Five Good Reasons to Install a Solar Energy System

02 Nov 08 | Conservation, Environment, Solar Electric, Solar Hot Water, solar thermal

A friend of mine has a blog called “Today’s Green Construction.“  Todd is a principle engineer for a large construction company and when it comes to construction, he knows what he is talking about.  Recently, he wrote an article called “OPEC is the Best Reason to go Green,” which I thoroughly agree with.  That got me thinking about other reasons to go green and more specifically, to install solar systems.

So here they are, Five (really) good reasons to install a solar energy system:

1. Energy independence.  No two ways about it, solar systems save energy.  If you heat your hot water with oil, propane, natural gas or electricity, you are almost certainly using fossil fuels.  Some percentage of that is likely to come from imports originating in countries that don’t like us, except for our money.  These countries include Saudi Arabia, Iran, Venezuela, and Russia.  The less energy we use from those source, the less petro dollars that will have to use against us.  My last customer stated “Every dollar that I don’t send to the middle east makes me happy.”  Amen, brother.
2. Cost savings.  Saving energy means saving money.  With fuel prices rising, all energy costs are going up, even domestically produced natural gas.  Solar systems will pay for themselves many times over during their operating lifetime.  By installing solar equipment, expenses are fixed at their current levels, so as inflation and other economic pressures cause prices to go up, a homeowner that has solar installed will be paying the same price as before.  Remember when gas was $1.00 per gallon?
3. Environment.  Saving energy also means reducing emissions.  This varies from fuel to fuel, but almost all fossil produce sulfur dioxide and nitric oxides, additionally, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds VOC’s and toxic metals can also be released into the atmosphere.  Reducing energy also means reduction in energy used to extract energy being used.  The fuel oil delivery truck uses diesel to bring the fuel to a building, that is energy used to supply energy.
4. Green Jobs.  The more demand for solar (and other green) equipment, the more jobs will be created right here in the United States.  As a solar contractor, I only purchase equipment that is manufactured here.  Last summer, when my normal supply of solar thermal panels dried up, I could have purchased panels made in Israel.  I opted to wait for the US panels, even though it meant loosing business.  Not that I don’t like Israel, I just thought that there was a lot of transportation overhead involved with shipping a panel from half way around the world, and I would rather support the company making products that I know here in the US.
5. The future.  The earth has a finite amount of oil and other fossil fuels.  Some of those fuel, like natural gas (which is mostly methane) does regenerate, but in much smaller amounts through landfills and large manure digesters.  Others, like oil and coal, do not replenish themselves.  Most geologists agree that we are approaching or have passed the peak oil point, which is the point where oil extraction begins to drop off as resources are depleted.  In order to maintain the society that we and our forefathers have built, a replacement energy system needs to be implemented, else we will find ourselves in a new dark age.  Some predictions are dire, but that does not have to come to pass.

These reason also apply to wind power, geothermal, tidal, and all other renewable energy sources.  Renewable energy is no longer alternative energy, it must grow into our primary energy source.

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Renewable tax credits extended for 8 years

03 Oct 08 | Solar Hot Water, solar thermal

Congress passed and the president signed HR 1424 “Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.” This is also known as the “Wall Street Bail Out bill.” Said bill also provided an extension of the renewable energy tax credits for businesses and home owners.

Here are some of the renewable energy highlights:

1. Extend for 8 years the 30-percent tax credit for both residential and commercial solar installations.
2. Eliminate the $2,000 monetary cap for residential solar electric installations, creating a true 30-percent credit.
3. Eliminate the prohibition on utilities from benefiting from the credit.
4. Allow Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) filers, both businesses and families, to take the credit.
5. Authorize $800 million for clean energy bonds for renewable energy generating facilities, including solar.

The bill also provided for tax relief to manufactures of wooden arrows or some such.  The wooden arrow people are probably happy too.  Right now I picture them calling each other on the phone and saying “…yeah, and some thing or other about solar power or whatever.”

Anyway.

I am happy with the extension and the removal of the $2,000.00 cap.  It seems that solar manufacturer’s are also breathing a sigh of relief.  Hopefully those solar thermal panel people will tool up and start expanding capacity.  This panel shortage is a real pain

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Shortage of Solar Hot Water Collectors

21 Aug 08 | General Business, Solar Hot Water

This was almost inevitable.  It seems that there is a growing shortage of solar hot water collectors.  One manufacture that I spoke to is having difficulty getting glass for its larger sized collectors.  Others are struggling with higher product demand and fixed manufacturing assets. Solar thermal manufactures may be leery of making large investments in facilities because congress still has not approved the renewable energy tax incentives past December 31, 2008 (which is fast approaching).

On the surface, this would seem to be a good thing.  The solar business is growing, more and more people are aware of solar, not just Photovoltaics, but solar hot water too.  More and more people want these systems installed on their homes and businesses to off set energy use and save money.  Those are the positive aspects.

However for a solar installer, it is difficult to get business if you cannot give the potential customer an installation schedule.  I am right now, waiting on several collectors to show up so I can finish two jobs.  I am also leary of Congress and the lack of progress on the renewable energy tax credits.  As I have said before, unless they pass, a great majority of home owners will not be able to afford solar thermal systems.  I do not want to take on a large inventory of flat plate collectors that I will not be able to sell in six months.

And so we wait.

I curse incentives and subsides.  Too much tinkering around with the market forces if you ask me.

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How long do Solar Systems last?

26 Jul 08 | Solar Electric, Solar Hot Water

That is a very common question. The answer is, it depends. Solar systems, like all other mechanical systems require some maintenance. Last week, I came across a solar hot water drain back system that was 28 years old. The great thing is, it was still working just like the day it was installed. The only problem the home owner had encountered was a bad circulator pump, which the plumber replaced.

Properly installed drain back solar hot water systems using distilled water could, in theory, last almost indefinitely. Solar Hot water systems that use antifreeze will likely last only 30 years or so. Still, that is a great payback. For either system, over the course of its operational life, it should easily pay for it self 4 to 5 times over.

Photovoltaics are said to last 25 years however, their output slowly declines over time. After 25 years, most current photovoltaic panels will be producing about 80% of their rated power. Still, that is not bad, and a well designed photovoltaic system should pay for itself at least two to three times over its operational life (with current incentives).

The advantages of renewable energy systems, for those that are in it for the long haul, are:

1. Stabilizes energy prices at or below their current levels, gives the property owner more control over expenses.
2. Increases the property value of the residence or building they are installed on.
3. Reduces emissions and environmental pollutants from nearby electrical plants.
4. Reduces overall electrical load on grid, thus reducing the need for more power plants and high tension distribution lines.
5. Spreads out electrical generation capacity, thus making it more difficult for any one catastrophic event to cause a regional blackout (distributed generation).
6. Reduces the use of fossil fuels and thus dependence on other countries to provide energy for us.

As you can see, there are many advantages to a solar thermal, photovoltaic, wind, or microhydro system

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Solar Equipment Service Calls

12 Jul 08 | Solar Electric, Solar Hot Water, solar thermal

I have been receiving many calls from home owners with old solar equipment installed on their houses.  Mainly, they are interested in seeing if the equipment is working or is worth repairing. What I am finding is that in many cases, it is worth the effort to repair these systems.

Last week I came across a drain back solar domestic hot water system that was installed in 1980,  After 28 years, It was still working.  The home owner had a pump replaced by the local plumber.  Unfortunately, I think the plumber did not fully understand the concept of the drain back tank.

The problem with that system was the pump was installed higher than the bottom of the drainback tank, so it was cavitating every so often.  I filled the drain back tank to the top and that reduced the cavitation but did not eliminate it.  Even so, it seems to be working well and the homeowner was happy that they were back in hot water, so to speak.  A well maintained solar domestic hot water system, particularly a drain back system, can last almost indefinitely.

Another antifreeze type system was left to stagnate over several years.  I seems that some of the antifreeze has boiled off.  This system needs to have its HTF (Heat Transfer Fluid) flushed out and replaced.  While I was there, I pressure tested the solar loop to see if there were any leaks.  After several minutes, the pressure began to rise as the panels heated up in the sun.  After a good flushing and a few gallons of Noburst-100, the system should be good as new.

Was is really great to see, is that many of these orphaned 1980’s era solar systems are actually in good shape and with a little work can be put back in working order.  I am also enjoying the challenges of trouble shooting of these legacy systems.  No two systems are alike and they all seem to have different problems.

If you have an old solar system on your house, it may be worth it to see if it can be put back in service.  If you have a working solar system, it may be good to have somebody look at it and see if there are any problems.  Contact us for more information.