Independence Day Quote

Independence Day and Memorial Day make me think of those who put it all on the line so that "the good man can live", see the bottom line of this poem.  

Very few understand it as well as our Military, freedom will not be yours unless you are willing to fight for it.    Anyhow, enjoy this poem, which was sent to us from Afghanistan on Memorial Day.  the Author died in Iraq May 22. 2005.   

EULOGY OF THE COMMON SOLDIER

All mortal beings, which God brought forth, die the same

Man is not exempt

All will inevitably end as the dust from whence we came

It matters not of age

Do not mourn me if I should fall in a foreign land

Think this of my passing

In a far-off field a finer soil mixed with the foreign sand

A dust that is American

A dust that laughed, cried, and loved as an American

On this plot there shall be

A little piece of America, a patch for the free man

Which no oppressor can take

From this soil grows grass shimmering a little greener

Brilliant emerald ramparts

A Breeze whisping White Poppies with scent a little sweeter

Flowers towards heaven

Mourn not my terrible death but celebrate my cause in life

Viewed noble or not

I would have sacrificed and gave all that I had to give

Not to make man good

But only to let the good man live.

By   1st Lt. Aaron Seesan

Killed in combat in Iraq on May 22, 2005.

(Written while he was a high-school senior, six years earlier)

Solar Electric Financing - Lower rate, longer term available

Bank of Hawaii is offering lower rate & longer term for Solar Financing

Your average annual rate of return on investment with Solar Electric (PV) is usually 20% to 26%.   If you can borrow money at 1.5%, and make over 20%, isn't that a no-brainer?

PV Project Photos

We like to do not just good looking installations, but also strong, and well engineered on the structural and electrical sides. Built for lower power loss and ease of future expansion.

Hard roofs, like Japanese Tile, and Monier / Concrete are no problem.

Solar HOT WATER System Donation -- FREE!

We are gearing up to do a Charity 501 (c) (3) HOT WATER Solar Donation.     This is not Photovoltaic (solar electric).

We like to do $6,000 to $12,000 in charitable contributions per year, thus giving back to the community.

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 one or two Hot Water Solar donations in 2011, we now have (4) refurbished panels so we can do 2 systems.

We are looking for a legitimate Charitable Organization -- 501 (c) (3)
We did a similar post in the early part of the year and got alot of interested parties, we are keeping all those in mind, and still have that list.   If you sent in an "application" back then, feel free to send in another application now. 



The facility must have an existing hot water heater, preferably electric, and must have significant demands for hot water usage in order to make these really worth it!

Most of the parts will be refurbished from  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.


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, and a brief decription.

Installation of the system will likely be in the June/Aug time frame.

Mahalo!

Steveo

HECO bill from PV customer

PV Based Emergency Power Backup

There is “backup up power” using batteries and PV.   The brand name is the Outback System.  

I am putting one in my house as soon as things slow down a little

Your underhouse area should be fine for the equipment and the batteries.  You want to be weathertight, and also have the ability to secure.   I would definitely put a good lock on that door after the Outback goes in.

Good part is, that if HECO goes down, you won’t even notice a blip at all, and you will just have power.    You have to pick which circuits are your emergency circuits

1.      Refrigerator

2.      Microwave

3.      Some lights to allow bathroom, kitchen use, and travel from bedroom areas

4.      Some receptacles for Phone, Modem, Router

5.      Computer

6.      Security system

7.      Exterior lighting for security/motion lights

8.      Lights at the Outback, along with a few receptacles nearby in case you have to do some work on things.

Usually we try to keep that to 6 circuits, because you don’t want to put too much on it, and end up draining your batteries when you don’t want to, say if the power goes off and you are not home.

Typical is 8 batteries, too produce around 10kWH of storage.   

Cost around $10,000, but as part of PV system, you can get tax credits, resulting in around $3,500 which is not bad.

Compare that to a  Honda generator, $2100, accessories $200, electrical transfer switch $800, electrician to hook it up say $1000, and you are looking at $4100, plus you need to buy and keep gas on hand, and rotate your supply of gas every so often so it doesn’t go bad. 

You can add batteries, to double your storage, at any time in the future.   The batteries should last around 10 years under emergency use.

Be glad to quote this one, I like them.    Takes me about 3 hours to quote one though, because all the control and switching components are pretty complex. 

Also there are ramifications on the number of inverters and the related tie-in to the building electrical system, and thus the tax credits.    These are issues that can readily be dealt with, just be aware that they are there.

Capitol Watch

Of course, Big Business, Big Wind, Big anything does their best to influence our legislators and laws, to their advantage, which is very unlikely to also be to your advantage.

Here is a Cheat Sheet on various ways that you can express your opinion on issues that matter.

Do 2 a week.  

Sierra Club does an email called Capitol Watch.  This makes it easy to track important bills, and they give links to who you can send email to, or faxes.   I don't always agree with everything the Sierra Club does, but they do alot of good things. 

Without a healthy Aina, and our own health, we have nothing.

Check this link for the Cheat Sheet

http://www.sierraclubhawaii.com/capitol-watch/capitol-watch-cheat-sheet-

On that same link, you can also sign up for the Capitol Watch email newsletter.

SIGN UP!

Why do Solar NOW?

As the price of oil goes up, other things go up:

·        Electricity in Hawaii (follows oil upward, automatically –they do not need PUC approval—with a lag time of 1 to 3 months)

·        Cost to operate a business in Hawaii

·        Cost to produce aluminum, glass, PV collector material

·        Shipping to Hawaii

As Electricity goes up (and it still will go up more based solely on the recent increase in oil), the demand for solar products go up, and that means the cost of supplies and labor go up too.    

Very simple law of supply and demand.

Do a “pre-emptive” strike, get solar now, lock in the incentives.    

Get your system in before Electricity prices skyrocket and hurt your annual budget too badly.

PV Customer in Makakilo

Recent HECO bill - only $28 after PV installation

PV Customer - after 21 panel installed

This family Installed 21 panels using Solarworld 245.