Tag Archives: residential
A Smarter Way To Install Solar
A few months ago, I wrote about this former Army Colonel by the name of Dan Nolan who helped lead a team that was responsible for improving the energy efficiency at US Army bases in Iraq: “We sprayed commercially available foam insulation on the outside of the tents, creating an air barrier capability to that structure, which [...]
Dow Solar Shingles Hit The Market
After encouraging trials with roofing contractors in Texas, California and Colarado, Dow Chemical’s building integrated solar PV is hitting the market. Dow’s Powerhouse Shingle integrates thin-film CIGS photovoltaic cells right into standard asphalt shingles. Roofing contractors install the shingles with no specialized skills or knowledge of solar installation required. The product design is said to reduce installation costs because conventional [...]
RE-volv: Crowdfunding Community Solar Installations
Andreas Karelas founded RE-volv in 2011. He started the organization, he says, “out of a sense of frustration felt by many of us working for clean energy. The change isn’t happening fast enough and if it’s going to happen now, we’ll have to do it ourselves. There’s a huge opportunity here to mobilize people who [...]
Weekend Infographic: People Who Go Solar
Think that every homeowner who installs a solar system is an affluent liberal? It would surprise some people to discover that most solar customers are politically moderate folks who wouldn’t have installed a system if it wasn’t for the financial benefit of solar energy. A good number of solar customers are technology lovers and budget-conscious [...]
Solar Panel Recalls or Repairs? Look to Centex
Recalls can be messy – but they are made worse when the company performing the repairs insists upon a release of all possible claims before starting work. But just such a mess is what some homeowners have found themselves facing as they try to find a fix for their Centex “solar homes” that are no [...]
The Future of Solar Roofs
There are two remarkable things about the 25-kilowatt solar system just completed by Frederic Roofing. The first is how unremarkable the 84-year-old roofing company’s first solar installation was and the second is where the company will build its second system. “Probably the hardest part of the job was getting everything up on the roof,” VP [...]
In Focus: Los Angeles Solar Rebates and Tax Credits
Solar power in Los Angeles makes perfect sense: on average, the city is blessed with over 3,000 hours of sunshine every year. LA also offers solar rebates and other incentives to help encourage homeowners and businesses to invest in solar panels. The program is a little complicated, and LA rolled out revised solar rebates last [...]
Solar for the 75%
By definition, most of us are in the 99%. Some of us may even be in that mythical 47%. But there’s another group that many of us are in, without even being aware of it: the 75%. That’s the estimated number of people who can’t get solar on their roof. While leases are helping far [...]
Growth in Low Income Housing Solar
Solar neighborhoods are gaining ground in lower income housing projects, here are some recent examples. Since Hurricane Katrina, government agencies have joined to foster new sustainable housing developments powered by renewable energy. One of those is in Louisiana, now home to the biggest solar neighborhood in the southeast. The new mixed-income River Garden Apartments replaces the St. Thomas Housing Project, which was known as a high-crime [...]