By Sarah Lozanova, Solar Energy Writer This Maine family created a resilient home with a combination of solar power, battery storage, and energy efficiency. When a windstorm last fall knocked down trees and caused 500,000 people in Maine to lose power, Eric and Alison Rector knew that their home had emergency power. Although neighboring farmhouses were without electricity for six days, the Rectors enjoyed many of their modern luxuries. Their 1,100 square foot high-performance home uses a dynamic combination of energy efficiency and solar energy with battery backup. Maine has one of the least reliable electric grids in the U.S. Multiple day power outages are relatively common after a severe storm, and the state ranks #49 in grid reliability, according to the Department of Energy. Many rural properties with wells are also without running water during power outages because pumps needs electricity to operate. These factors helped motivate the Rectors to find solutions to make their household more resilient. Hybrid Solar System Provides Emergency Power The Rector’s 6-kilowatt solar PV array provided backup electricity throughout the record-breaking outage last fall. “One 48-volt battery bank gives us running hot and cold water, heat, ventilation, lights, and power for some appliances,” says Eric. “If our solar system didn’t have batteries, we would be stuck with no power during grid outages despite all our solar panels.” The solar panel system was designed and installed by Sundog Solar and originally contained just 3-kilowatts of solar panels and the battery bank. Eric and Alison later upgraded the system and added 3 more kilowatts of generation capacity. The Rector house was built by GOLogic to the Passive House Standard, a stringent German certification for energy efficiency, resulting in homes that use 80% less energy for heating and cooling than a code-minimum house. Because the solar was producing more electricity than they were consuming, Eric and Alison purchased a 2017 Chevy Volt to utilize the surplus. They can now drive to and from town with solar energy. Eric has been very satisfied with the solar system’s inverter/charger because of the peace of mind that it offers. “I call the Conext XW 6048 ‘the magic box’ because it seamlessly transitions between being on grid and off grid,” says Eric. “The way Sundog Solar designed the system, the ‘magic box’ keeps the battery bank full at all times when there is grid power. During outages, there is no need to switch anything manually. All our critical systems stay powered, and the solar system charges the batteries until the grid power returns.” Read More... By Sarah Lozanova, Solar Energy Writer Solar power is now the fastest-growing energy source. In fact, an estimated 500,000 solar panels were installed globally every day in 2015. A typical American home requires 28 to 34 solar panels to produce 100 percent of its energy consumption. As the solar energy industry grows, there is a looming waste management issue. What will happen to the millions and millions of solar panels that are dotting rooftops across the globe at the end of their useful lives? Few Solar Panel Recycling Options Exist Now At the moment, most countries do not have a robust recycling infrastructure in place for solar panels. Most of the solar panels that are disposed of each year are damaged or defective. Because solar is a relatively young industry, few systems are being decommissioned each year. The design life of a solar panel is roughly 20 to 30 years, and most solar panel manufacturers provide a performance guarantee to protect solar system owners. Solar panels become less efficient over time, and performance guarantees protects consumers if the energy production declines prematurely. The guarantee offers solar homeowners peace of mind that the solar panels will generate a certain amount of power, barring unexpectedly cloudy weather. Many manufacturers guarantee 90 percent production after 10 years and 85 percent after 25 years. Most of the systems installed in the 1980s are still churning out an acceptable amount of power, so solar panel recycling hasn’t become very widespread. The day will come, however, when a robust recycling infrastructure will be needed because more solar systems will be decommissioned. Read More... Image Credit: Yan Lozanov By Sarah Lozanova, Solar Energy Copywriter There are now more than 1 million solar systems installed in the United States, according to a recent report by GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association. Q3 2016 was record-shattering by all accounts, and the solar industry is poised to almost double year after year. Despite widespread growth, there are misunderstandings and misconceptions that cost solar shoppers money. Keeping these common mistakes with solar panels for home use in mind can reduce the cost of going solar and your expenses over time. Mistake #1: Not Shopping Around to Get Competitive Solar Bids Although the cost of installing a solar system has fallen dramatically, the soft costs still constitute a lot of the total system cost. These costs vary widely by the solar installer, so it’s a good idea to shop around. Like any other home improvement project, there can be a big difference in the cost of installing a solar system with different installers. UnderstandSolar is a great free service to link you to top-rated solar installers for solar estimates. Read More... By Sarah Lozanova Most of us think of solar energy as consisting of photovoltaic solar panels, which make up 95 percent of the solar energy market. Solar towers, however, are proving to be a promising technology for commercial-scale installations as well. Construction is now underway on the Ashalim Thermal Solar Power Station, where a vacant stretch of the Negev desert in Israel will be home to a 787-foot solar tower. This is a big step in achieving Israel’s goal to source 10 percent of its energy from renewables by 2020. The solar tower will produce enough electricity to power 121,000 Israeli homes, or meet 1 percent of Israel’s total electricity needs. Although the project is privately funded, the Israeli government has agreed to buy the power at above-market prices. Construction is expected to conclude late next year. Read More... By Sarah Lozanova Our homes can be comfortable and energy-efficient: Especially if we borrow from the high-performing, effective ideas used around the world in “passive houses.” Developed by the German Passivhaus Institut in 1996, a Passivhaus is defined by core efficiency standards. What does this mean in practice? Homes built to the Passive House standard are extremely comfortable to live in—with natural daylighting, even temperatures throughout and virtually no drafts. Passive homes require 90 percent less energy to heat because energy losses are minimized with generous amounts of insulation and air sealing. The homes are heated largely by solar heat gains and internal gains from people and electrical equipment. Although fully retrofitting a home to the passive house standard is usually very costly, we can use many of the elements of passive home design to make our homes more efficient. Apply the following concepts to your home to boost comfort and reduce energy bills. Boost Winter Solar GainSouth-facing windows and, to a lesser extent, east- and west-facing windows help gradually warm our homes with solar energy. Maximizing this free energy source reduces dependence on heating systems, in turn lowering utility bills in cold climates and promoting indoor air quality. Forced air heating, for example, can carry dust with the heat as it passes through duct work, while wood-burning stoves and heating systems that use natural gas or propane can emit carbon monoxide. Wood-burning stoves also can produce breathable pollutants such as smoke and ash. Clean southern windows and remove screens. When the heating season begins, remove screens on south- and east-facing windows and wash the windows to increase your solar gains by up to 40 percent. Keep screens in the west- and north-facing windows to provide protection from the winter wind. Avoid shading southern windows in the winter. Evergreen vegetation, carports and porches can shade southern windows, hindering solar gains. In colder climates, plant only deciduous trees and shrubs (which lose their leaves in winter) outside south-facing windows, or space vegetation and structures far enough away from the house to avoid shading southern windows. Expand with a solar addition. If you are planning an addition on your home, consider adding a sunroom, which can help heat your home. Effective sunrooms face south, include lots of thermal mass, are thoroughly insulated, and include ventilation options with windows, doors and skylights. Read More... |