Archive for News
Dow picks new Solar Shingle Home
Posted by: | CommentsDow Chemical picked Midland, Michigan to be their home base for their new solar shingles. The new factory will give the local area more than 1500 new jobs. Great news for a state that has been hit hard by the auto industry’s collapse.
This is another example on how converting our national grid and technology helps improve not just the environment but the economy and people quality of life.
Dow Chemical new solar shingles ( read our solar shingles article for more info) is a leap forward from previous solar shingles. They can be easily integrated with standard asphalt shingles bringing the down the cost of adding solar shingles greatly.
Dow Chemicals new shingles should start rolling out mid 2010 and have a full release by 2011.
Great news for Michigan and great news for the environment.
Solar Shingles
Posted by: | CommentsSolar Shingles are really gaining popularity lately and I predict they eventually replace traditional solar panels for roof systems at homes and small industrial buildings. Solar shingles are small solar panels that look like shingles and fit on top of you traditional shingles on your roof.
The solar shingles are then wired together and attached to your home energy unit. This can be done by either an electrician or trained roofer who has been qualified to install these fantastic solar cells. The panels by themselves do not produce much electricity but when strung together they can create enough energy to power a home.
If you are interested in purchasing solar shingles for your home then you are in luck because the government is offering upto 2000 dollars toward your solar shingles through tax credits and rebates, making it a bit more affordable. Though have a good system installed can truly be worth the price. Having electric bills for around 2.00 a month will give you a good incentive to purchase a solar shingle roof system. Though not everyone will achieve those low rates some might even be paying negative amounts since you can sell excess electricity back to the energy company in 38 states.
How affective and how much you can save from a solar shingle system of course depends on where in the country you live. Being in the sunny west cost or south you of course are going to generate more electricity then if you are up in the north . You still should consider installing solar shingles in the north because the electrical rates are so much higher in northern states. You should get at least 3 quotes from qualified contractors if you are thinking about install solar shingles.
The future of solar shingles appears to be getting better also as Dow Chemical recently unveiled a new style of solar shingles. Their solar shingles are actual shingles that can be nailed to your roof like traditional shingles. The Dow Chemical shingles contain photovoltaic cells that are embedded into the shingles. This allows for your roof to be installed by any roofing contractor without the need for a electrician or specially trained roofing company to install the shingles. Though, an electrician will still be needed to connect the system to your electrical system. These shingles should cost about 40 percent less than standard solar shingles.
Solar is getting more and more affordable and more and more attractive. Solar shingles should be the new trend in the solar race .
2010 a Turning Point for Solar Power and Clean Energy ?
Posted by: | CommentsWith the new year and a new decade here companies and governments are poised to really explore solar power and clean energy as an alternative to fossil fuels and as an investment opportunity of a lifetime.
For the first time we are seeing major retailers and manufactures really pushing solar and green products. With Lowe’s selling solar panels off the shelf, energizers new solar website, and much much more. Governments being international, federal , state or local are also seriously implementing solar energy into budgets and projects.
Solar and wind can create jobs, feed a growing consumer market for energy, cut our dependence on fossil fuels from foreign states in turn helping with national security. As the expense of producing energy through solar and wind declines we will see a great impact on energy prices. Falling energy prices will allow money to be diverted to other aspects of our economy and improve everyone’s standard of living. The more green energy we use of course the better for the environment as long as we take steps to healthy expand our sources of solar and wind energy production.
The military has also announced plans to produce more energy via solar power and have a self sustaining green energy on their bases. Again, this will help with national security, help decrease military spending on energy and improve the environment.
We realize though that these changes will not happen over night nor will 2010 and this decade be enough time to totally cut off all our ties to fossil fuels as an energy source. The time though has come to really dive deep into the world of alternative fuels and green energy. It is to late to turn back, time seems to have run out to have it any other way. We either have to find a new source of energy for the future or we fall back to the days before the electric grid.
Lowe’s Starts selling DIY Solar Panels
Posted by: | Comments
For everyone who wants to install solar panels at their home or office diy style . Lowe’s is the first major retailer who will begin offering DIY Solar panels from Andalay AC.
Lowe’s has already begun offering these panels in 21 stores in California and many more to come. The purchaser though will be responsible for all permits and handling state and federal refund papers.
The Andalay AC panels have integrated racking, wiring and grounding, which Akeena solar says reduces the overall parts count by 80%. Andalay panels also have built-in inverters that produce household AC power, so they can be plugged directly into a home’s circut breaker. They can be easily modulated so home owners can start small and add more and more panels as they grow. Each panel will cost around 899 dollars and produce 175 watts of electricity. a typical home would require though about 20 panels. So it would cost about 20000 dollars to have your home optimized with solar energy. For those with high electrical bills maybe not a bad trade off. For those doing it to help the environment and stop our dependence on fossil fuels it is well worth it.
Plans to go nationwide with these panels through Lowe’s is underway. This will offer many electricians and HVAC contractors additional potential income stream.
This is I think will be one of the biggest leaps for solar power and clean energy for the year 2010. It is a major step in bringing solar and alternative energy into every home. As solar energy and panels become a bigger and bigger business competition should heat up and bring the cost of production and equipment way down along with the efficiency of the equipment.
In order for solar energy and green energy to become a bigger resource for our electrical needs it will have to grow to become a major economic earner.
The future sure does look greener.
Hawaii new law : Solar Powered Water Heaters
Posted by: | CommentsHawaii has taken a giant stride in the solar power and clean energy race, by mandating solar water heaters starting this year.
The new law in Hawaii states that all new homes built in Hawaii must have solar water heaters. Hawaii becomes the first state to pass such a law. With Hawaii having the highest energy cost in the United States solar water heaters will bring a big benefit in reducing energy consumption upto 60 off electrical costs.
This is a big step in reducing energy and improving green clean energy.
Hopefully more states will be open to such laws in the future. Allowing us to both help the environment and reduce our dependence on fossil fuel.
The Debate on Solar Farms
Posted by: | CommentsWhen first mentioned there sounds nothing more green and healthier for the environment than a solar farm. It is a renewable source of energy and the greenest form of commercial energy. Solar Energy has become the leading alternative to costly and eco disasters of fossil fuels. The true nature and cost of large arrays of solar farms on the environment has yet to be decided. Now that it has become profitable for companies to venture into this modern day oil rush some people are thinking twice.
Everyone pretty much agrees that we do need cleaner and renewable sources of energy. The cost of the modern day industrial age has taken a great toll on the planet. The natural resources that have fed the technological age are dwindling while the planet heats up from its pollution. Solar energy is a must if we want to save our planet from the devastating factors causing high pollution and the sociological disaster that would happen if we were ever to run out of source of fuels. Solar energy is abundant and as long as the sun shines we will have an endless supply of it. It is clean and no waste comes from it. So the question is what is the problem?
The debate over solar farms is not that it produces clean reusable energy but what the exact impact these giant farms will have in the immediate surrounding environment. The most logical choices so far for energy or wanna be energy companies have been the western deserts of California, New Mexico, Nevada, etc. Though they appear to be a barren landscape, life teems within. A whole ecosystem strives here that cannot be simply destroyed over solar panels. Doing so would push back decades of conservation efforts already made against standard logging, development and energy exploration and mining. The fact that no giant solar farms have ever been built before is also a huge concern.
The question to be answered is how big a solar farm has to be to produce enough energy to be profitable and suit the needs of consumers. How big can they be without totally destroying the surrounding environment and changing the landscape of a community? They answers will be hard; the problems lay also among residences that have the notion of Not in My Backyard. People will have to make sacrifices; environments will have to be destroyed for the greater good. Can we really stall progress forever? Will everyone be pleased by outcome? No and we should not expect it to be otherwise. At the same time we cannot ignore the impact that large solar farms will have on our environment, we cannot solve one problem by creating another. We must learn to conserve our land and develop it properly for green energy. In the next few decades the need will be greater, the debates and opposition stronger and yet science must continue. If not now when?