meet the air breeze land

Are you looking to "just get started" with wind power without having to invest tens of thousands of dollars? Well the air breeze land maybe the perfect product for you, with it's low price point $699, the 200 watt small scale wind turbine has a built in charge regulator to protect your battery bank from being overcharged. You would also need to buy a tower to mount the Air Breeze and an inverter to turn the DC power generated from the Air Breeze Land into AC power used by most our electrical devices. For a couple thousand dollars you can get a nice small battery based system to provide backup power for emergencies.

Many people use the Air Breeze as an educational project since its a inexpensive way to learn more about wind power technology. I think this would make a great learning unit at grade schools across to U.S. to expose more children to the science behind renewable energy, what do you think about the Air Breeze by Southwest Windpower?

obama understands lighting efficiency

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

"I know light bulbs may not seem sexy, but this simple action holds enormous promise because 7 percent of all the energy consumed in America is used to light our homes and businesses" - President Obama

Standing next to Steven Chu, Energy Secretary Obama stressed the importance of energy efficiency today. New energy efficiency standards the President announced will result in 4 billion dollars in savings annually between 2012 and 2042.

To make this happen Obama has accelerated the disbursements of the 346 million dollars in economic stimulus money set aside for energy efficiency for commercial buildings. This is great news for LED light bulbs since the technology will greatly benefit from the White House's support.

I think with new lighting standards, LED light bulbs will become more affordable through economies of scale. It's always more cost effective to produce and then produce clean energy, this is a great investment in our future since we are a society of energy wasters, wouldn't you agree?

solar panels manufactured by bpsolar catches fire

I've heard a few cases about bpsolar panels catching on fire on rooftops, today we add another story to the book. Recently, a bpsolar panel caught on fire in Germany on top of a warehouse. The faulty equipment was provided by BPSolar about 5 years ago and the owner of the building says the fire started in the middle of the solar panel array and spread to the wooden beams of the building according to the UK TimesOnline.

BPSolar and independent third parties have launched investigations behind the cause of the fire. A few years back, BPSolar made changes to their solar panels by replacing the junction box since it was overheating.

I wanted to let you know about case about the bpsolar panel catching on fire not make you think that solar panels are unsafe but to point out some brands of solar panels have a better track record than others. In my opinion, studying the history of bpsolar panels they are not the best manufacturer in the market compared to others that have a sucessful track record to performance and saftey. What do you think about BPSolar panels?

making sure your solar power system is running right

Many times dirt on your solar panels or shading can reduce the power output of your solar electric system, not achieving your maximum potential could result in many lost kWh (kilowatt-hours) every year. IBC Solar has developed the "SolControl" which is a device that compares your solar electric system's power harvest to current weather data.

The SolControl basic has built in sensors which collects the weather data and then determines how much power your solar electric system should be producing under the given weather conditions. If the solar electric system is not achieving the maximum power yield then the system owner is remotely notified, who can check and fix the problem.

The SolControl can be used with any inverter and is offered in three different models which accommodate different sized solar panel arrays. This is a great tool for solar electric system owners who want to make sure hey squeeze every drop out of their solar panels. What do you think about the SolControl?

sunway's sleek frameless solar panel

Sunways is a solar panel manufacturer we don't hear much of over here in the U.S. although the company is a well known supplier of solar panels across the pond in Europe. What caught my eye is their SM215L model, which is a sleek black frameless monocrystalline solar panel that closely resembles the sought after frameless FirstSolar thin film solar panel. The increased aesthetic appeal of Sunway's SM215L allows the solar panel to be used in the most challenging architectural applications.

The company gives the solar panel a "OutputPlus+" rating which claims that the actual electrical output in real world conditions is higher then what is rated by the manufacturer. I think sleek black solar panels are great for residential applications, many times aesthetics is a huge decision making factor when people are buying solar panels for their homes. Typically on commercial buildings with flat roofs, aesthetics is less of a concern. What do you think about frameless solar panels?

LEDs vs. Incandescents, round one.

We were at the ecotuesday event in Santa Monica this week and people mentioned their curiosity about LED lighting. One member at the event even said he replaced a bulb in his home with an LED light bulb and said he loves it but also mentioned it "costs too much." Is that really true? Do LED bulbs really cost more than Incandescents, well let's find out. Below is a table we put together that shows a head to head comparison between a LED and Incandescent bulbs.

	LED	Incandescent
Lifespan	50,000 hours	1,200 Hours
watts used	7	60
kWh consumed per year	20	175
costs per kWh	$0.10	$0.10
total annual operating costs	$2.00	$17.50
cost for bulb	$49.99	$1.50
replacement costs over 10 years	$0.00	$36.50
total investment over 10 years	$69.99	$213.00

Comparing the LED with an Incandescent bulb over a 10 year period, it's quite easy to see that LED bulbs are the more cost effecitve method to go with. Would you agree with our calculations? Do you think LED bulbs a good investment for the future?

Mitsubishi Solar develops organic solar panels

Mitsubishi Solar partnered up with a couple agencies to develop a highly integrated organic photovoltaic solar panels that can be implemented into windows, walls, cloths, textiles, outdoor equipment and even toys. Typically traditional silicon based solar panels are difficult to implement in areas that need flexibility since silicon solar panels and are rigid and somewhat fragile.

Traditionally organic solar cells are associated with low efficiencies although Mitsubishi Solar and their development partners claim they have solved the efficiency issues with organic solar panels by developing a unique manufacturing process that uses lasers to make the solar panel. The process creates a highly integrated organic solar panel that increases efficiency significantly.

What do you think about organic solar panels?

Sanyo vs. SunPower, who's better?

I talk to a lot of people about solar panels and I've noticed there is a common misconception about "the king of solar panels". Obviously when comparing solar panels, some solar panels are more efficient then others, this is where the comparison comes into play, which solar panel generates the most watts per square foot? Many people claim that SunPower is the most highly efficient solar panel on the market, but I would tend to disagree because I've seen head to head comparisons in which Sanyo solar panels outperform SunPower.

One reason Sanyo's generate more kWh (kilowatt-hours) on an annual basis than competitor solar panels is because they are a hybrid solar panel, they are composed of amorphous silicon and polycrystalline which gives them a higher temperature coefficient.

The hotter the ambient temperatures become the less efficient solar panels become, although since Sanyo solar panels have a higher temperature coefficient, when temperatures are 70 degrees and higher they will produce 10% more energy than other solar panels on the market. SunWize conducted a great study comparing a Sanyo 215 watt solar panel to a SunPower 225 watt solar panel, even though the Sanyo is outnumbered by 10 watts by the SunPower, it still generates more energy. What do you think?

california's title 24 is now solar panel friendly

Title 24 is a California building code that sets standards for energy efficiency for new building construction. The standards were founded in 1978 in effort to reduce California's heavy energy consumption. The Title 24 code is updated often to ensure it's up to date with the newest energy efficiency technologies. Today a Title 24 provision was made in favor of solar panels. If your building is not passing title 24 code in some areas, solar panels can now be used to offset areas that do not meet title 24 code requirements.

This new provision is a big plus for solar power, because there are many new construction projects that are stuck in the process because they don't meet energy efficiency code requirements. Solar panels can add weight to ensure buildings pass, this will increase the demand for solar panels in California. Wouldn't you agree?

solar power as an investment

Edward Simburger, an electrical engineer and owner of a grid tie solar electric system on his home published a research paper called, “Residential Photovoltaics; An Investment Vehicle for Retiree’s II” which answers the question if solar power should be part of everyone's investment portfolio.

In his paper, Edward compares an investment in a solar electric system to financial indexes and concludes that in investment in photovoltaics provides a better return since it's low risk and has built in inflation protection.

Edward collected the data for the solar electric system from the system installed on his own home in California. As electric rates continue to increase the rate of return on a solar electric system also increases. With rebates, tax credits and other incentives given by local, state and federal governments, today solar power is a much safer investment than the stock market, wouldn't you agree?

is Michigan reinventing itself?

Wayne State University's engineering technology department recently installed a vertical axis wind turbine called "The Franklin" manufactured by Franklin Wind Energy Group based in Michigan. A vertical axis wind turbine can generate power from low wind speeds from any direction, does not vibrate, and operates very quietly. The special vertical design of The Franklin allows wind turbines like this to be installed in urban settings.

The Franklin at Wayne State is connected to a battery bank and can generate enough power to supply the computer lab in the engineering technology department. The Franklin is installed on the rooftop and mounted on a tower that elevates the wind turbine 30 feet above the building. University researchers will evaluate the performance and work closely with Franklin Wind Energy Group to provide feedback to improve the wind turbine design, this installation on the campus officially kicks off renewable energy research & development at Wayne State.

The Franklin will be used as a learning tool and students will be encouraged to create innovative designs for wind energy systems by evaluating the performance of The Franklin. This story highlights a great trend taking place in Michigan, its great to hear when a University and a local manufacturer team up to reinvent Michigan into a "green energy technology" hub. What do you think about The Franklin vertical axis wind turbine?

a free guide to solar pv design and installation

I thought sharing the guide to solar photovoltaic design and installation manual published by the California Energy Commission (CEC) would be helpful to you to understand the details behind solar electric systems. The guide does a good job starting from the basics and even includes example single line diagrams of how a solar electric system would interface with a home.

Towards the end of the PDF file there is a nice table that helps you determine the optimal wire size needed to minimize voltage drop. I figured since many people call us that want to learn all the details about solar power, this would be a good starting point. What do you think about the free guide to photovoltaic design and installation by the CEC?

texas school gets a 1kW solar power system

Minshew Elementary School in Texas recently got a free 1 kW (kilowatt) solar electric system to offset a small percentage of the school's electric bill. TXU, a local utility donated the system to the school mainly for educational purposes. The grid tie inverter on the system includes web-monitoring capabilities through fat spaniel so teachers, students, parents can all monitor through the school's website how much electricity the 6 solar panel system is contributing to the grid in real time.

Teachers at the school are being trained on how to use the solar power system as a tool to educate students on the science behind photovoltaics. TXU plans to give away more solar electric systems to schools, under a program they call "Solar Academy", the utilities' push to help younger generations realize the importance of conservation and energy of the future. It's quite shocking that a utility would support this kind of initiative, wouldn't you think so?

Seattle buys into LED street lighting

Seattle announced that they would be switching to LED streetlights by investing 6 million dollar of federal stimulus money into replacing 40,000 HPS (high pressure sodium) streetlights to high effiencey LEDs. It's estimated that the transition to LED streetlights will take between 4 to 6 years.

The mayor of Seattle, understands that LED streetlights don't get as hot as HPS light bulbs. Heat is a key indicator of energy loss. LED streetlights not only save the city on energy costs but also last up to 10 years longer than standard HPS streetlights which reduces annual maintenance costs.

If more cities across the US invest in LED streetlights not only would it generate millions of negawatts (negative watts) but it would make LED lights more affordable since the manufacturing volume would increase. What do you think about LED Streetlights? Is your city considering replacing old HPS lamps to LED Streetlights?

on demand solar power

Sunpods is a company based in Northern California that is simplifying the solar panel installation process through "pre-fabrication". What different from solar power kits that typically come in multiple parts and as assembled at the project site, Sunpods are ready to power on delivery since they come assembled from the manufacturing plant. Once the Sunpod arrives at your location, all you need is a electrician to plug hook up the grid tie inverter to the grid.

The "plug n play" design of the Sunpods reduces the needs of site-preparation, engineering and installation. The simple installation process of the Sunpods reduces labor costs and time to commission projects from days to just hours. Sunpods are available in many configurations including ground mounted, roof mounted, battery based, grid tied or even systems made specifically to charge electric vehicles.

What do you think about the Sunpod? Will we see more pre-built solar power solutions in the future?

Honeywell wind power system for your home

When I was at the Go Green Expo in downtown Los Angeles earlier this year, one of the most interesting products I saw at the expo was the Earthtronics Honeywell Wind turbine. When I visited their booth, they had limited information about the product and just a picture of the unique looking wind turbine. Recently the company released more information about their product including a short video of how it works.



The radial design (that looks like a bicycle wheel) of the wind turbine can start generating electricity at 2mph! That opens up the market for small scale wind turbines to the majority of North America with lower average wind speeds.

The Honeywell wind turbine is a complete kit, it includes a "smart box", grid tie inverter, and an interconnection switch to connect the wind turbine to the electrical service panel. The wind power system has the ability to produce up to 2,000 kWh (kilowatt-hours) on an annual basis. The MSRP is $4,500, that's before the financial incentives given to you by the state and federal governments. This product is designed as a low upfront investment for homeowners, would you put up a small wind turbine to offset your electric bills?

ask this old house installs a solar attic fan

I've been talking to many people about solar attic fans and I've found a lot of customers being very skeptical about the real value a solar attic fan can really deliver. Many times customers end up asking roofers or other unqualified people if they should invest in a solar attic fan and many times since these people have very little experience and often say solar attic fans are worthless without any concrete understanding of the benefits.

It was not until a friend of mine Attila, an instructor at the East Los Angeles Skills Center stressed the importance of proper attic ventilation that I began realizing how important solar attic fans are in terms of energy efficiency. He highlighted many times our homes remain hotter because of the hot air trapped in the attic which can make your air conditioner run longer per day.

Attila has been in the heating & cooling business for over 30 years and understands well the mechanics of how to keep a home cool. We all understand solar panels are very reliable, since they have no moving parts they can last over 25 years. The fans on a solar attic fan are similar to what you would see on a traditional attic fan and sometimes even better if the solar attic fan has a brushless motor.

Since solar attic fans do not need a source of power, building permits are not required to install one, since you would not have to bring up a high voltage DC cable up to your roof top. I wonder why so many people are skeptical about the value of a solar attic fan? I think This Old House did a fantastic job educating viewers about solar attic fans, wouldn't you agree?

Sharp's seven shade LED light bulb

Can't decide between a Cool White or Warm White LED light Bulb? Sharp's unique LED light bulbs can be adjusted 7 shades so you can have the type of light that fits your mood without having to change the bulb. A remote control that lets you cycle through the different shades of light is included with the Sharp LED Light bulbs

A series of Sharp's LED Light bulbs can be connected to a single circuit and can be all adjusted with a single remote control. The great aspect about LED are they have an efficient lumen to watt ratio and feature an extremely long lifetime. The energy savings combined with savings gained from fewer replacement costs make the return on investment on LED bulbs very attractive for places with high electric rates.

Sharp's adjustable LED light bulb will be released in Japan next month, it's unknown today when the unique LED bulb will be released to other markets. What do you think about LED light bulbs that allow you to adjust to temperature of the bulb?

made in USA wind turbines in demand overseas

This week The SBA (Small Business Administration) honored Soutwest Windpower, the company that manufacturers the Air Breeze and Skystream 3.7 small scale wind turbines. The SBA named Southwest Windpower as the 2009 National Exporter of the Year. We can all agree that America's manufacturing base is being eroded by products made overseas. Although people from all over the world are demanding wind energy systems made in the USA by Southwest Windpower.

It's great to hear about a U.S. based manfacturer doing well exporing products to other countries around the world. I can tell you by first hand experience that many people around the world are buying the Air Breeze, in fact we have customers in France and Germany who have purchased and installed the Air Breeze and are using an American made product to generate clean energy.

I'm glad to hear that the SBA is recognizing businesses that are still exporting in this competitive global environment. What do you think about the award Southwest Windpower received?

solar panel installs on the raise as prices decrease

We've all been bombarded with news about doom and gloom in our economy. Although it seems like people now more than ever have a interest in installing solar panels. There has been a lot of buzz in the marketplace that solar panel installations are still increasing amongst homeowners.

I think the combination of the 30% federal tax credit, the dropping cost per watt for solar panels, and many more states across the U.S. providing incentives for solar panels is creating a new demand for solar panels even though some other parts of the economy are hurting.

The reason for the cost of solar panels being reduced is that there are many more manufacturing offering solar panels today, more than ever, that is creating downward pressure in the price of solar panels. Also due to the credit crisis, many very large solar panel farms projects are sidelined, therefore it caused an oversupply of solar panels in the market which is why we are experience record low prices for solar panels.

In times like these, its a buyers market for people looking to buy solar panels. What do you think?

AeroCam, redefining wind energy?

BroadStar Wind Systems is developing a unique wind turbine, called the AeroCam that's very different compared to typical horizontal axis wind turbines. Compared to traditional wind turbines the AeroCam has more surface area to produce harness the wind yet has a smaller footprint which allows the unique wind turbine to generate more power compared to traditional wind turbines according to the company. '

The compact design opens up opportunities for businesses and communities that typically would have never considering installing wind power, the AeroCam opens up a whole new market for wind turbines.



The company claims their unique design allows the AeroCam to produce more power at lower wind speeds with less noise, vibration and maintenance costs which means a lower cost of ownership and faster payback period. Do you think the BroadStar AeroCam is redefining wind energy?

new solar battery by Surrette

Surrette Battery, a company that has been manufacturing the Rolls deep cycle battery product line since 1935 has recently introduced a new addition to their family, the L-16 models are made specifically for solar and wind power systems. The s-600 model features high capacity, 450AH @ 20 hr and 600AH @ 100 hr which enables higher capacity battery banks with less connections.

More battery manufacturers are designing products that are catering to renewable energy systems. Lead acid batteries are far from being the ultimate energy storage solution, although currently is the most popular method for people with off-grid systems.

Ohio Highway Patrol turns to the sun

The Ohio Highway Patrol are equipping 1,200 enforcement vehicles with 5-watt solar panels that trickle charge the vehicles battery system. The problem the solar trickle chargers solves for the Ohio Highway Patrol is when the enforcement vehicle's engines are turned off, laptops and radios draw power from the battery which ends up deeply discharging and shortening the lifetime.

Solar trickle chargers are installed on the back deck of each vehicle and is directly wired to the battery to provide an extra charge that not only increases the battery life but helps the vehicles conserve fuel. This is a great example of how even small solar panels can solve real world problems. What do you think?

around the world with solar energy

Magellan was the first person who attempted to circumnavigate the Earth back in the 1500s. Back then ships were powered by the wind by using large sails to catch prevailing winds to propel the vessel forward. Magellan and other sailors of their era depended on renewable energy to help them achieve their goals.

PlanetSolar, is an organization that is planning to circumnavigate the Earth in 2010 using a ship powered entirely by the sun. The surface of the ship will be composed with solar cells basically turning it into a giant sunlight collecting power generator to propel the ship on it's voyage. The solar panels will power an electric engine that allow the ship to achieve speeds of up to 10 knots.

The plans are for two people to sail on a 120 day trip following the equator and stopping at various ports along the way to promote solar energy, how cool is that? I think this is a great project to help people realize the true power of solar panels and how they can be applied in many ways to energize our lives. What do you think about PlanetSolar's voyage?

top 10 solar friendly utilities of 2008

The Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) has an annual tradition of recognizing the most solar friendly utility companies in the USA. SPEA recently announced the the top 10 utilities based on how many grid tie solar electric systems (photovoltaics and concentrated solar power) were interconnected in calendar year 2008 . According to the report the following ten utilities are leading the nation in solar power:

#1 - Pacific Gas & Electric
#2 - Southern California Edison
#3 - San Diego Gas & Electric
#4 - Public Service Company of Colorado
#5 - Public Service Electric & Gas Company
#6 - Arizona Public Service Company
#7 - Hawaiian Electric Company
#8 - Portland General Electric
#9 - Sacramento Municipal Utility District
#10 - Long Island Power Authority

The top 10 represent 93% of the nation's total capacity of installed solar electric systems. Utilities in seven different states placed in the top 10, although Californian utilities had the largest representation with the most megawatts of capacity installed. Do you think more utilities across the nation will encourage solar power? Will new faces emerge on next year's coveted top 10 solar friendly utilities list? What do you think?

small wind turbines catching on

According to American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) the U.S. market for small scale wind turbines grew 78% in 2008. More than half of all small wind turbines installed worldwide are made by U.S. manufacturers, which is quite different than solar panels since they're typically made by foreign manufacturers.

The most interesting part of the report highlighted that the largest segment of the market was residential wind turbines from 1kW to 10kW in capacity. I suppose this is a sign that consumers these days are looking for products that help them become energy independent and reduce their environmental impact.

Obviously the tax credit for installing small wind turbines and economies of scale have made wind turbines a more attractive investment for homeowners. What do you think about small scale wind turbines, would you install one on your property?

S-5 VersaBracket attachment for face-fastened metal roofs

How would you mount solar panels on a face-fastened metal roof? The process is quite simple with the VersaBracket, a new metal roof attachment from S-5! A company that specializes in manufacturing attachment solutions that allow solar panels to be mounted onto unique metal roofs. S-5! developed the VersaBracket to handle a load of up to 1,283 pounds, a significant increase over previous models of the attachement.

Even though the VersaBracket is designed to provide a strong, versatile and low-cost bracket option, it's very easy to use solution. The VersaBracket comes with factory-applied sealant already in the base to waterproof its attachment, peel the release paper from the base and tighten fasteners through the pre-punched holes. The factory-applied sealant removes the chance of roof leaks, which is typically a major concern when installing solar panels onto a rooftop.

progress energy increasing solar rebates

Progress Energy, a utility company based out of Raleigh, North Carolina which serves over 3 million customers in the the Carolinas and Florida is aggressively encouraging it's customers to install solar panels through a solar rebate program. The program would offer $1.50 to $2 a watt per watt installed for residential customers.

For commercial customers Progress Energy promises to pay a premium per kWh (kilowatt-hour) contributed to the grid. Payments will be based on market prices although limited details have been disclosed by the company.

With more utility companies offering rebates, federal tax credits at an all time high and the cost per watt for solar panels dropping like a rock, it creates the perfect storm for a great investment in a solar electric system this year. Would you agree?

who is centrosolar?

Germany is a world leader in photovoltaic installations but we here in the US primarily purchase solar panels from Chinese and Japanese solar panel manufacturers. CentroSolar, a German company is in the process of releasing their "D-Series' solar panel into the US market, which is ironically made in China that is supposed to be a low price / best value solar panel in the market.

The company also manufacturers solar panels in Germany with a high grade of silicon but the cost per watt is more expensive than the "D-Series" which are made in China to compete on price.

I've noticed many German and U.S. based solar panel manufacturing companies are manufacturing solar panels in China and then importing them into the U.S. What do you think about companies using China as a manufacturing base to sell low cost solar panels to the international marketplace? I think we will see more CentroSolar solar panels in the U.S. since they have a very good reputation in Germany if the company can build up their brand name here in the U.S. Check out the spec sheet for the CentroSolar D-Series solar panels.

the most efficient solar power system ever

There are two types of solar energy systems, solar photovoltaic which turns sunlight into electricity and solar thermal which harnesses the warmth of the sun to provide heating. If you want both typically you'd have to install two separate systems. Although PVTSolar, an innovative company offers a solar energy system that not only produces electricity but can provide heating all in one system!

They took a smart approach in turning a problem into an efficiency by controlling the heat that typically reduces performance on solar photovoltaic panels into an asset for water and space heating. By taking the heat that typically harms photovoltaic production and putting it to good use, PVTSolar claims they have the most efficient solar energy system in the world.



According to the company, the PVTSolar power system will not only look good but it will cost 25% more than a regular photovoltaic system but since it can provide both your electric and heating needs the system will save you more money in the long run. What do you think of PVTSolar revolutionary echo solar energy system that can knock out more of your energy needs?