Sacramento Solar Blog & Green Journal
Produce and store your own power, defy grid outages and blackouts or simply be independent from the utility power grid and conventional energy supply. With SMA off-grid systems technology you can set up a solar off-grid power supply with a few clicks of the mouse. Grid interactive and off grid solar both with battery backup provide cost-effective solution guaranteeing a stable power distribution grid at all times. [click to continue solar story…]
{ 0 comments }
For me, the Thanksgiving holiday started on Wednesday with a trip to our mountain cabin. I spent all day cleaning the off-grid cabin because although it was only my kids and husband and I that would be here for Thanksgiving, why do it in a dirty cabin? Our cabin is powered entirely by solar panels with a battery bank to store the energy so when I clean I also have to monitor our battery depth of discharge since it was a very foggy day in the Sierra Mts on Wednesday. In the middle of all that, I got some last-minute groceries, baked some rolls in our traditional wood burning stove and some pumpkin pie custards and generally exhausted myself. [click to continue solar story…]
{ 0 comments }
I recently turned 40. But I didn’t start feeling old until this weekend because that’s when I started yelling at the newspapers. On Saturday, the New York Times published a lurid, sneering, over-the-top piece on renewable energy
that was riddled with errors and really missed the forest for the trees. [click to continue solar story…]
{ 0 comments }
California based Newport Pacific Capital Company, Inc., and Modular Lifestyles, Inc. have just announced that they are offering a unique off-grid solar Park Model home for use in communities, events and organizations to promote Green living, solar and propane.
To be featured in an upcoming episode of the TV Production, “How It Is Made”, the off-grid and grid tied solar home was the featured attraction at a national convention held by KOA. Steven Lefler, Vice President of Modular Lifestyles, was the host of the home for Cavco Industries at the convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. It will also be a feature news item on local TV stations, to be seen by Las Vegas residents in November. [click to continue solar story…]
{ 0 comments }
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) released new national polling showing strong public support for solar water heating systems and the perception that solar water heating helps the economy and create jobs. The independent poll conducted by Gotham Research Group showed 74 percent of Americans agree that the solar water heating industry will produce jobs and help the U.S. economy. Positive perceptions of solar water heating systems exceeded negative perceptions by more than 10 to 1 (48 percent to 4 percent). More broadly, solar energy is considered the energy source most deserving of U.S. government support. [click to continue solar story…]
{ 0 comments }
Frequent utility blackouts are the ever-increasing evidence of our changing climate and raises the awareness for having emergency solar backup power in the home. Utilities are having a difficult time repairing what nature can dismantle in a matter of seconds.
Using the battery bank in an emergency solar power center is some of the best technology a homeowner can invest in today. A backup solar generator can keep you out of the dark when the grid goes down. Solar powered generators with battery backup do not rely on fossil fuel to keep electricity flowing to your critical home loads. A solar-powered generator in your home is the ultimate security in emergencies. [click to continue solar story…]
{ 0 comments }
A team from Japan won a world race from cars power by solar panels. These solar panel powered cars had to race through Australia’s outback after battling more than 1,800 miles of remote highways, dodging kangaroos and other wildlife and avoiding a bush-fire. These races are more than a sporting event. They are a great way to inspire new solar technology and kick-start higher solar technological development. The team from Tokai University finished the solar race from the northern city of Darwin to the southern city of Adelaide at about noon on Thursday. [click to continue solar story…]
{ 0 comments }
The Marine Corps is exploring expanding it’s use of flexible solar panels that fit in a Marine’s pack and recharge batteries, the service’s top combat developer said. The portable solar panels would be modeled after technology that 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, out of Camp Pendleton, deployed with last year to Sangin, Afghanistan, said Lt. Gen. Richard Mills, deputy commandant for combat development. Known as Solar Portable Alternative Communication Energy Systems, or SPACES, it was used by the unit to cut down on the number of batteries needed and to lighten an infantryman’s load. [click to continue solar story…]
{ 0 comments }
Dependable utility service is a media charade. I am reminded of the classic movie “Animal House” where during the hometown parade turned chaotic mess a public official is repeating “all is well… all is well”. A couple of weeks ago southern California and parts of Arizona experienced a nearly 24 hour blackout. Though it was a major event, it received little media coverage which blamed it on a utility worker flipping the wrong switch. Really? I will be the first to admit I am not the sharpest pencil in the box but it does not make sence to me that a single worker can take down a large portion of the SW power grid for nearly 24 hours by flipping the wrong switch.
For months we have been receiving an increasing number of phone calls from homeowners interested in small emergency solar generators. Feeling powerless during a blackout after a hurricane, tornado or just sitting at home when a utility work flips the wrong switch is scarry. Even a small home emergency generator can offer some real security and control over the helpless feeling one has when a disaster strikes. [click to continue solar story…]
{ 0 comments }
Solar Panel Maintenance, a Necessary Chore
by Cliff on October 20, 2011
When a homeowner purchases a home solar kit or SunPod, solar panel maintenance is often viewed as an unnecessary evil, a task that often gets overlooked or delayed in order to save money. But at what cost to the homeowners investment and company’s reputation? I recently was at a homeowners installation of a one of our SunPods and the owner told me that simply by cleaning the panels, the output rose by 10%. [click to continue solar story…]
{ 0 comments }