GreenGeezer

Installing Solar Panels -- All in a Day's Work

My friend Lisa shared this picture of her helping install solar panels on  one of the thousands of buildings that her employer, Solar Service, Inc., has installed in the Chicago area over the last thirty years.

This is not her regular job at Solar Service  -- normally she is a salesperson who is very knowledgable about solar energy and speaks regularly about solar energy to community groups.  Naturally she would be great, since she was taught by one of the best in the business -- Brandon Leavitt, the owner of Solar Service.

But this particular day she got up close and personal to help install panels on this rather intimidatingly high roof. (Lisa left a staid marketing job for a field she feels passionate about -- renewable energy.  We congratulate her!)  Below is another home with panels installed by Solar Service -- these particular ones are solar thermal panels to heat water and provide suplemental heat.

Living Designs Group's Green Condo Development in Taos, NM

Living Designs Group suggests once again that people who live in New Mexico just know how to design things more beautifully.  Of course, the weather helps. This condo development, Suenos de la Loma, is located in the historic district of Taos, New Mexico and its units are carefully sited to receive maximum solar gain and daylighting. The use of historic adobe walls helps the structures blend with the historic architecture of the area.   Adobe is also very effective as a passive solar design element, as it absorbs heat through the day, in effect sheltering interior spaces from the heat of the sun, and slowly gives off heat during the cold desert night.  This condo development is within walking distance of Taos Plaza.

Going Solar in a Condo

My friend and editor on CleanTechnica, Sarah Lozanova, shares her story on how she and her husband installed solar panels on the roof of their condo building in Chicago, in the June issue of Solar Today:

"Compared to houses, condominiums typically offer more energyefficient, eco-friendly living. Centralized water heating in our building reduces the standby losses experienced with numerous water heaters used less frequently. Shared walls lessen the heating load of
the building. Exterior lights benefit all inhabitants, reducing individual electricity consumption. And the smaller footprint of high-density buildings frees up open spaces for all to enjoy.

Despite these benefits, condo owners can find it difficult to implement narrowly supported green efforts, like a compost pile or rain barrels in the yard. I expected a solar system would be one of those cases. To my surprise, however, the other owners in the building welcomed our plans."  -- Sarah Lozanova, Solar Today

We get a lot of questions at the Illinois Solar Energy Association on how to persuade condo associations to go solar.    Sarah's article has a lot of helpful information and inspiration.  Hint: ask for solar panels for your wedding present.

Image Credit: Solar Today

Get Solar Makes Finding a Solar Contractor Easier

Get Solar is a new website providing great information on solar energy, the different types of solar energy, and  how to locate a solar contractor in your area.  It also provides a lot of good information on the benefits of solar on its Why Solar? page.  I appreciate its coverage of green building information, including how the Prefab industry is embracing green technology.  Good to see quality information sources springing up to help people find their way in the solar energy consumer marketplace.

New Technology Offers Small-Scale Solar-Powered Air Conditioning

TreeHugger features an article about a small-scale solar powered air conditioner -- one of the long-awaited technologies in the solar arena.   The fact that the hottest days are usually the sunniest days has not escaped the folks at Rotartica,  a Spanish company.   The units are powered by evacuated tube solar collectors.

Chapel Hill Development Employs Cradle-to-Cradle Principles

There is a new development planned for Chapel Hill, NC that fulfills our passion for green building and our love of the college town. It is also gratifying to see the development arise in town, where it will rejuvenate an area that needs it.  (At least that's what I read between the lines of the copy on their website.)   Note to developers who want their projects to be approved by town planning boards:  the local community loves this development.  The company vision of Greenbridge Developments is an inspiration, but should be a requirement for anyone planning to build dwellings for human beings:

"Greenbridge Developments aims to develop a new kind of community in existing neighborhoods that promotes human and ecological health. A community that restores the air, water, and soil on which life depends, and contributes to the quality, diversity, vitality, and prosperity of its neighbors. An essential component to this will be to embrace new construction methods, innovative renewable building materials, and forward-thinking renewable energy strategies capable of restoring our relationship to the planet."

California's First Solar-Powered Apartment Community

Solara, California's first solar-powered apartment community, is affordable, energy-efficient, water-conserving, and solar-powered.  Not to mention beautiful.

Solar Powered Cabin in Colorado

We have been following with interest our friends in Colorado as they build their solar-powered log cabin.  Here is an update:

"Well... our solar powered log home is finally finished.  The electric company called Aquila (in Colorado) offered up to a 50% rebate depending on the direct angle to the south exposure.  They came out and inspected it to determine how much of a rebate that we qualified for. We fortunately qualified for the full 50% rebate.  We are on-grid though so we are able to sell back electricity to Aquila that we don't need to operate the house on a monthly basis.  We installed 18 solar panels, mainly because we couldn't afford any more than that even with the rebate.  FYI- $30,000 before the rebate.  (I will send you the two photos I have as soon as I download them from my camera)
Just for future info to those considering using solar panels:  If possible, plan ahead by angling your home to take advantage of the full rebate amount."

Solar Hot Water Ramping Up Production in California

Another wave of California envy set in when we read this article in Renewable Energy Access :

"California has launched solar thermal, the use of solar energy to heat water, into the next level with its passage of AB 1470.   Production will ramp up in the state due to the state's offering $250 million in tax rebates for consumers who install the technologies over the next ten years.    'The goal of the program is to install 200,000 hot water systems on businesses and homes throughout the state of California, see reductions in price and ....create a mainstream market for solar water heating technologies as well,' says Bernadette del Chiaro, Clean Energy Advocate, Environment California."

This schematic from local Chicago-area installer Solar Service, Inc. shows how it works. 

National Solar Tour Coming to Your Town?

This Saturday, check out local sites that may be part of the National Solar Tour.    Go to the American Solar Energy site and find out who in your area is opening their home to show you how their solar heating and electric systems work.  Surveys show that once people see how they work, they want one, too.