Sunday, May 29, 2011

HERE COMES THE SUN

                                       Here Comes The Sun

         A Tribute to George Harrison by Paul Simon, David Crosby, and Grahm Nash
                               
                                 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muFOeZSIC2U

                                       Live at Madison Square Garden

                The 25th Aniversary of  Rock and Roll
                         Hall of Fame

Sunday, May 22, 2011

The time to seriously consider solar is here.

California electricity costs in 1970 were $0.02 per kWh and have risen to around $0.20 per kWh in 2006 and topped $0.49 per kWH by spring of 2010. This is an average increase of approximately 7% per year and does not consider the doubling of our rates since 2005! Worldwide supply and demand will increase energy costs above 7% per year. These increases could actually be catastrophic to your future.

With utility rates doubling every 7 to 10 years it is easy to see where something has to give in the next ten years. We will either need to make and pay more money for energy or cut back on our lifestyle. Both choices are troubling being we all have become accustomed to a certain lifestyle once we walk in the door of our homes.

The following reasons will help to drive energy prices even higher in the future:

Peak Oil and Peak Gas–Will drive energy costs up
Energy Demand Increase—China up 14%, India 6%–Will drive energy costs up
Current need for very expensive infrastructure costs that are looming in California
Lack of new power generation facilities to help supply current demand
The sale of older generation plants by PG&E. (New owners can raise prices)
Solar customers are now not paying the highest rates to the utility because they now "own" their own energy. Being these solar customers were in fact the highest tier using consumers, higher prices should be introduced to current lower priced tiers and consumers
Utilities paying solar customers for overproduction of their solar electricity
High influx of consumers to California placing higher burdens on utilities
Lack of competition
Higher prices from out of state energy producers
have been experienced due to supply and demand issues in the open market. California does not produce enough energy during certain times of the year and are dependant on these out of state producers.

New clean energy power plants are being built, but with investors demanding a satisfactory rate of return on their monies, there is no reason to believe that OUR rates would be reduced, just less energy purchased from out of state sources. These owners are not "price governed" like PG&E would be.


Providing your home is a candidate for solar, it is time to think about what kind of lifestyle we want to come home to in the next ten years. It is ironic that we all agree on ownership of our homes so we won't have rent to pay in our retirement, but the lifestyle the energy provides us must also be addressed.

With most solar applications paying themselves back in just 5 to 7 years, ownership of our energy and lifestyle is a financially sound move.

Not having cash or equity is now a non issue as the solar leasing of California ten year lease to own program is available to consumers at a payment rate that is usually less than your utility bill.

Protect your retirement and current lifestyle.

Go Solar, harness the power of the sun, and own your own energy!

Friday, May 13, 2011

Energy Efficient Lighting

CFL's Change is in the Air

The lighting sector is on the edge of a spectacular revolution, a shift from the century-old, inefficient incandescent light bulb to far more efficient technologies. Perhaps the quickest, most profitable way to reduce electricity use worldwide—thus cutting carbon emissions—is simply to change light bulbs.

The first advance in this field came with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). Replacing old-fashioned inefficient incandescent bulbs that are still widely used today with new CFLs can reduce the electricity used for lighting by three fourths. Over its lifetime, each standard (13 watt) CFL will reduce electricity bills by roughly $30. And though a CFL may cost twice as much as an incandescent, it lasts 10 times as long. Each one reduces energy use compared with an incandescent by the equivalent of 200 pounds of coal over its lifetime. For perspective, the energy saved by replacing a 100-watt incandescent bulb with an equivalent CFL over its lifetime is sufficient to drive a Toyota Prius hybrid car from New York to San Francisco.

The world may be moving toward a political tipping point to replace inefficient light bulbs across the board. In February 2007, Australia announced it would phase out the sale of incandescents by 2010, replacing them with CFLs. Canada soon followed with a 2012 phaseout goal. In early 2009, the European Union (EU) approved a phaseout of incandescent bulbs, one that will save the average EU consumer 25–50 euros each year.

LED Light Bulbs

The second major advance in lighting technology is the light-emitting diode (LED), which uses up to 85 percent less electricity than an incandescent bulb. Although LEDs are the ultimate in lighting efficiency, they are still too costly for most uses. They are rapidly taking over several niche markets, however, such as traffic lights, where they now have 52 percent of the U.S. market, and exit signs in buildings, where they hold 88 percent of U.S. sales. New York City has replaced traditional bulbs with LEDs in many of its traffic lights, cutting its annual bill for maintenance and electricity by $6 million. In early 2009, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said the city would replace its 140,000 street lights with LEDs, saving taxpayers $48 million over the next seven years. The resulting reduction in carbon emissions would be like taking 7,000 cars off the road.

LEDs offer another strong economic advantage. While CFLs last 10 times as long as incandescents, LEDs last 50 times as long. Indeed, a typical LED installed at the time of a child’s birth will still be working when the youngster graduates from college. The savings in commercial situations from both lower electricity costs and the virtual elimination of replacement maintenance often more than offsets the higher initial cost.

Overview of Solar Leases & PPA's in the Central Valley

Solar Leases and PPA's in Todays Marketplace

Solar leases are now the most popular way for consumers in California to invest into solar. There are two different options in this arena, leases and PPA's. (Power Purchase Agreements)

A PPA works by allowing you to purchase energy produced from the solar system at a lower cost than purchasing the same energy from PG&E.

A solar lease supplies energy for your utilazation for a monthly fee. Usually, this fee is less than purchasing the same energy from the utility.

Up until last year, there were two primary options available to homeowners. A solar lease from Solar City and a PPA from Sun Run. Solar City's lease is available through Solar City. Sun Runs PPA is available through REC Solar, Life Style Solar, and Real Goods Solar.

The problem with these two products are as follows:
1. Both programs typically do not offset all of a customers energy's needs. This means a left over bill paid to PG&E.
2. Both programs do NOT allow for ownership.
3. Both programs have high inflation rates as compared to other programs.
4. Both programs have historically utilized some of the least expensive equipment available.
5. Both programs require very stringent credit requirements.
6. Both are "20 year" terms. This is a very long time for a basic equipment lease.

In 2010, Sungevity entered the market place. They offer a ten year lease with a buy out of fair market value. Fair market value is not good for consumers because you never know what your actual costs will be. Most of us have Never entered into a legal contract not knowing what the contract and terms will actually cost us.

Also in 2010, Sun Tech (Chinese solar manufacturer) has entered the market with their new solar lease. It is a fifteen year lease with lease payments typically less than your current electric bill. They have a buy out option that is approximately $1.5 per peak watt or $13,600 on a 9KW system. This lease is offered only to Sun Tech dealers. Solar Universe is the only dealer locally offering this lease.

In 2010, Solar Leasing of California introduced their ten year lease. It differed from the other leases by offering the following:
1. Multilple down payment options
2. Options of 10,12,and 15 yr leases terms.
3. A very attractive Pre Paid lease.
4. Premium German Equipment
5. 100 % offset of bill is typical.
6. Certified contractors.
7. Payments typically lower than your current average electric bill.
8. The most generous production guarantee on the market.
9. The lowest credit requirements on the market.
10. An actual buyout that is guaranteed not to exceed the Stated amount. This is normally a very reasonable number.
11. Ground mounts are also approved for leases.

There are many other benefits to this lease. Nova West Solar has been awarded the exclusive rights to the Solar Leasing of California lease in the Central Valley of California.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

PG&E Gets Approvals For Rate Increases in 2011/12/13

PG&E Gets Approval To Raise Your Rates

PG&E officials won approval from state regulators on Thursday to seek about $395 million from customers through rate increases this year, but rates will not go up until the beginning of 2012, a company spokeswoman said today.

As part of a settlement between PG&E and several advocacy groups, the California Public Utilities Commission in San Francisco approved PG&E to seek rate increases for this year, 2012 and 2013.

But rates will not increase this year because the utility giant's revenues are already meeting the additional $395 million that was requested, PG&E spokeswoman Christine Cordner said.

With the adjusted increase, PG&E is seeking a total of $5.9 billion in customer rates this year, Cordner said.

Beginning in January 2012, PG&E will begin seeking an additional $180 million on top of the $395 million requested for 2011, bringing the total to just over $6 billion in total rates sought.

PG&E has been approved to charge another $185 million in rate increases in 2013, bringing the total to nearly $6.3 billion, according to Cordner.

The increases were part of a general rate case submitted by PG&E for CPUC approval every three years. The increases were approved as part of phase 1 of the rate case.

Phase 2 of the case will be heard on May 26, and will include commissioners deciding on a disputed proposal by PG&E to levy a $3 flat fee on all of its residential customers.

"We've proposed these changes because we want customers to pay closer to what it costs to serve them," Cordner said.

In PG&E's current payment scheme, residents who conserve energy or live in smaller dwellings are legally protected from the rate increases that are levied on customers nearly every year, she said.

In San Francisco, for example: if a person lives in a studio, one bedroom, or small house, they likely will not be charged more than 12 or 14 cents per kilowatt-hour even if rates increase, Cordner said.

"PG&E is legally bound from charging them more," she said. "So the people who are incurring rate increases are essentially covering the cost of service for those customers who PG&E can't charge."

But if approved, the $3 flat fee would also apply to people who were potentially out of town or not using any energy at all.

"We're very much opposed to that," said Mindy Spatt, spokeswoman for The Utility Reform Network, a ratepayer advocacy group.

"That's $3 we don't think they should have," she said.

Friday, May 6, 2011

The future of summer: Air conditioners that are 90 percent more efficient

Air conditioners are a pain. They use an incredible amount of energy, reflected in incredibly high electricity bills in the summer months. But in some places, like Texas and Arizona, it’s hard to go without them. Now, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory may have an answer to the problem: A brand new air conditioning design that could make AC units 90 percent more efficient than they are today.
This is not just a new spin on the traditional design. NREL has ditched major components of today’s AC units, including their condensers and compressors. It generates colder air by evaporating water off a wet surface with a built-in fan. There is a desiccant included to make sure the air is dry.
In addition to slashing the amount of energy needed to run a typical AC unit, the NREL model, called the DEVap, also eliminates the need for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), toxic chemicals used in many of today’s air conditioners that pollute the atmosphere.
Previously, this evaporative air conditioning process only worked in dry, hot climates, because the cool air generated would otherwise contain too much moisture. The addition of the desiccants has made it functional in a range of climates, even very humid environments, NREL says.
The challenge now will be to make the NREL air conditioner cost competitive with those already on the market. It might be as many as five summers before consumers can get buy the units to cool their houses, the laboratory says. It will be licensing the deign for commercial distribution.
Steeply reducing the amount of energy sucked by air conditioners could have a major impact on overall energy use in the U.S. and abroad. After all, air conditioners account for 5 percent of energy used in the U.S. every year.