The Energy Show

I typed the words “free solar” into Google and got 747,000,000 hits in half a second. We all know that solar systems are not free. But the technology that is being marketed is still so new and complicated that it is easy to scam homeowners who are eager to save money. There are about half a million homes in the U.S. with solar, 200,000 people working in the U.S. solar industry, and 10,000 solar companies. Unfortunately, as in every big industry, there is a small percentage of companies that take advantage of consumers in order to make a bigger buck. Not surprisingly, complaints about unethical and fraudulent business practices in the solar industry are adding up. Fortunately, the solar industry has been proactive with its efforts to reign in companies that are taking advantage of consumers. For many years several state solar organizations have published ethical and business practice guidelines. Most recently, the Solar Energy Industries Association published their Solar Business Code. This Code provides detailed principles for companies in the solar industry -- specifically focused on protecting consumers. Please Listen Up to this week’s Energy Show as we go over some of the real-world problems that consumers experience, the solutions specified in the Solar Business Code, and the caveat emptor realities that apply to all big purchases and investments.

The oldest, biggest and most efficient solar application is heating water. Solar hot water systems have been around in one way or another ever since Roman times. But it has only been over the last 100 years or so that solar hot water systems have become popular -- driven by high energy costs, environmental consciousness, and lower solar equipment costs. The most popular application of solar heating is for solar domestic hot water, or DHW. These systems generally use a metal and glass solar collector mounted on the roof, and a plumbing system that circulates cold water up to the roof so that it can be heated up to normal home water temperatures. Solar DHW systems are reliable, and make the best economic sense when water is heated by electricity or propane. My guest this week is Peter Bliss, VP of Sales and Marketing of SunEarth. Since 1978, SunEarth has been designing, selling and installing solar hot water collectors, components and packaged systems. They have been through several generations of the “solar coaster” as solar thermal technology evolves, incentives come and go, and energy prices continue to rise. Please Listen Up to this week’s Energy Show on Renewable Energy World as Peter talks about the economics of solar DHW, as well as the technology and policy changes that can make these systems even more popular.

Headline: “Low Cost Rooftop Solar.” What’s not to like? If you’re a homeowner you can save thousands of dollars shopping around for the right installer and financing. If you’re an installer you are undoubtedly under competitive cost pressures -- and strive to find ways to stay competitive after 2016 when the federal investment tax credit goes to zero and utility rates change. So why does a standard rooftop solar system still cost about $20k before incentives (about $14k after the ITC)? The good news is that prices for solar panels have plunged from $1,000 each down to about $200. Inverter and racking costs have also declined. But overhead costs -- items like marketing, sales compensation, contracts, financing documents, warehousing, engineering, back office labor and maintenance -- have not seen much of a reduction (or in some cases have actually increased). For installers, it is possible to lower total installed costs -- mostly by simplifying and standardizing business processes, and taking advantage of new technology. Not only will these improvements save customers money, but they will also reduce the time it takes to complete an installation. And the great news is that these “overhead reduction” techniques are very inexpensive -- or free. Please Listen Up to this week’s Energy Show for five easy to implement tips for lower cost rooftop solar systems.

Net Metering and Future Solar Electric Rates by Barry Cinnamon 366248

Politics of Clean Energy by Barry Cinnamon 366248

Energy in the Home of the Future by Barry Cinnamon 366248

Toyota and Honda just announced their new fuel cell cars. Although these cars won’t be on the road for another year, their mere existence raises questions about the long-term future of battery-powered cars. Are battery vehicles just a temporary detour on our road to the Hydrogen Highway, or are fuel cells a last ditch attempt by the fossil fuel industry to greenwash their “well to gas station” infrastructure? A fuel cell car is pretty much just like a battery-powered EV...except the fact that fuel cells are neither clean, cheap nor efficient. All practical fuel cell cars run on hydrogen. When you combine hydrogen with oxygen you get energy (heat in an engine or electricity in a fuel cell) and water. Pretty clean and elegant, so far. But we currently get 95% of our hydrogen by “reforming” natural gas. The natural gas is combined with steam (essentially H2O), with the end products being hydrogen gas and CO2. So “reforming” is kind of like a school for bad fossil fuels. Fuel cell cars using reformed natural gas are about 50% efficient, so they release even more CO2 that would be released if we burned natural gas directly. Moreover, fuel cell cars requires an entirely new hydrogen infrastructure of reforming plants, hydrogen pipelines, hydrogen filling stations and vehicles. One good thing about fuel cell vehicles is that they can be “filled up” in a matter of minutes, not the several hours it takes for today’s generation of plug-in EVs. But at the current rate of improvement in cost and performance of batteries, I doubt that fuel cells will ever catch up. For more about the comparisons between fuel cell and battery EVs, please Listen Up to this week’s Energy Show.

Solar panels are commodities — not very different than the bottled water you find on a supermarket shelf. Granted some panels are more efficient, some cost less, some may be easier to install, and some may have better warranties. But to the average consumer — and for that matter experienced installer — there is really not much difference between one manufacturer’s panel compared to another. So why are some companies selling more solar panels than others? To a large degree it is the sales and marketing efforts they make to reach their initial customers: solar installers. Generating awareness, interest and sales for solar panels — as well as inverters, racking and installation services — is a textbook marketing challenge. There is one person in the industry who has carved out a reputation for himself when it comes to marketing solar products: Tor Valenza (AKA Solar Fred). Tor literally hangs his hats these days as the Chief Marketing Officer at Impress Labs. Please Listen Up to this week’s Energy Show as Tor talks about the best (and worst) marketing practices at solar equipment companies, installers and financiers.

Fracking by Barry Cinnamon 366248

A Roofer's Perspective on Solar by Barry Cinnamon 366248

Larry Sherwood with Solar ABCs by Barry Cinnamon 366248

Brad Heavner with CALSEIA Talks About Net Metering by Barry Cinnamon 366248

Ed Murray Talks About Commercial Solar Hot Water Systems by Barry Cinnamon 366248

Easy Home Energy Audits by Barry Cinnamon 366248

Rooftop solar panels only work when they are in direct sunlight. So if you have a partially shaded roof, the output of your system will be lower than if there were no shading. And if your roof is heavily shaded, then rooftop solar is probably not going to be cost effective. The reduction in output that shading causes depends on the type of shading, the orientation of your roof, and the use of microinverters or optimizers (these module electronics can help reduce shading problems). The most common examples of rooftop shading include trees, chimneys, neighboring structures, and utility poles. A small amount of shading -- perhaps from a vent pipe or utility pole -- will not have much impact on overall system output. But trees or other structures can have a big impact. A good rule of thumb is the object creating shading should be twice as far away as it is higher than the panels. There is a home around the corner from me with a solar system on the west roof, and a big Magnolia tree right next to the house shading all the panels in the afternoon (when the sun should be shining directly on the panels). These west-facing panels are illuminated by the sun in the morning, but at a very oblique angle (about 20 degrees). Because of the shading, the panels never get direct sunlight perpendicular to the panels; the 20 degree sun angle means that these panels are generating only about 34% of what they could generate if there were no shading. I hope the solar company that installed this system gave the homeowner an accurate estimate of the output (or lack thereof) of these shaded panels. Otherwise this homeowner will be unhappy when they get their annual utility true up statement and realize that their savings were not what they were led to believe. Installing solar on a partially shaded roof is really an economic question. Will the resulting payback from the system -- after factoring in lower energy output from shaded panels -- still be acceptable? It might make sense to install panels in a partially shaded location if the installation costs for these incremental panels are low and the electric rates are high. Please Listen Up to this week’s Energy Show on Cinnamon Solar's Website for practical, economic advice for homeowners who are thinking about solar on a partially shaded roof.