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PV or SHW?

Which is a better option – solar electric (PV) or solar hot water (SHW)? Well, it really depends on your situation. If you want to recoup your investment quickly, SHW is a better option, as you can save enough in hot water heating costs to pay for your system in three to five years. If you want a long term investment, PV is a better way of making a decent return on your money. The cost of electricity will likely only increase, and the electricity you generate will always be fairly constant year after year. Considering any incentives that may be available, your investment begins to pay immediately.

So which is a better option? You decide, and give us a call to see how we can help you.

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Solar Installation Season

With the advent of spring weather in New England comes the beginning of the solar installation season for us. With a few jobs on the books, we are kicking off the 2011 season, and hope to have a really great year of helping people meet their renewable energy goals. If you are thinking about starting your renewable energy journey, now is the time. Give us a call to see how we can help!

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2011 Home Energy Expo – Success!

We just finished participating in the first (hopefully annual) Home Energy Expo in Springfield, Vermont. If you missed us, or didn’t get a chance to chat with us, you can call us for information or a free site evaluation. We’d love to talk to you!

Visitors to our table at the Home Energy Expo
Our table at the Home Energy Expo
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Backup Power

Did you lose power during the last storm? We didn’t. As a matter of fact, the only reason we knew power was out in the neighborhood was our internet was down. And we had to start our neighbor’s generator for them (they were out of town). And we had to check on another neighbor’s house. Some of our neighbors were without electricity for more than 24 hours.

If you were without power, or frequently lose power for long periods of time, you might want to consider installing a solar back-up system. If designed and installed correctly, you may not even notice when the power goes out. And when you are not using your solar electricity to power your loads, you can send it back to the grid for a credit on your electric bill!

Call us if you would like to explore this option for your home.

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2011 Home Energy Expo

Come visit us at the 2011 Home Energy Expo on March 19 at the River Valley Technical Center in Springfield, VT. The Expo will feature many different vendors (including us!) and educational displays, as well as several workshops on home weatherization, renewable energy systems, how to pay for energy systems/upgrades, making the right investments in lighting, heating, and appliances, etc. Look us up when you get there!

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Renewable Energy Incentives

If you are considering installing a renewable energy system in 2011, may I suggest that you reserve your state incentive money now? Based on last year, the incentive money will be gone before the year is over. If you wait until later in the year, you may not get any state incentive money. Let us know if we can help!

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Cold sunny days

If you have solar PV and live in New England, you are probably making a lot of power from your solar PV system today. Where we live, it has not gotten above about 5 degrees F all day, and we have been making a lot of power. This is because PV modules are more efficient in cold weather, and have higher output.

When designing a PV system, it is imperative that the increase in output during cold weather is considered when selecting an inverter and overcurrent devices to ensure that this equipment can handle the potential increase in power. If these devices are undersized, it could cause the system to shut down when it has the potential to make significant amounts of power. Besides, what else is there to do on a cold New England day but watch your meter spin backwards?

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New company truck

We just purchased a truck for company use. This truck is 4-wheel drive, seats six, has a utility body for tools, and a ladder rack. This truck will enable us to be more productive as we help you meet your renewable energy needs.

NZRR Truck
NZRR Truck
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Ten things you can do to save energy around the house – Part Five

9. Tweak your refrigerator – turning the temperature up a few degrees in your fridge or freezer will save power; upgrading to a more efficient model will also help. Do you really need 21 cubic feet for a family of three or four? And cooling food before you put it in the fridge will also save power as it won’t have to work as hard.
10. Plan your time and space so that more of you are sharing the lights or other uses of energy. If the whole family sits in one room to read or play games, then the lights are only on in that one area. And you will get to enjoy the time you spend with each other.

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Ten things you can do to save energy around the house – Part Four

7. Turn down your thermostat – reducing the temperature in your house by a few degrees can save a significant amount of energy, whether it be a fossil fuel, wood, or electricity that warms your house. It cracks me up when people complain about being cold at 70 degrees in the winter, and being hot at 65 degrees in the summer.
8. Use power strips for all your transformers and instant-on appliances. Those “bricks” that convert line current to direct current for computers, printers, cell phone chargers, etc., use electricity even when they are not powering any devices. And appliances that come on instantly, like your TV, also use power when they are off. Using a power strip that you can switch off when you are not using the device will help reduce your electric usage.