interest and sales for solar panels — as well as inverters, racking and installation services — is a textbook marketing challenge. There is one person in the industry who has carved out a reputation for himself when it comes to marketing solar products: Tor Valenza (AKA Solar Fred). Tor literally hangs his hats these days as the Chief Marketing Officer at Impress Labs. Please Listen Up to this week’s Energy Show as Tor

Fracking by Barry Cinnamon 366248

A Roofer's Perspective on Solar by Barry Cinnamon 366248

Larry Sherwood with Solar ABCs by Barry Cinnamon 366248

Brad Heavner with CALSEIA Talks About Net Metering by Barry Cinnamon 366248

Ed Murray Talks About Commercial Solar Hot Water Systems by Barry Cinnamon 366248

Easy Home Energy Audits by Barry Cinnamon 366248

Rooftop solar panels only work when they are in direct sunlight. So if you have a partially shaded roof, the output of your system will be lower than if there were no shading. And if your roof is heavily shaded, then rooftop solar is probably not going to be cost effective. The reduction in output that shading causes depends on the type of shading, the orientation of your roof, and the use of microinverters or optimizers (these module electronics can help reduce shading problems). The most common examples of rooftop shading include trees, chimneys, neighboring structures, and utility poles. A small amount of shading -- perhaps from a vent pipe or utility pole -- will not have much impact on overall system output. But trees or other structures can have a big impact. A good rule of thumb is the object creating shading should be twice as far away as it is higher than the panels. There is a home around the corner from me with a solar system on the west roof, and a big Magnolia tree right next to the house shadi

Fires in homes are generally caused by kitchen mishaps, heating system fires or electrical malfunctions. When it comes to fire safety, the solar industry's track record is excellent -- with only a few documented cases in which the solar system actually caused a fire (generally due to improper wiring or equipment malfunctions). Unfortunately, when home fires do occur, rooftop solar panels can become an impediment to a firefighter's ability to safely and quickly put out the fire. Firefighters must turn off the power to the rooftop system so that the panels are no longer energized; this is not always possible with high-voltage DC systems. In many cases, firefighters vent the roof so that smoke can escape and they can pour water on the source of the fire. With solar panels covering the roof, firefighter's ability to vent the roof over the fire is limited. Improving fire safety as it relates to rooftop solar systems is being approached from two directions. First, new solar panel, racking and inverter standards a

Here’s a nightmare for you: at night, when you’re asleep and you think things are quiet, there are vampires sucking power out of your house and increasing your electric bill. The fact of the matter is that every plugged in electrical device in your home uses a small amount of standby power -- even if you think these devices are off. When I explored each room of my house with a wattmeter, here is what I found: · Computer devices used 66 watts: printer, cable modem, multiple wireless routers, laptop charger, mini-speaker · Communications used 16 watts: iphone charges in several rooms, cordless phone · Entertainment systems used 57 watts: flat screen TV, cable box, sound system, DVD player, subwoofer · Kitchen appliances used 6 watts: microwave, coffee maker, dishwasher · Other culprits used 23 watts: cordless vacuum, clock radio (remember those?), irrigation controls, garage door opener, furnace, thermostat transformer, doorbell transformer These devices added up to 168 watts of 24x

Technologies, companies and business models in the solar industry come and go. But even in the relatively new solar industry, history repeats itself. Disappearing tax credits and incentives, financing scams, unreliable technology, societal doom (Y2k) and gloom (nuclear winter) -- it’s all happened before. We can learn a lot about building a sustainable solar businesses by talking to the solar contractors who have witnessed several of these boom and bust cycles over the past 20+ years. My guest on this week’s Energy Show on Renewable Energy World is Pat Redgate, CEO of Ameco Solar. Pat has been installing solar thermal and solar PV systems at Ameco since 1974. Having successfully ridden the “solar coaster” for 40+ years, he has some terrific advice for solar customers (both residential and commercial) and solar installers who want to get into the business for the long term. Please join me as Pat talks about the first wave of solar in the 70s and 80s, what happened when the tax credits disappeared, how he sel

According to Doc Brown, Marty McFly’s DeLorean needed 1.21 gigawatts to travel back in time. To put this in perspective, new gas power plants are about 0.5 gigawatts, typical large utility scale solar power plants are 0.1 gigawatts, and the average rooftop solar system is 0.000005 gigawatts (5,000 watts). Although it takes a lot of solar panels to generate the power our society needs, solar is now one of the cheapest and cleanest sources. And “clean and cheap” is now the world’s preferred power source: in 2013 the world added 143 gigawatts of new renewable energy generating capacity compared to 141 in new plants that burn coal, natural gas, or oil. Fossil fueled power plants have not just taken a temporary back seat to renewables - we are witnessing a long term transition in the world’s energy sources. The price of wind and solar power is on par or less than fossil fuel electricity. Renewable energy prices are on a steady pace to get cheaper, while gas and oil will inevitably go up as supplies are constrain

I’ve spent a lot of time over the past 15 years talking to homeowners about rooftop solar. More kitchen table chats and walks around the house than I can count. Some of the basic questions I hear again and again. Because they are new to solar, some of the most important questions do not even occur to homeowners. On this week’s Energy Show we’re going to address some of the more obscure questions that homeowners should ask... and installers should be prepared to answer: Why do I need a building permit for solar? What happens if I run my electric meter backwards and don’t tell my utility? Can I use the power from my solar system during a blackout? Who covers the warranty on my solar installation and solar equipment? Is 3% or 4% or 5% a reasonable projection for electric rate escalation? If I sell my house, how will the new buyer value my solar installation? Will that tree to the south of my roof shade the system and reduce its output? Do I need to clean my solar panels? Is there a catch with a “no money down”

We’re talking about religion this week. Did I get your attention? How about if we talk about climate change, more renewable energy, dirty fossil fuels and solar subsidies? OK, we’ve already covered these topics. But now the Pope has chimed in with his “On Care For Our Common Home” Encyclical. I’m probably the worst person to comment (I got kicked out of Hebrew School). But I did read all 180+ pages of his Encyclical. There is no doubt in my mind that the Pope’s analysis and commentary will definitely affect U.S. politics related to clean energy. First, the Pope describes the problem succinctly: pollution and climate change. Some quotes: “Very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system." “Problem is aggravated by a model of development based on the intensive use of fossil fuels." “Urgent need to develop policies so that, in the next few years, the emission of carbon dioxide and other highly polluting gases can be drastically reduced, for e

Things have been changing pretty quickly in the light bulb business. In the course of a few short years, Edison’s filament bulbs have become illegal, marginally more efficient halogen bulbs have become the default choice in hardware stores, twisty compact fluorescents (CFL) have pretty much had their day in the sun, and specialty LED bulbs are now inexpensive and available in virtually every shape, size and color. When I researched residential lighting a few years ago my conclusion was to go with CFLs because they had the lowest operating costs - but you had to tolerate their slow start up and poor colors. Since then LED bulbs have plummeted in price. Moreover, one can buy LEDs that fit virtually every fixture and claim to work in dimmers. So now it’s almost a no-brainer to go with LEDs. Nevertheless, there are still challenges with LED bulbs. Although they all indicate a 22.6 year lifespan, I have had a number of them burn out already. Not all are as dimmable as they claim. Some of the bulbs are too bulky