Saturday, January 23, 2010

Solar panel self-installation heating up

What seems to be gaining momentum across the USA is self-installation of solar panels in homes.

Home improvement stores, such as Lowe’s and Home Depot, are attempting to capitalize on an increasingly trendy form of alternative energy because the costs of solar panels are falling.


The price of solar panels fell between 20 percent to 30 percent last year, but demand is expected to pick up in 2010 because the worldwide market is expected to surge. The prices of equity share of solar-centric manufacturing firms and suppliers reflected that same glut in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Solar is becoming increasingly popular. The Solar Energy Industries Association estimates up to 250,000 U.S. homes generate some solar energy. And, U.S. solar electric capacity grew by 63 percent in 2008, triple the growth in 2005, according to the Interstate Renewable Energy Council.

Several suppliers that have equipment in hardware stores are Akeena Solar Inc., Sunforce, Sunlinq, Sharp and Duracell.

Costs range from about $1,200, for the Sunforce 200 watt CIGS panel, to $130, for the Sunling’s 6.5 watt folding solar panel.

Once you make the decision to install panels, there is myriad amount of paperwork, including permits and certifications that are needed. If there is any doubt, it’s wise to seek an installation company. The North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners, has a voluntary national certification program, and can help locate installers near where you live.

You can also go to Service Magic enter your zip code and provide some basic information about type of installation you are looking for, i.e., roof or ground mounted, grid tie-in, direction it will face.

Costs of the panels usually do not include what’s needed for installation including parts. So expect installation costs to amount to about a third of the total bill.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Turning green (devices) into gold @ CES

Most of the gadgets, gear and technology that grabbed attention at last week’s 2010 International Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas, the world's largest consumer technology tradeshow, focused on 3D TVs, smart mobile devices, wireless applications in autos and e-readers.

Green technologies had there biggest presence ever, but were still dwarfed by the ubiquitous consumer electronics. I was on the lookout for low-cost devices and applications that most of us could afford, and which would provide a cost or energy savings payback quickly.

Although there's already an established market for green-minded consumers, we aren’t willing to pay a premium for super energy-efficient electronics just yet. High energy prices will make energy-efficiency tools more appealing to a much broader audience. That needs to happen first before the people will start to make green-minded choices when buying everyday products.

There were several products that got my attention:

YoGen handheld charger. This handheld emergency charger makes electricity generation easy because users simply pull on the string to generate a 5-watt charge. The YoGen generates the same charge as a plug-in charger, so one minute of pulling generates the same amount of power as one minute using a wall charger. Check out the charger at the YoGen online store.

NAVTEQ's Green Streets. This digital map data provider enable drivers to save fuel and cut carbon emissions by choosing better routes, optimize cruise control, and make other efficient adjustments that economize fuel and carbon emissions. NAVTEQ is the leading provider of digital map data, navigation software and devices.

Sony’s Vaio W Series laptop. This “Eco Edition” mini laptop comes in a green-tinted plastic enclosure made from 23% recycled CDs and a carrying case made from recycled plastic bottles. The device is energy efficient too, with an Energy Star 5.0 rating and EPEAT certification. Sony’s latest offering also has a high-definition, 10.1-inch LED screen, 250 gigabytes of hard drive storage, and up to seven hours of battery life.

And a green product that was at the show, but was unveiled in November:

The Electronic Housekeeper. The “dashboard” by Denmark-based Electronic Housekeeper, is a wall-mountable console that interacts wirelessly with your appliances and devices at home. It monitors heating and air conditioning, and electric and water meters. What sets it apart from so many other dashboards hitting the market is that it is one of the first to give consumers monitoring of all utilities, including water.

Right now, other than Energy Star appliances, electronic devices don’t have labels to help consumers make decisions based on energy consumption. That needs to change. That will prompt people to buy based on cost and energy savings.

Brand-name manufacturers are innovating more around energy and environmental sustainability, driven both by economic interests and regulations. That, too, will drive down prices as well.

Like with everything technology-based, wait long enough and capacity will increase and costs will drop.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Want to go green this winter? Buy a digital thermostat

It’s January, and I have resolved to … lower my heating bills. Easier said than done, you say, like most New Year’s resolutions.

With that said, the HVACs we live and work in use the most energy either heating or cooling the building, or lighting the rooms and powering the appliances and equipment in them. Normally, a third of the energy consumed in a building is used to heat or cool it.

Heating/cooling are controlled by thermostats, and most US homes have manual ones that are inefficient because they have to be manually adjusted. Newer digital thermostats use thermistors (thermal resistors) to detect changes in temperature. The thermistor changes resistance as its temperature changes, so by connecting it to some chips and other electronics, the digital thermostat can easily detect the room temperature.

You can save energy with a programmable thermostat from the first day its properly installed because you can tell it when to automatically make adjustments based on time and temperature.

Need help selecting a thermostat? Check out http://www.prothermostats.com/ and look under the resource library and the thermostat-buying guide for homeowners. The site contains great information to help you decide what to look for based on your home heating system, what kind of electrical wiring system you have and what features you might want in programmability.

The site carries information on multiple brands including Honeywell, White-Rodgers, LuxPro, Robertshaw, and Braeburn. It also has information on installation, wiring and disposal of hazardous mercury thermostats. How much do thermostats cost? They run from about $29 all the way to about $150, but you can buy a good mid-range device for about $50-$80. You can recoup these costs in a couple of months of lower bills.

Lastly, for those of you who haven’t read my first blog post, the purpose of myBTU.com and my website, which is under development, is:
• I’ll support and discuss what new and working with green technology
• I’ll post and point to information that will hold the fossil-fuel industry accountable for its pollution
• I’ll point out individual steps and products you can use, buy, investigate and invest in to conserve energy at home and at work. This will include product reviews and suggestions.
• I’ll push the use of valid alternative and renewable energy, including solar, wind, biomass, geothermal and nuclear power
• I’ll keep an eye on energy policy – worldwide, nationwide and state by state -- because without informed and enlightened governmental road map, we are doomed.

With those goals in mind, pay attention to the 2010 International Consumer Electronic Show, the world's largest consumer technology trade show, with more 2,700 exhibitors, in Las Vegas this week. The Consumer Electronics Association represents thousands of companies involved in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and integration of consumer electronics products The must-see list for this year includes ebook readers, digital cameras, digital TVs, GPS devices and sound systems, and automotive smart systems, for communication and mapping.

CES has always had green technology area and, this year’s focus will be on smart appliances, many types of power-management devices and tools for managing home and industrial power consumption.

I’ll talk next week about some of the cool energy-efficiency devices unveiled at CES.