Tel: (845) 626-2627   Home   Contact  

New York to chart a Solar Thermal course

26 Jul 10 | Solar Hot Water, solar thermal

New York state has been providing incentives for photovoltaics  (PV) for several years now through NYSERDA.  Solar Thermal (ST) has relied mainly on tax incentives from the federal and state governments without direct rebates.  On average, about 500 ST systems have been installed per year in NY, vs. 20,000 systems per year for PV.  That is about to change.

According to the Customer Sited Tier Program released on June 29, 2010:

The following guidelines are expected to be incorporated into the solicitation(s):

1. Eligible measures are solar water heating for residential (single and multifamily), commercial buildings, and non-profits that replaces or displaces electric water heating. Equipment and systems must be certified by the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation (SRCC).
2. Expected performance will be based on the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation (SRCC) estimates or standard industry software such as RETScreen.
3. Incentives will be based on expected performance in $/kWh/yr or $/MMBtu/yr up to a maximum of 40% of installed cost after all other tax credits have been applied, with a set dollar maximum for residential and non-residential systems.
4. The program will be first-come, first-served. The residential program is likely to be implemented as a simple incentive process, as the typical residential system is small and often pre-packaged.
5. Solar Thermal hot water systems will receive incentives as an alternative to electric water heating only. MWhs saved due to electric water heating replacement/supplementation with solar water heating will be calculated and scored towards the RPS goal.
6. Installers will be required to conduct annual follow-up visits for a designated period of time.

Customer Eligibility Criteria:

• customers must pay into the RPS
• new or existing homes and buildings will be eligible
• five-year warranty for the system will be required
• residential customers must have a New York ENERGY STAR® home or have a “clip board”” or walk through energy audit conducted to determine cost-effective energy efficiency measures related to electricity use. Customers will NOT be required to implement energy efficiency measures to receive an incentive.

The largest cost savings gains can be realized by those who use electric to heat their hot water.  As I discovered first hand, about three years ago, my electric bill dropped by 1/3 when I installed a Solar Domestic Hot Water (SDHW) system.  My electric use went from over 12,000 kWh per year to just under 8,300 kWh per year.  In today’s money, that equates to $600.00 annual savings in electric costs.

The goal of NYSERDA in creating this incentive is to raise awareness of ST and increase installations to the same level as PV, which is about 20,000 installation per year in NYS.   As I have outlined in the past, the benefits of ST are:

1. Less expensive than PV.  Consumers that use electricity to heat there water can make an apples to apples comparison and find that a SDHW system will cost about 10-15% what a PV system costs for the same energy output.
2. Faster payback times.  Because of the reduced costs, paybacks range in the 5-6 year time frame with fewer rebates.
3. Less regulator concerns.  A PV system requires many, many layers of bureaucracy to complete.  A ST system permitting and installation is usually straight forward.
4. Energy output from ST is stable and does not decline with time.  PV systems age and slowly reduce the power output from individual panels.  ST systems have no such issues.
5. More tolerant to shading and siting problems.  Not that a system should be intentionally installed in a shaded location, however, they will not drastically reduce their output if subject to some minimal diffused shading such as deciduous trees in winter time.

Not that I want to beat up on PV, that too is a fine system.  Solar Thermal, however, has several distinct advantages over PV, especially for a homeowner on a budget.

Tags: NYSERDA, renewable energy incentives, solar thermal

Solar pool heating

17 Jun 09 | solar thermal

Summer is here and the pools are open, if not a little bit chilly.  Many folks and municipalities with swimming pools extend the swimming season by heating their pools.   Most use some sort of propane or natural gas system to heat the pool water, I have even seen a few heat pumps.  That sounds expensive.  Solar pool heating has been around for a long time and it relatively easy and inexpensive and simple to implement.

I was driving down the road this morning on my way back from an appointment and I saw this:

Just out of the picture to the right is the swimming pool that these collectors service.

I had to stop and take a few pictures. According to the sign, this pool is owned and maintained by the Home Owner’s Association (HOA) for the housing development just down the street.

These look like Enersol S-1000 collectors.  They are made of plastic and come in a roll.  To increase the side of the collector system, simply add more collector rolls on the end of the string.  The existing pool pump circulates pool water through them by use of a temperature controlled diverter valve.  I lifted this diagram from their site.  Looks pretty efficient and likely gathers a lot of heat on a sunny day.

The wood frame mounting rack that this installation uses looks first rate, my only comment on it is I think I would put a little more tilt to the south to gather more heat during the spring and fall seasons.  Then again, this is in the middle of the Catskill Mountains, altitude around 2,000 feet AMSL.  When it is raining almost everywhere else, it snows here.  Perhaps there is no spring or fall swimming season, only summer.

In any case, they are likely saving a good deal of money heating the pool this way.  The only other comment I have is there are no state or federal subsides for solar pool or jacuzzi heating.

Here are a few more pictures of this installation:

Tags: solar pool heating, solar thermal

Hot Water tank stratification

03 Jun 09 | Solar Hot Water

There are many considerations to ensure that a solar domestic hot water system will perform at it’s optimum. The collectors should be facing south, tilted to latitude, unshaded,  etc.  One consideration that is usually not thought about or understood is the storage tank.  Like any energy storage system, there are some physics that accompany a hot water storage tank.

Stratification simply means to divide into layers.  Heated water rises because it is less dense than cold water.  The warmest water will be found in the layer right at the top of the tank, hence, most tanks have their hot water outlet at the very top of the tank.

When pumping water out of a solar storage tank, through a heat exchanger and back again, it is very important not to completely mix the water in the tank.  In most SDHW systems, the temperature sensor for the storage tank is at the very bottom of the unit.  If the tanks gets mixed, chances are the collector temperature and the tank temperature will reach equilibrium and the system will shut off.

If the solar storage tank water is pumped slowly, so that the tank stays stratified, the system will net much more heat.  This works especially well in a two tank system where tank number one is the solar tank which pre-heats the water going into tank number two, which is the back up heating system.  If done correctly, both tanks will  have a thermocline about 1/3 up from the bottom of the tank.

There are two good ways to accomplish water side heat exchanger pumping without breaking the solar tank stratification.

1. Use a small ac pump, such as a TACO 003B and throttle the output side of the pump with a ball valve.  This pump uses very little electricity (rated for 42 watts, 115 VAC) and therefore is pretty efficient.  Restricting the flow slightly with a ball valve will not hurt it.  The water going into the heat exchanger from the solar tank should be about 5 – 10 degrees (Δt = 5-10° F) cooler than the water coming out.
2. Use a PV powered DC pump.  There are two DC pumps that run directly from a 12 volt PV panel, the Liang D5 series and El Sid.  These can also be throttled on the output side for temperature rise of 10 degrees from input to output.    The advantage of this system is that the pump speed will adjust to the available sunlight (thus available heat) making the system more efficient.  The disadvantage is it is more expensive.

Experience shows that a good rule of thumb is 0.0125 gallons per minute per gallon of storage.  Therefore, for an 80 gallon storage tank, optimum flow rate on the storage tank side of the heat exchanger would be 80 gallons x 0.0125 = 1 GPM.  For a 120 gallon tank, 1.5 GPM and for a 240 gallon tank, 3 GPM.  This will generally give a 10 degree temperature difference between the top and bottom of a vertical tank.

Tank stratification is an important design factor that is often not thought of when a dual pumped internal or external heat exchanger system is installed.

Tags: physics, SDHW, solar thermal

Solar Hot Water System components

27 Mar 09 | Solar Hot Water, Training

Solar Domestic Hot Water systems are a great way to save money, cut down on the use of fossil fuels and do a big favor for the environment.  We have install many of these systems over the last two years and they work very well, even in the middle of winter.

I decided to install drain back systems because I like their simplicity and their easy maintenance.  The average home owner can very easily keep track of the water in the sight glass and add water if needed.  They perform well and when properly installed are pretty much bullet proof.  I like that.

This is an 80 square foot 80 gallon storage tank system.  Enough to provide 80% annually of the hot water for an average family of four.

The system components consist of Flat Plate collectors:

These are Alternative Energy Technology AE-40 collectors.  They are elevated slightly from the roof pitch to facilitate snow removal and better drain back performance.  They are also tilted to the left so that the water drains out of the bottom of the collectors when the pump is off.  This is a very important detail to avoid freeze damage.

The piping is 3/4 L copper tubing insulated with closed cell (AKA Rubatex or Insultube) R-5 foam insulation.  Where ever possible, the insulation is slid over the ends of the pipe instead of cut lengthwise and placed over the pipe.  The ends and any slit pieces are glued together with special glue called R-420.  The exterior runs are covered with PVC jacket to protect the insulation from UV damage and improve the system appearance.

The drain back tank is mounted on a shelf attached to the basement wall.  This is a 10 gallon stainless steel drain back tank with an internal heat exchanger.  It has a sight glass which is marked with the proper fluid levels for when the system is running and when it is off.

The solar loop pump is a TACO 009BF5.  I use bronze pumps in the solar loop of a drain back system because the water gets sloshed around quite a bit and becomes oxygenated.  A cast iron pump will rust and foul the site glass.  It also keeps the solar loop a “potable water system” and thus avoids and questions about the single wall heat exchanger in the drain back tank.  The pump is mounted below the lowest fluid level in the drain back tank.  At the very bottom of the solar loop is the drain valve.

The storage tank loop is a TACO 006B4.  This is a larger pump that normal because the storage tank is located about 15 feet away in another room.  This configuration is slightly unusual, however, it was the only way to fit the solar system in a crowded basement.

In the storage tank loop there is an air vent at the highest point in the loop to bleed out any air that may become trapped in that loop.  Trapped air can cause pump cavitation and or reduce the flow in the loop storage tank loop.  For maximum efficiency, the loop needs to move about 4-6 gallons per minute from the bottom of the storage tank through the heat exchanger and back to the top of the storage tank.

The storage tank is an 80 gallon off the shelf unit with a 12 year tank warranty.  It has electric back up elements which are not connected because the home owner has an indirect oil fired tank connected to their home heating system.

The system controller is a DTC-2 (AKA Eagle 2) by IMC.  I really like these controllers because they have temperature reading for the storage tank and the collectors.  They also have variable set points for the high limit and temperature on differential.

Finally, the output to the backup heating tank has a Watts 1170 tempering valve.  This is very important because the solar storage tank temperatures can get very high durring the summer months.  With out a tempering valve scalding water can be sent to the showers and sinks in the house.

Every time I commision one of these systems, I think to myself  “There is less oil.”

Tags: SDHW, Solar Hot Water, solar thermal, system components

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.

Tags: photovoltaics, solar economy, solar thermal

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.

Tags: Solar Hot Water, solar thermal

Do solar panels increase global warming?

01 Aug 08 | Environment

I have had several people tell me that solar panels, both photovoltaic and thermal, increase climate change, aka global warming due to the local “Heat Islanding” effect.

Others have said the cost (in CO₂) of manufacturing and shipping solar panels is more than there subsequent use would eliminate.

Solar panel Heat Islanding

There is some validity to the first concern. If you take an area that was normally light reflective and put a solar panel in it, less light is being reflected and thus more heat is being generated. However, in the case of a solar thermal panel, most of that heat is then conducted away by Heat Transfer Fluid (HTF) for use or storage. A typical solar thermal panel is 65-70% efficient at converting and removing the energy striking it. The remaining 30-35% of the energy is either reflected off of the glazing or the absorber plate or it is lost due to heat transfer inefficiencies, insulation losses, etc. In short, a solar thermal panel is very efficient at collecting energy and removing it. Having a solar thermal panel on the roof of your house would reduce the solar gain because most of the heat energy is being removed to another location and the panel shades the roof it is attached to.

Photovoltaics however, are not as efficient as solar thermal. The average PV panel in use today is around 15% efficient. Some of the energy passes through the panel and some of it is reflected. Therefore, about 80% the energy striking the panel is converted to heat. The average insolation on earth at mean sea level is 1,000 watts per square meter per hour.

A 4.3 KW grid tied solar system has 24 Sanyo HIP190BA3 PV modules. Each Module is 1.16 M². The total area is 26.78 M². Therefore the total energy striking this array is 26.78 KW/hr. The total heat being generated by this array on a sunny day is about 22 KW/hr or about 75,000 BTU/hr. In the mean time, it is producing 4.3 KW of electricity. The average peak sun hours in the Hudson Valley is 4.5 per day so this system can be expected to produce an average of 19.35 kWh per day or 7063 kWh per year. Electricity production in the United States is about 32% efficient. Therefore, that 19.35 kWh if purchased from the power company, would have produced 60.41 KW of waste heat and 32.9 pounds of CO₂ vs 99 KW of waste heat and zero pounds of CO₂. This system will save 12,000 pounds of CO₂ per year or 150 tons of CO₂ over a 25 year life.

This should trigger two questions; How much of the sun’s energy would have been absorbed by the surface of the earth and turned into heat regardless of the solar panel and what importance does CO₂ have on climate change. To answer the first question is rather complicated. It depends on the color of the surface, the angle of the sun striking the surface and the atmospheric insulative effect. The second question is a little easier to answer

CO₂ in the production of solar panels

It takes about 3.6 years (in average insolation) for a PV cell to make the energy used in its production. Therefore, over a PV cell’s 25 year life, it will produce electricity and contribute 86% less CO₂ than electricity generated by fossil fuels. This reducing in CO₂, a known Green House Gas (GHG) which is thought to be significantly contributing to the global rising in temperatures more than off sets the local heat island effect that PV panels have.

Solar thermal panels take much less time to payback because they are made mainly from copper (absorber plate and piping), aluminum (frame and mounting), insulation and glass. These materials are readily recyclable which greatly reduced the energy required for extraction and refining.  Additionally, a solar thermal panel is much more efficient at collecting energy, so the energy payback comes in about 1.5 years.  Most solar HW systems have some type of AC pump.  Taking that into consideration, the Energy Returned on Energy Invested (EROEI) while the system is operational is about 15, or for every 1 watt of electricity used, 15 watts of energy are gained.  In the Hudson Valley, a two panel SDHW system can expect to save about 3,350 kWh per year. That equals about 5,690 pounds of CO₂ per year or 71 tons of CO₂ over a 25 year life span.

Tags: climate change, Environment, photovoltaics, solar thermal

The other Solar Thermal; Solar Hot Air Collectors

22 Apr 08 | solar thermal

We have written a good deal about solar thermal on this blog. One thing that has not been covered are Solar Thermal air collectors. These units look similar to hot water collectors, only they use air as the Heat Transfer Fluid (HTF).

Solar hot air collectors have several advantages; They are easier to install and many do-it-yourselfers can install one or two hot air panels in a weekend. They can be mounted on south facing walls or roofs. Shading by deciduous trees is not an issue, since summer time heat production, in most cases, is not desired. They do not contain liquid, so freeze protection is not necessary. They also can most often be power by a small PV panel, which means they require no outside energy input.

The main disadvantage is they have no heat storage capacity, nor can their heat output be transported easily to another part of the building. When the sun is shining, you get the full effect of the sun’s energy (about 1 KW per M²), minus the incident angle losses. For the average solar hot air collector in a category C environment, that is about 10-14 KBTU/day per Ft². They are also slightly less efficient than liquid flat plate collectors because water is a better HTF than air.

There are two companies that make SRCC certified solar air collectors, Your Solar Home and Environmental Solar Systems. They consist of a flat plate collector with solar selective coating in and aluminum frame. Both units have DC powered fans, one comes with a 14 watt PV panel, the other comes with a wall transformer for 120 VAC. They look comparable in size/output and price. One is made in Canada, the other in Massachusetts.

A real DIY person could potentially make their own solar thermal panel if they had the proper motivation.

Update: Stephen let me know that my research was not a through as it should have been:

You missed the solar hot air units from Newfoundland Canada. I am a reseller of the product.They have over 1000 of them out in the real world. They work well in Newfoundland where they only get 1500 hours of sunlight.

Their website:

Cansolair Solar Panels

Tags: solar thermal

Solar Thermal Systems

21 Feb 08 | General

When you say solar, most people assume that you are talking about photovoltaics. Solar thermal systems have been around for longer than photovoltaics and have a proven track record of working well and paying back there costs many times over.

I install both types, and lately I have been receiving quit a few calls regarding solar thermal (i.e. solar hot water, or radiant floor heating) systems. I think this will continue as the price of energy goes up.

A solar thermal system move fluid through solar collectors, which collect heat.  The fluid is then stored or used in the building. In reality, a solar thermal system is about plumbing.  A Solar Domestic Hot Water (SDHW) system has three unique parts that other hot water systems or heating systems don’t have. The first is the solar collectors, the second is some type of heat exchanger and the third is some type of controller. As regarding the solar collectors, I believe that SDHW systems work best with flat plate collectors.

The flat plat collector design has been around for many years. Newer solar selective coatings have been created that increase the system efficiency. In addition to that, better insulation and better high transmisity glass have all improved on the flat plate collector design. Evacuated tubes run at higher temperatures and have problems with the seals between the glass tube and the copper pipe on the inputs and outputs of each tube.

The next unique thing in a solar system is the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger takes the hot fluid from the solar collector and cools it with the fluid from the solar hot water tank. This can be implemented in a number of ways. Some heat exchangers are part of the solar storage tank, some are a part of a drainback tank, and some are external.  All heat exchangers are made of metal (stainless steel or copper) and use counter-flow properties to move the heat from one fluid reservoir to another.

Finally, the system controller, which measures the temperature of the collector outputs and the solar storage tank. If there is enough energy in the collectors to transfer to the storage tank, the controller turns the system on, which begins collecting energy.

Beyond that, a solar system is copper piping, valves, drains, hot water tanks, pumps, and other miscellaneous hardware which is all available at the local plumbing supply house.

Solar thermal systems that are designed for space heating are very similar to SDHW, only they are usually quit a bit larger with more storage.

In most cases, all solar thermal systems should have some way of operating in backup mode in case there is a long period of inclement weather. These back up systems entail some type of conventional heating system installed in parallel with the solar system. For example a SDHW system may have an electric tank or electric element in the solar tank designed to turn on if the water temperature gets too cool. A radiant floor heating system may have a small oil or gas fired backup furnace in standby duty.

A well designed solar system should be designed to produce about 80 to 85 percent of the energy needs. More than that and the system design will be too large, causing it to over produce and over heat under normal operating conditions. Less than that and you are leaving a good deal of money on the table, to be taken by the gas/oil companies.

Tags: radiant floor heat, SDHW, Solar Hot Water, solar thermal

Does solar hot water work in cold climates?

03 Jan 08 | Solar Hot Water

I was at a lecture this past September when the speaker stated “Solar thermal just doesn’t work in this climate (the Northeast), it is not a consideration…” I wanted to stand up, raise my hand and say “Um, excuse me, but you are wrong.” There is a persistent misconception that solar thermal only works in temperate climates. The truth is that is works in cold climates as well. As evidence I submit the following:

It is January, the temperature outside is 17 degrees (that was the high temperature of the day) with a foot of snow on the ground.

The water temperature coming back from the solar collectors on my roof is 150 degrees.

Furthermore, last night it was 0 degrees and I suffered no freeze damage to the collectors or piping, even though I use distilled water as my heat transfer fluid.

This is no accident, of course. A properly designed and installed solar hot water (solar thermal) system can work in almost any climate. The snow surrounding the collector reflects sunlight unto the collector itself, making it more efficient. I have a drain back system, so when the sun goes down and the temperature drops, all the water drains out of the collectors into a reservoir inside the house. The collectors and piping all are sloped so that the water drains out properly thus providing excellent freeze protection without the use of expensive anti freeze.

Naturally, I didn’t say anything to the photovoltaic guy who made the above statement. After all, we are playing on the same team.

Tags: SDHW, Solar Hot Water, solar thermal

Get The Feed

Categories

• Commentary
• Conservation
• Environment
• General
• General Business
• Geothermal
• Incentives
• Micro Hydro Power
• Sales
• Solar Electric
• Solar Hot Water
• solar thermal
• Technology
• Training
• Uncategorized
• Wind Power
• wind power

Archives

• August 2010
• July 2010
• June 2010
• May 2010
• April 2010
• March 2010
• February 2010
• January 2010
• December 2009
• November 2009
• October 2009
• September 2009
• August 2009
• July 2009
• June 2009
• May 2009
• April 2009
• March 2009
• February 2009
• January 2009
• December 2008
• November 2008
• October 2008
• September 2008
• August 2008
• July 2008
• June 2008
• May 2008
• April 2008
• March 2008
• February 2008
• January 2008
• December 2007
• November 2007
• October 2007
• September 2007
• August 2007
• July 2007
• June 2007

Recent Posts

• Green jobs effort destined for wretched failure
• Renewable Energy Storage, pumped hydro electric systems
• NYSERDA funds PV rebate program through 2015
• New York A7557A fixes some of it’s net metering law
• New York to chart a Solar Thermal course

Recent Comments

• Finding Green Energy For Your Household | Addys Organic Gardening Blog on Renewable Energy Storage, pumped hydro electric systems
• David Swanson on New York A7557A fixes some of it’s net metering law
• Tweets that mention Sun Volt Solar » Blog Archive » New York to chart a Solar Thermal course -- Topsy.com on New York to chart a Solar Thermal course
• Heat Pump on Ground Source Heat Pump; same as a coal stove?
• Tweets that mention Sun Volt Solar » Blog Archive » The New York Solar Industry and Jobs act (S. 7093b A. 11004a) -- Topsy.com on The New York Solar Industry and Jobs act (S. 7093b A. 11004a)

Blogroll

• Clean Technica
• Get Solar blog
• Hudson Valley Green Sheet
• PV Tech
• Renewable Energy World Blog
• Residential Solar Blog
• Solar Energy
• The Oil Drum
• WordPress Planet

Link

• American Solar Energy Society
• Find Solar
• Home Power Magazine
• National Renewable Energy Research Lab
• New York State Energy Research and Development Agency
• New York State Solar Energy Industries Association
• North Amercian Board of Certified Energy Practitioners
• Photovoltaic Primer
• Price of Oil
• Sandia National Laboratory
• Solar Energy International
• Solar Homes and Solar Collectors
• Solar Nation

Buttons and Badges

Tags