Solar – off with the roof

Oct 15 2010 Published by under Geek stuff, Sloar, Solar Install

 

 

This is not your normal instalation of photovoltaic panels. In a normal install, on a concrete tile roof, the photovoltaic panels are install on top of the concrete tiles. The contractor walks all over your fragile concrete tiles and cuts holes in you tiles to install the mounting hardware.

 

 

The photo above is an examle of the traditional method of installing a PV panel mounting system on a concert tile roof. Select tiles are removed, a bracket is mounted to the rood sheeting, a riser post is attached to the mounting bracket, a standard sheet metal  roof flashing is placed over the post and the top edge is sealed. This whole process is tough on the existing roof, as you are walking all over the tiles, and prone to leak due to the numbers location of the mounting post. This type of install also used a rail that the panels are mounted to.

Our installation requires the concrete tile too be removed. The a New 40 year asphalt shingle is laid down, a metal flashing is placed on the roof and the SunPower smart mounts are attached to the roof.  Pre-installed on the botom of the mount is a sealing compound the is squeezed out the the bolts are tightened.  Talking about bolts there are eight. No rise post or rails are used. the panels attach directly to the SunPower Smart mount.

Next the electronics.

 

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20,000 Nissian Leaf sold

Oct 01 2010 Published by under Cars, Corporate America, Geek stuff

The Nissian Leaf, the All electric car, has not even shipped yet and the entire first year production is SOLD OUT. Nissian has stopped taking asseveration on the Nissian Leafs web site. A month or so ago you could get a reservation, but only after you had a special electrical survey of your house to make sure that the Leaf could be charged at your home.

Nissian claims that the overwhelming demand, for the Nissian Leaf, far exceeds their expectations.  Problem is anyone wanting a new Nissian Leaf will need to wait until for the 2012 model next year.

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We are doing SOLAR

Sep 02 2010 Published by under Geek stuff, Sloar, Taxes

After all the research:

And waiting for years we are finally making the plunge to installer solar.  We kept waiting for the economy to get better but it seems that could take for ever. The monthly cash flow will not change that much. Instead of making a monthly payment to Southern California Edison, for electricity, we will be paying off the photovoltaic solar panel system. And we will be getting FREE electrical power in 7 years.  Plus the state and federal rebates almost cut the price in half.

We have done all the research, reading on the internet, subscribing to magazines like Home Power, home showes, and even going to Solar seminars. We have talked to several contractors, gotten all the bids.

All the contractors licenses were checked  on the California Contractor State License Board website at: http://www.cslb.ca.gov/.  We checked to see what kind of  license that had, whether they had just a C10 (electrical) or a C46 (solar electric),  how long there were in business,  and was their bond and insurance current. We also checked some Solar directories, on the internet, were customers can comment on the contractors work.

After selecting a local Solar contractor, which was important to us. We started checking the job references. We talked to to several home owners and visited several installs to check the quality of the products and workmanship.  we asked wach referance the same four questions;

1.   Would recommend this  solar company to a friend or family member?

2.  Did this Solar company perform the work in a  timely manner?

3.   Did this company perform the work in a professional  Manner?

4.  Would you use this Solar company again?

All the reference came back extremal positive, all the site visits were installed in a professionally, timely manner! So we singed a contract are are ready to start installing are 7kw system. Check back as I will be posting updates of the install. The entire install will take only four days. It will take me several weeks just to post the progress of the project.

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Chevy Volt pricing

Jul 27 2010 Published by under Cars, Changing scene, Corporate America, Future things, Uncategorized

Well today is the day Chevy announced the pricing on the new Volt.  If you have been living under a rock, the Volt is Chevy answer to the electric car. It is not a true ALL electric since it has an on-board gas driven generator. So Chevy called it a “extender Range” electric vehicle. I guess you need the generator as the Volt has one of the worst range numbers in it’s field. There are several other ALL electric cars that bost a 100 mile range, like the Nissan Leaf and the Tesla S.

So now that pricing has been announced you can order you new Chevy Volt at selected Chevy dealers. Yo can find thoughs special dealers here. The volt will first be available is selected markets like California and New York and the rolled out the the other areas. The list price with out any rebates starts at $41,000 and will be in showrooms in November 2010.

It have been a long wait since the GM EV1 was pulled form the public. There have been lots of manufactures discussing products in this field. In late 2010 and 2011 we will starts see several electric cars on the highway. Is going to be and exciting time. We will see it the wait was worth it. So get you solar PV panels installed and start driving fossil fuel free!

 

 

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Save Electricity Without Doing Anything

Jan 22 2010 Published by under American Consumer, Geek stuff

cutoffSave electricity with out doing anything, well almost. You do need to buy this handy new plug strip. The gizmo works like a  normal power strip/surge protector. With a twist.

There is a USB cable attached to the plug strip, strange right. Not for this new plug strip. You plug the USB cable into you computer. Then plug all your peripherals into the plug strip. Now the USB controlled power strip will turn off all your peripherals when you turn off your computer. And that is when you star to save money. The manufacture clams a 10% savings, for me that $25.00 a month.

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Aptera – Car, Spaceship, or Golf Cart

Aug 14 2009 Published by under Cars, Changing scene, Future things

aptera_side[1]

Well, what is this thing?  The Aptera will go from zero to 60 in under 10 seconds. You will get more than 100 miles-per-charge. The thing is the most aerodynamic looking  vehicle on the road.  It is legal on the freeway but only hasthree wheels.

So I think we can  eliminate the Aptera being and expensive golf cart, as it goes too fast to be a golf cart and is freeway legal.  So what about a spaceship. Aptera sure looks like a spaceship, with the blugey front windshield and the extream aerodynamic styling. But since it has three wheels and is earth bound we can rule out the Aptera being a spaceship.

What the Aptera is a very light, very strong, 100% electric vehicle.

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Ford BEV beats out Chev Volt

Apr 11 2009 Published by under American Consumer, Cars, Changing scene, Future things

ford_bev1-300x151Here is another all electric vehicles to get excited about, The Ford Focus BEV. More so then the products from Phoenix Motor Company.  Why? Because it will be distributed by a nation wide network of Ford dealerships. Plus the Ford BEV ( battery electric vehicle) is not a extend range or hybrid vehicle. It is a pure plug-in.

The Chevrolet Volt is an extended range vehicle that will only go 40 mile before the on-board diesel charger kicks in. The Ford Focus BEV has a 100 mile range. A hundred mile does not sound like a lot but the majority of Americans drive less then 100 mile round trip to work every day.

Ford is also shelding  itself of the high cost and risk of vehicle development.  Magna International Inc. bought their own Ford Focus and converted it to an all electric vehicle. The conversion was on Magna Internationals dime, then they delivered it to Fords door step. Where as General Motors has been spending millions and years developing the Chev Volt.

Who has the better solution? In my opinion it will be the Ford Fusion BEV. My one wish would be that the cars looked a bit more cutting edge, like the original Volt concept. The Production version always seams to get dumbed down and look like just another car.

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Are you renting your Electricity?

Jul 04 2008 Published by under American Consumer, Changing scene, Dumb Americans, Sloar

Do you rent your car? Do you rent your home? Most people do not or are striving not to rent. Then why do we all rent our electricity? The majority of the public rents their electricity. Well it could be viewed that way, because you are really renting the ability of the power company to generate and deliver power to your home.

You are renting a portion of the physical plant, coal, nuclear, steam, hydro or Solar that generates the electrical power. Also you are renting the transmission lines that are used to move the power from the generating plant to your place of residence.

So why not buy your electricity just like you buy your car or your home. When we buy personal property that is more then we can pay out in one lump sum, we finance it over a period of time. But when that financial obligation is paid off we own that piece of personal property. Granted it takes a lot longer to pay off a home over a vehicle.

Solar-roof-top

So do the same thing with your electricity. Buy it! For many of us that live in the sunbelt we can purchase our own power generating system. And once installed, it requires very little maintenance and does not emit any pollutants. The answer is photovoltaic panels. Ok, they are still kind of expensive, although the cost is coming down over just ten years ago. And the products are more mainstream and readily available today. Most system also will qualify for federal and state rebate programs or tax credits.

So instead of being a Dumb American and paying the power company every month for the rest of your life, pay yourself. Take that monthly amount you would pay out to the power company and pay off your solar system over time. Then when the system is paid off you will be getting almost free electricity.

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An Electric Truck to get excited about!

Jun 23 2008 Published by under American Consumer, Cars, Changing scene

They are back…the all electric vehicles. It has been almost ten years since Chevrolet produced the all electric S10 mid size truck and six years since the all electric Ford Ranger. Both Chevy and Ford finished their electric vehicles with Nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries. The best and most technically advance battery at the time, also the most expensive. BUT the trucks has limited public acceptance.

Some of the problem with these two trucks were long charging times and short driving distances. The biggest problem is you could NOT buy one. They were only leased. Some, of these electric trucks worked their way from being leased to being purchased. Only about 200 of the Rangers were sold and less than 100 of the Chevy S10 were sold. The rest were CRUSHED.

Have no fear the Phoenix MotorCars company is raising out of the oily, smoggy, soot of southern California. They are producing two all electric vehicles. The big new is they will be sold to the public. Not leased or available for fleet only. So as long as you have $45,000 you can own your very own 100% smog free truck.

PhoenixMotercars

The stats on the truck are amazing. Just the available driving range of 130 miles plus, is off the cart for an electric vehicle. And next year, 2009, ther will be and extended battery pack to increase the range to 250 miles. The brushless electric drive has no gears to cycle through and has regenerative breaking at 94% efficiency. This tinny 191 pound electric motor delivers a whooping 400 plus foot pounds of peak toque and 134 horse power. It will push this five passenger sport truck to in excess of 100 MPH and deliver 0 to 60 times around 10 seconds.

Phoenix MotorCars is using the NanoSafe™ battery. It’s a 35 kilowatts battery pack that is lithium ion based. The batteries can be charged in 10 minutes or less, but requires 480 volts. About the same time it takes to fuel a gasoline car. So you’re saying to yourself, who has 480 volts at the home. And I would say to you, who has a gas station at home. The point is, the 480 would be available at a recharging station just like gasoline is today. But with the electric vehicle you also have the option of charging it at home using your photovoltaic solar panels, for zero emissions.

People test driving the Phoenix MotorCars SUT have used words like smooth, strong, powerful, great, it is a real car. I cannot wait to get my hands on one of these little beauty and then I can tell the oil companies to stick it where the sun does not shine.

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