Solar Power Home Improvement – Prepare Your House First

Daniel Peplinski asked: Despite the fact that fuels used by many power companies are falling in price, along with most commodities in the current market, many communities are experiencing rising electric prices as fuel costs were negotiated during the peak fuel price period of this past summer. My local power company has recently asked for a major rate hike (greater than 25%), and was approved for a three-year rate hike plan with 10.2 percent of the rate hike to apply this year, a likely 10 percent rate hike the second year, and the balance applying in the third year. However, as a result of the current economic situation, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 was signed into law on October 3, 2008. Part of this Act contained provisions for extending the renewable energy tax credits, a tax credit of 30 percent of the cost of a solar energy system, up to $2,000 (the cap disappears for systems placed in service after January 1, 2009). With the tax credits extended, effectively reducing the cost of renewable energy systems, and the cost of energy expected to rise strongly, this is a very good time to invest in a solar power system for your house. Especially since many states allow residential power generators to “roll back” their power meters, effectively selling back to the electric company, often at a higher rate than the residential customer would pay for power obtained from the electric company, power that they generate but do not use on site. However, before you rush out to get a system, there are a few things to consider first: the suitability of your site for solar power production, solar panel system selection, power inverter selection, financing, warranties,… Let’s assume that you have determined that your site has enough sunlight available throughout the year to make a solar power system useful. Even with the tax credit, a solar power system is still a large investment. To reduce the cost of your system and to shorten the time that it takes to pay for itself in energy bill savings, consider some more traditional home improvements first. The largest use of energy in the home is climate control, especially in regions with hot summers, cold winters, or both. Any energy usage that can be eliminated before installing a solar power system can lead to a significantly smaller and less costly solar system, which returns its investment much more rapidly. Three areas that can help reduce power demand considerably are: sealing air gaps in the attic and along walls; adding insulation; and replacing old windows and/or doors with new, energy-saving units. Depending on the particulars of the house, any one of these may be the largest cause of high energy usage, so it’s difficult to determine which to start with, although since sealing air gaps requires physical access to the attic floor, this is usually best done prior to adding insulation. Many electric companies offer free or low-cost energy audits to help home owners determine their current power usage causes and potential corrective actions. Both insulation addition and window and door replacement are also eligible for a tax credit (if they are placed in service after January 1, 2009). For windows and doors, the tax credit is 10 percent of the cost of all Energy Star compliant windows and doors (excluding installation), up to $200. For insulation, the tax credit is 10% of the cost of insulation (must meet 2000 International Energy Conservation Code and excludes cost of installation), up to $500. However, a cap of $500 tax credit is imposed for those upgrading both insulation and windows and doors (the $500 cap does not apply to the solar power system). These are just the federal tax incentives, there may be state or local incentives, as well. Some of the new windows on the market can save a substantial amount of energy over previous designs, incorporating insulating frame materials, multiple glass panes, low-emissivity glass, spaces between the panes filled with an insulating gas instead of air, and spacers between the panes of glass to keep them from moving closer over time and reducing their insulating efficiency. A typical cost for a solar power system (including inverters, panels, support hardware and excluding batteries for those that use them, inspections, power meters required by the electric company, etc.) is $9 per watt. If your home improvements reduce your electricity usage from 400 kilowatt-hours per month to 300 kilowatt-hours per month, you can save up to $6,000 ($9 per watt, not kilowatt-hour) on the price of a solar power system to provide full power replacement for your home. Solar Power for homes Read more on Solar Power Home Improvement – Prepare Your House First… Energy Tags: hybrid cars , alternative energy

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Solar Power Home Improvement Prepare Your House First

Morocco’s new Solar Project to Generate 2000MWs

Morocco is a North African country with no oil reserves. But nature has endowed this country with another bounty i.e. over 3000 hours of sunshine per year. Now they are aiming to undertake an ambitious plan of producing 40% of their energy needs via solar energy. They will spend $9 billion to generate 2000MWs Posted in: Future Energy , Industry , Solar Power

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Moroccos new Solar Project to Generate 2000MWs

Why Solar Energy for Homes

When people talk about what they hope to witness in the coming years free energy is often mentioned. However, although free energy might at first glance appear to be a thing of the future it already is here. It can easily be achieved with solar energy. As many home owners are coming to find out, there are far too many benefits of solar energy. By harnessing the powers of the sun, solar energy units are able to effectively generate power. The use of solar energy power provides many important advantages. Some of these are Reasons for Solar energy home Significant energy savings: Once you have your solar energy system installed, you will find that you are paying much less for your power needs. This as a result of the self sufficient system which powers and run a home solar system unit. Because solar panels are powered by the rays of the sun, you will also not have to bother about the issue of fuel. Cleaner energy source: When it comes to the advantages of solar energy power, its zero pollution levels is one of its most lauded qualities. Unlike most other sources which are found to negatively affect the environment, solar energy sources produce zero emissions. People with these units therefore do not have to worry about suffering from dangerous levels of pollution to themselves or the atmosphere. Effective location: Because solar unit panels are powered by the rays of the sun, finding a suitable location for them is easily accomplished. You can for instance choose to have your solar panels on the roof of your home where they will easily be provided with sunlight. The installation of a solar energy unit is done in various ways. A professional, for example, can be hired to provide installation services for some home owners. Other people opt to handle the installation themselves with the use of detailed DIY guides that provide careful instructions. One of the many criticisms of the employment of solar energy for home use is its initial high starting cost, however statistics show that this is more than accounted for with the almost free charge that the owner enjoys thereafter. Solar energy is the future of home power and energy. The only question is whether you will evolve with it or not. Visit us for information to Reduce energy costs today. Read more on Why Solar Energy for Homes… Energy Tags: alternative , wind power

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Why Solar Energy for Homes

Solar Power LED Light

Kristiana Jones asked: The solar power LED light is the next big thing in the world of solar power. These LED lights are brighter, last longer, and can be charged directly from the sun’s rays. At this time they are best used as emergency or for backup lighting, but in the very near future they will be commonly seen as the main lighting component in many homes. The light emitting diode, or LED, light is commonly seen in headlights or flashlights. They are a clear bright white light that can be focused directly on one area. Since they run off of solar power they do not burn any fossil fuels and are therefore extremely environmentally friendly. Another benefit is that solar power LED light is extremely lightweight and can be transported to places that are off of the main power grid such as campsites and cabins. They are the ideal solution for these places that will not require a lot of lighting. The solar power LED light is also extremely affordable, unlike the costly solar panels that some people use to power their homes. Small solar power LED lights can be counted on for four hours of light per day. The length of time you can count on the solar lights depends on the size of the system and the batteries that you purchase. The smallest solar power LED light systems are truly portable and smaller than the average backpack. Solar power LED lights are also beginning to see widespread use as streetlights in many cities. The streetlight is a perfect application for this type of lighting because it is situated above anything that would block the suns rays and they can collect solar energy all day long, only to use it all night long. Also, if there is a cloudy day they can simply use the electrical current that runs beside them for power. When considering a solar power LED light you should take into consideration where you will put the solar collector as well as how many days of sunshine your region gets in a given year. In most places there is ample energy from the sun to power a solar LED light, but be sure to ask a solar energy dealer in your area before making a purchase. Solar Power for homes Read more on Solar Power LED Light… Energy Tags: alternative energy , hybrid cars

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Solar Power LED Light

Solar Power System Installation Day One

We took advantage of the Solar City lease option to secure a solar energy system for our home in California. (…)

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Solar Power System Installation Day One

Australia: Alternative Energy Grants

Geothermal Plant From geothermal power to better batteries, millions have been spent on alternative energy research grants in Australia, according to Rod Myer writing for The Age of Australia. The AUD $23 million (approximately $17 million) spent by the Australian Federal Government under the first tranche of its $100 million (US $73m) pledge to aid the alternative energy sector has highlighted innovations by local companies to cure Australia’s fossil fuel addiction. Two companies awarded grants under the Renewable Energy Development Initiative (REDI) have developed a no-emissions alternative for base-load generation. Geodynamics received $5 million grant to help develop its geothermal electricity plant near Innamincka in the north of South Australia. Scope Energy, another betting its future on geothermal energy, received $3.9 million grant to aid development. Its principal, Roger Massey-Greene, says the grant will help finance a drilling program of 500-metre deep holes to prove up its resource. Scope plans to open a 50-megawatt plant, but Mr Massey-Greene says he hopes to see this expand to 1000 MW in the longer term. Scope has a geographic advantage, he believes. Its site is near Millicent, in the south-east of South Australia, meaning it is close to transmission lines and the population centres of Melbourne and Adelaide. “We expect the cost to be very competitive with combined-cycle gas power plants,” Mr Massey-Greene said. Scope’s geothermal technology will tap hot water heated deep in the earth and run it through a heat exchanger to generate electricity. Mr Massey-Greene likens this process to a “fridge operating in reverse”. Geodynamics’ system will pump water through hot rocks and use the resulting steam to generate power. Scope’s wells will be as deep as 4.5 kilometres. The technology that Scope is planning has been in use at a plant in Italy that has operated for 101 years, Mr Massey-Greene said. Stage one of the plant is expected to cost $4 million per megawatt to construct, compared with about $750,000 for a combined-cycle gas plant. “But we have no fuel costs,” Mr Massey-Greene said. Geothermal plants run at an output of about 98 per cent of rated capacity. Mr Massey-Green believes geothermal power has a great future. In New Zealand it provides 7 per cent of power needs and this could rise to as much as 15 per cent. Some in the market believe that Scope will float in the first half of 2006. Melbourne-based Katrix will use its $811,000 Renewable Energy Development Initiative grant to further develop its new fluid expander that may enable solar energy to be harnessed for electricity. Founder Attilio Demichelli says the expander, which does the job of a turbine, will allow solar thermal energy to be adapted for small-scale use far more cheaply than photovoltaic systems. Katrix is developing units in which solar energy will heat refrigeration fluid that will run through an expander linked to a generator to produce power. The expander is cheaper than a miniature turbine to build and has a number of advantages, including its ability to take gas or steam at 22 atmospheres (twenty two times atmospheric pressure) back to one atmosphere in one step. Katrix projects that in the Californian market once government solar energy grants are factored in its system will return its cost to consumers in two to three years, compared with 15 years for photovoltaic systems. Mr Demichelli, a private investor, and inventor Yannis Tropalis have invested over $3 million in the technology in three years. Another REDI grant, of $290,000, has gone to V-Fuel , which is developing a vanadium bromide redox battery. The funding will help develop a prototype of a battery that its promoters hope will be efficient enough to use to store power from renewable energy plants. Efficient storage would enable technologies such as wind power and solar energy to get over a bugbear unpredictability, because no one knows when the sun will shine or the wind will blow. V-Fuel principal Michael Kazacos says the grant is crucial to the company, which has raised only $400,000 up to now. V-Fuel has developed a five-kilowatt battery but is aiming to produce a 50-kilowatt prototype. That, he says, will cost $1 million, and further funding is being sought from another federal grant scheme. “There is a lot of interest in Europe,” Mr Kazacos said. “We have had offers of collaboration from there.” The battery was 85 per cent efficient, he said, and “we are aiming at having a $200-per-kilowatt production cost”. The vanadium bromide process was developed at the University of NSW by Professor Maria Skyllas-Kazacos , who is a principal of V-Fuel. according to Origin – Sliver Cells are “long, ultra thin, quite flexible & perfectly bifacial” Origin Energy received a $5 million grant to aid development of its facilities for manufacturing solar energy cells using photovoltaic sliver technology . The technology aims to cut the cost of solar energy cells by reducing silicon usage by up to 90 per cent. Sliver cells are micromachined to less than 70 microns thick with solar cell efficiency running at over 19%. Silicon is the most expensive part of a solar energy cell. Origin Energy says it costs $11,000 to fit a house with a one-kilowatt unit. This would take 20 years or more to pay itself off. However, as energy prices rise and production costs fall, this payback time will be cut. Origin Energy also owns a 19% stake in Geodynamics and offers Green Earth electricity from 100% renewable sources to Australian electricity consumers. For more green energy in Australia see the government Green Power website . Geothermal Energy: Hot Dry Rock Article in The Age on Australian Alternative Energy Grants

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Australia: Alternative Energy Grants