Exploding Water Heater?, do the Solar Tune-Up

Urban Myth or reality?    Does is really make sense to maintain the safety features of your water heater do doing the Solar Tune-Up?   Yes it does.

Check this Discovery Video
  

In all likelihood your water heater won't blow up, in fact since the heater is directly connected to the piping system of your house, it is much more likely that increases in pressure would cause a rupture in the piping somewhere else.

That is, IF, your P&T Valve (pressure and temperature relief valve) didn't work properly.     The P&T is a VERY important piece of safety equipment.    Just think is a hot water pipe underneath your house ruptured, what would be the cost to find and fix it?    You wouldn't even know about it until you got a $600 water bill and $600 electric bill.  

Tax Information from the State of Hawaii

The combination of new technology, and State and Federal tax credits has made the Photovoltaic Energy a confusing field for some people.    Some are confused even when there is no reason to be confused.   

We always recommend that customers and potential customers review their exact situation with their tax preparer for a few reasons:

1) The money involved is substantial
2) Your income and your tax situation in this year and upcoming near term years, for both Federal and State, could influence your deicsion making process in accordance with advice of your tax preparer.
3) Ultimately, the tax preparer may have to defend your tax return, so they do have the responsibility for due diligence. 

The State of Hawaii occasionally puts out some Tax Information Releases, the colored link below takes you to a PDF of Tax Release No 2007-02 from September 17, 2007.    I call this one the "12 page clarification".

TIR 2007-02

Below is an excerpt from this TIR, on page 3, that then goes on to define a "system".  

Further down, is some information on what justifies making a "system".  If you make lots of little systems JUST to capture tax credits, you could find some of your credits disallowed.   

Click on the image below for a larger view.

  In the link just below, is a clarifying Tax Information Release TIR 2010-03 to further define what is meant by a system.    


http://www.state.hi.us/tax/tir/tir10-03.pdf

And then in the final paragraph Mr. Kawaguchi summarizes LEGITIMATE design reasons for making multiple systems.    Maybe you want a future electric car, maybe you suspect that your inlaws are going to move in, maybe you can't afford all the panels now--but you want the main infrastructure in place to support the future panels, maybe you want to keep the I(Squared)R wattage losses to a minimum maximizing the overall inverter efficiency.    Review with your tax person.

If you have insomnia, you can read all the TIRs right here!   LOL

http://www.state.hi.us/tax/a3_1tir.htm#tir2009

And right nearby are what they call DOTAX annoucements, not sure what the difference is.    

http://www.state.hi.us/tax/a3_2announce.htm

One thing is clear though, we all need to spend more time producing products that are really needed by our society, and less time messing around with endless clarifications, misinterpretations, specialtiy interest group disinformation campaigns, and all that silliness that doesn't increase our standard of living by hard work and reward of efficient allocation of resources.  


Now that solar is "going mainstream" it seems like every old school control group of the past is trying to dip their fingers into the pot and extract benefit for themselves, AT THE DETRIMENT of those who really need the solar, the working citizens of Hawaii.







 
 

Certified Energy Manager Certificate - Just Renewed

American Savings Bank - Financing Option

American Savings Bank - Financing Option

Another Happy customer sent us HECO bill

HECO Bill from PV Customer

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