When helping people design a solar-powered water pumping system, I often get asked the question, why do I need a control box? A control box is one more thing to hook up in a system and it’s an added expense, so isn’t there a way around it?The short answer is yes. Most pumps will work without a control box. But here’s the rub – if you want your pump to run better, for more hours in the day, if you want to use a float switch, and if you want to protect your pump from voltage and current spikes, then a control box is an excellent addition to your system.
Investing in a 401k is Dumb, Investing in 4.01kW of Solar is Smart, Part II
Last time I wrote about how from an investment standpoint putting your money into a solar electric systemfor your home is far less risky and better assured returns than putting that same amount of money into a 401k (or nearly any stock market investment). That’s just smart. Now for something smarter.If you live in climate where you need to heat your home a good part of the year, there’s even a smarter investment – solar air heating.
Solar Backup Power Saves Many From October’s Snowstorm in the NorthEast
The freak October snow storm that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people in the northeast was a rude awakening that winter is upon us, and that losing power in the colder seasons is quite uncomfortable to say the least. But, it is also a reminder how people who had invested in solar electric systems with battery banks are the fortunate ones to weather the outage and likely do so without even a blink in their lights. But not everyone with solar panels on their home would’ve been spared from this power outage…
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New Micro-Inverter Technology for 2012
As a Product Manager here at altE, I recently had the opportunity to attend an Enphase training and chat with their reps regarding their plans for new products in 2012. Enphase Energy has become the first company to successfully manufacture, market, and sell the “micro-inverter”. For the past three years they have modified and changed their hardware numerous times in an effort to streamline the micro-inverter system.
If you’re not familiar with the Enphase micro-inverter and why it is special, here is a quick run down. In the past, grid-tied solar electric systems (also known as photovoltaic or PV systems) have had the same general layout. The system has a single DC to AC inverter, which converts the DC voltage being generated by the solar modules to AC voltage that is fed back into the power grid. The micro-inverter changes this layout, by attaching a small inverter near each solar module (generally they are attached to the module racking system). The micro-inverter’s attachment cables connect to the solar module and it converts the DC voltage being generated to AC voltage right there at the module. The AC output can be combined with the outputs of other modules into a single circuit and fed back to the power grid.
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Energy Efficiency Solutions for your Home
Whether you are looking to install an entire home solar panel system or are just looking to get started in renewable and alternative energy solutions, there are no shortage of ways you can start making your home more energy efficient today.
As a graphic designer here at altE and a very visual person, I decided to create a one-page infographic as a simple guide on some of the more common energy and money saving solutions available to homeowners today.
You can view the full sized infographic here: Energy Efficiency Solutions for your Home
Already think your house is energy efficient? Are you already utilizing many of the solutions shown in the infographic? We also have a more in-depth article on the various, additional ways to save energy. You can find the article here: Energy Efficiency and Your Home.
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Going Solar, All In or One Panel at a Time?
When purchasing a home, many people will look for something with ample room, while others will go for a smaller house that has the potential to be expanded. Both of these very same approaches can apply when customers are looking to purchase a solar electric system. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of each.
As a sales representative at altE, I receive many inquiries from customers who are interested in purchasing a solar electric system with available room for future expansion. Essentially, they want a small solar panel array coupled with an inverter (for grid-tied systems) or charge controller (for off-grid or grid-tie with battery backup systems) that can handle a larger array in the future. Typically they are looking to expand their array anywhere from 25% to 100% and beyond, at some point down the road. There are several factors to consider when taking this approach, rather than purchasing a larger system to begin with.
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Myths about PV – Solar Doesn’t Work in Northern Climates
This is absolutely not true! PV is deployed on every continent on the globe and will work anywhere that is not subjected to extensive shading. While some regions are fortunate enough to have more sun exposure on average than others, any location that allows sunlight to reach the surface of a PV module will enable it to generate clean, quiet power.
We often describe the solar resource of a given location as “insolation.” Insolation is the amount of energy hitting a defined spot, typically over the course of an average day for that spot. The unit of measure that is most often used to describe the insolation of a place is hours of “peak sun.” This is not to be confused with hours that the sun is shining during the day! Insolation maps can be found online that will show the hours of peak sun per day across the area that the map depicts. Some maps will show annual average daily resource while others will show the expected daily average for a given season since the resource changes as the seasons change.
Posted in Solar Energy, Solar Facts & Figures, Solar Panels
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Tis an ill wind that blows
“Tis an ill wind that blows…”
With all due respect to William Shakespeare, and those who welcome wind for harnessing power or ushering in change, our winter winds are rapidly approaching. We have heard it under many names or catchphrases that inspire and capture our imagination: ‘Old Man Winter,’ the Montreal Express, and countless other good ones to describe what is to come. If you have not been heaving the firewood up onto the porch, or putting the storm windows in place or even calling the service person to do one last inspection of your heating system, well, the warning bell has been sounded! We have come to the time to get it done and brace for the next few months of cold weather.
I wanted to take this opportunity to revisit what else can be done to make it through the cold, white winter, but still keep a little of the warm ‘green’ in our pockets. You will have to spend a little to save a lot. Even though we are putting these practices and improvements into place now, they will actually benefit you and your household throughout the year.
Solar Thermal – The “Other” Solar
These days, you hear a lot of talk about solar. When most people hear solar, they think solar electric. But there’s another solar technology you should look into; solar thermal. It may not be as shiny and sexy as solar electric, but when you are looking for the best bang for your buck, solar thermal is king (or queen). Solar thermal takes the heat from the sun and converts it into, well, heat! Therefore, the efficiency of solar thermal is huge, as much as 85%, as compared to solar electric’s 20% (on a good day) to convert the sun into electricity.Solar Water Heating can provide as much as 75% of your domestic hot water (DHW) needs. Considering that DHW can be as much as 25% or more of your annual energy usage, that’s a big chunk of change! For example, a family of 4 in Massachusetts, currently heating their water with electricity, is probably paying about $900 a year for their hot water. By using the heat of the sun, they can save around $600 a year!
Investing in a 401k is Dumb, Investing in 4.01kW of Solar is Smart
Back in the 90′s when I first entered into the professional world I was strongly urged by investment “experts” to invest as much of my salary into a 401k retirement plan as possible, as I should be able to reasonably expect a 5-20% return on my investment. Fifteen years later I still have not seen these hyped up returns on my investment. And, all this time later, with my 401k now rolled over to a SEP IRA, my effective interest rate is less than 1%. I suppose I should consider myself fortunate in having what I put into it, considering how so many folks now at the retirement age lost money in the 401k and SEP IRA/stock market over-hype. Perhaps if I was interested in monitoring stocks, mutual funds and foreign currencies I’d been able to play the “game” better and could have generated a better return. But that interests me about as much as playing backgammon. I don’t want to worry about having to play the stock market “game.” After all, isn’t that why the retirement fund managers get their annual fees and million dollar bonuses?
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