Tsunami of Solar Panel Interest and Savings

Our prayers go out to all those in Japan who have lost and are suffering.

Although we think there is a high likelihood of more nuclear power plants, especially as electric cars become more mainstream, we can't fully subscribe to the theory that nuclear is "green".    Let's hope the best for Japan and that there aren't any big problems with their Nuclear plants.

Oil up over $100 sure generates a lot of phone calls and interest in solar.   And it should.    Oil and other commodities will be gamed up and down, but the general trend is up.

Why not lock in your electric rate at zero?  Make your own electricity.    You mean to say that you are still buying that stuff?    That is so old school, and not in a good way.

Everyone who takes the plunge --- loves it.

Avoiding expenses & taxes is responsible

Don't delay from protecting yourself from high oil cost.  Soon, the cost of oil will show up in your electric bill.  These banks only charge 1 or 2%.  you can use their money in order to make 20 - 25% annual rate of return investment.
That is no brainer.  What are you waiting for?

What makes a great PV solar system?

Ask your salesperson if they are familiar with NEC 690.   If you get a "deer in the headlights look", better switch to a lighter subject.

Bottom line is that an advanced generation system is going to be bolted to your roof.   We study the NEC (National Electrical Code), and follow the HECO specs also.   But code compliance isn't really "good enough".   The NEC looks like the image below, click for a larger view.   It has 14 pages related to PV, and 822 pages overall.   But a great installation needs more.   See below.

 Now take a look at this picture, what do you see?   Seriously, look at it, observe it.

Shingles, sure and panels and rack.   What about the wires?   All nicely secured and tucked away.   And here is my point.   What separates the real deal  from the "just jumped into the business cause our work was slow" crowd, is a lot of things, but a critical one is wire management.   

You don't want wires hanging down, blowing in the wind, chafing your roof, grounding out.   You want a strong rack with solid water sealing supports, and great wire management.   You want solid engineering, high wind uplift, large beefy stainless lag bolts.   And you want good return on investment.Talking to some solar companies?   Ask the company representative about their wire management techniques.   If all you get in response is--we used trained professionals in accordance with NEC codes, well then you might want to know more.   Because the NEC allows contractors to drape a power wire up to  four feet unsupported between panels or rails.   And that wire might only be 3 inches from the roof to start with.   So in order to maintain the tension to keep it from sagging down over time, they have to stretch it tight against the panel junction box and the MC4 or MC3 connectors.   That's bad, all bad.   Instead we use a rack system that supports the cable directly, and when we cross over we will support the wire in the middle usually no more than 2' on a 4' crossing.   


Why?  Because great wire management is what keeps your system working safely for decades.   


We put our money and labor into quality, not into sales fees.   When getting a solar estimate ask the sales person:


1) Are you familiar with NEC 690?
2) What methods do you use for wire management?

Energy Fundamentals in 4 Easy Charts

Chart of Electrical Usage in Hawaii - Irresponsible Exuberance

This is original work from Pacific Energy.   This information on Electrical consumption is available for all the States, and I data mined the data for Hawaii.   It was fairly easy, but also very instructive once the chart was made.  

After decades of understandable rate of growth, even with the computer boom in the 1990's the electrical usage in Hawaii really didn't kick off until the "Easy Money" era of Greenspan and the Bernanke.   Look at the chart, why in the world would our electrical consumption triple in the space of a handful of years.    The answers are simple....we started using electricity irresponsibly, spending money we didn't have, spirits buoyed up by speculative increases in housing value.

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Why Green Power IS NOT more expensive than Fossil

What is the true cost of Fossil Fuel?   Even if we neglect the injured, the dead, and the current fighting forces that in part are out there to protect our access to oil, there are still huge additional costs that we pay for Fossil Fuels.  85% of all of the government subsidies for energy actually go to Fossils (Oil, Gas, Coal), then comes Hydro, then at the bottom of the barrel -- Solar. 

The entrenched powers that be have manipulated the incentive structures for 60 years to a now absurd level. 

Some people actually complain that Solar gets tax credits.    Think about it, what is the cost of fossil fuels.   Wait!   We haven't even touched on environmental degradation.

Your comments appreciated.

Please read these articles on the same subject.

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/guest-post-fossil-fuels-secret-welfare-problem/


http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/dod-must-buy-american-made-not-chinese-solar-panels/

Habitat for Humanity Solar and KHON

We did this one a while back and are gearing up to donate another HOT WATER system later this year.

The new HOT WATER solar is targeting this ideal situation:

• On Oahu
• for a 501C Charity
• Must have existing hot water demand
• Must have existing electric hot water heater(s)

Check it out and drop a comment, just click on the comment button below.

Solar System Donation (HOT WATER)

We like to do $3,000 to $12,000 in charitable contributions per year.

In 2009 we donated a full-on (3) Panel Hot Water Solar system for a family in Waimanalo, through Habitat for Humanity

We want to do a similar Hot Water Solar donation in 2011, and thus we put out this ad.

We are looking for a legitimate Charitable Organization -- 501 (c) (3)

that can receive a complete HOT WATER solar system. Most of the part will be refurbished from good condition but used components. Oftentimes, when we take a system down, there are some fairly new parts, and maybe just the tank is bad, but the panels are great.  There is also a controller, pump, timeclock, valves, and a temperature mixing valve for safety.

We probably only get enough good condition/refurbishment parts to do 1 or 2 systems per year, and that is our goal for this year.

The savings from a simple  Hot water solar system can be in the range of $48,000 to $74,000 over the life of the system, so we think this is an awesome gift for someone who can't afford it. Non-profit organizations also cannot use the tax credits, so in order to do a solar they would have to pay "Full List Price".  

So this is the perfect way to help out a non-profit charitable organization who has hot water usage.  Depending on the success of this program I may also try to enlist them help of some other friendly solar companies and get them to save their refurbished part and Pitch In!

If you know the organization that has a need for free hot water, please let us know.


Drop a comment on the blog with name and contact information for the prospective recipient.

Execution of the system will likely be in the May / July timeframe


Mahalo!

Steveo

Fighting for Energy Independence

Energy independence is vital to national security.  Increased use of alternate energy sources like solar power here in the United States will reduce numbers of troops fighting overseas.  Here is a picture of one of our clients currently deployed to Afghanistan

Real Data, December was not a "Nice and Sunny" Month!!!

December was not "nice and sunny" in fact, compared to the DOE based monthly estimates of energy production, most people saw lost production in the range of 8% to 25% for the month.    The best performer was in upper Makakilo, go figure!   Kailua also performed quite well, relatively.   Some "flood watch" days saw production frop to 10% of it's normal.