What to ask before going solar?

Congratulations on making a commitment to a more sustainable future by reducing your electricity consumption with solar electricity.

Here are a list of questions to consider before purchasing solar panels.

What to ask for purchasing solar panels?
1. How do the APS rebates work/ how do the SRP rebates work?
2. How do the state and federal rebates work?
3. Who is the ideal homeowner to purchase solar panels?
4. Who is the ideal homeowner to lease solar panels?




What to ask for a solar lease?
1. Is it a one time payment or monthly payment?
2. Who takes over the lease if I sell the house?
3. How is the lease transferred if I sell the house?




General questions to ask before going solar
1. How long do the solar panels last?
2. How long do the inverters last?
3. What is the warranty for the solar panels and the inverter?
4. What happens if your company goes out of business?
5. What is the timeline for installation of solar?
6. How much does the efficiency of the panel really matter?
7. Why is a southern orientation the best for my western facing roof?
8. Will I be able to monitor my power output?
9. Where the solar panels manufactured?
10. How long has the manufacturer been in business?
10. Do you suggest having a BPI energy audit done on my home?

Solar, hybrid and tankless water heaters and your choices

With triple digit temperatures last week, we have successfully made the jump right past spring into summer here in the Valley of the Sun.  Here a week of 110 degree weather is considered normal and hot water during the summer is not a choice, it’s the only choice.  Hot water heating can be the second or third biggest energy user in the home, right behind the air conditioner and saving on water heating can knock off up to 20% of your total utility bill.  Using the power of the sun to supply your hot water needs is an efficient method of heating water, but there are more cost effective technologies outlined below that will keep more green in your pocketbook.

A tankless water heater is preferable to solar water heaters for gas-fired tanks.  To prevent cold water sandwiches, tankless water heaters now feature a 20-gallon reserve tank and still heater the water only when needed.  Tankless heaters use a sealed combustion venting type that prevents carbon monoxide from backdrafting into the home or garage.

A hybrid water heater is ideal for Phoenix residents and preferable to solar water heaters if you have an existing electric water heater.  The hybrid water heater uses a heat pump, which sits on top of a traditional electric water heater to heat the water.  The heat pump works just like your refrigerator or AC condenser, but in reverse.  That is it takes the ambient heat out of the surrounding air and uses that to heat the water and expels a small amount of cool air (perfect for a garage application).  Your refrigerator will extract the surrounding cold air and circulate it to provide chilled food while giving off a small amount of heat on the bottom of the unit.  Hybrid water heaters are more than 50% efficient compared to solar water heaters for half the cost.

Solar water heaters may be good for a large family who like to take long showers (most of the energy used to heater water goes to showers).  An 80 gallon tank or two 50 gallon tanks will be installed with solar water heaters, so there will never be a shortage of hot water but can be overkill for most homes.

Some homeowners are even switching from gas water heaters to electric because they are putting solar panels to generate their own electricity.  The thought is that a big enough solar array will cover the energy needed to heat the water.  Solar hot water proponents will argue that homeowners should have both – a solar water heater and a smaller solar electric system because the efficiency of the solar water heaters (1.2 efficiency factor) is greater than the efficiency of a conventional electric (0.89 efficiency factor) or gas tank.  I definitely agree that efficiency steps should be done to stretch that solar electricity dollar, but the cost of a solar water heater makes other water heating options such as a tankless water heater or hybrid water heater a smarter choice (which are all more efficient than using solar electricity).



Bottom line if you are considering solar hot water:

-  Homeowners with gas water heaters and families with children should go with a tankless water heater with a 20 gallon reserve

- Homeowners with electric water heaters should go with a hybrid water heater

- Homeowners should consider solar hot water if they are planning on living in the same house for more than 13 years

How much will solar save?

The Valley of the Sun doesn’t get any better for solar energy production if you are thinking about installing solar panels on your home.  In fact, southern Arizona is the best location for solar in the nation.  APS, SRP and TEP still provide rebates for solar electricity and producing your own energy to spin your meter backwards is an attractive idea to many homeowners and businesses. But how many solar panels do you need to do so? 

Part of the equation is limited to the amount of panels you can fit on your roof, house orientation and external shading and aesthetics.  A good southern exposure is ideal for solar power, however solar panels can be west-facing or on a west-facing slope and angled towards the south.  Some homeowners want to completely zero out their energy bills for the whole year.  Other homeowners go with smaller systems to zero out just their winter energy bills and a lower summer bill.  To calculate the size of photovoltaic’s you will need to accomplish either goal you are going to need your electricity bills for the past 12 months. 

Once you have that, add all the kWh you used each month for the entire year and divide that by 1.7.  The number you get will be the total system size needed to take your annual usage down to zero (if you divide that number by 1,000, you get kW).  So let’s say after I added all the kWh’s used for the year and came up with 23,480 kWh/year (a large home).  Take 23,480 / 1.7 = 13,812 watts.  So I would need 13.8 kW’s of solar panels to completely zero out my energy bills.  Now I can go with half of that number (7 kW system) to reduce my bills by approximately half also. 

The 1.7 factor is an estimate for only a particular type and efficiency of panel, but it will give you a good idea for starters.  If you are a visual person, feel free to contact me and I can send you a spreadsheet where you can enter in your monthly kWh usage, and a nice graph will visually show you what you are spending now on energy bills, and what they would like with a 5 or 10 kW solar electricity system.

For more information visit http://www.dsireusa.org/ to find current APS/SRP or TEP rebates and federal tax incentives for going solar.  Visit APS’s website here, SRP’s website here and TEP’s website here for more tips and information.  Michael Blue Jay also has a great website and solar calculator here.  You can schedule a free site assessment on your home with Green ID to discuss possible options for solar.  For certain homes, coupling solar with efficiency upgrades will stretch your dollar spent 30-40% compared to solar alone.

Solar leasing has become popular, how about leasing an electric car battery?

The average costs for electricity from APS or SRP is around $0.12 per kWh.  Imagine paying $450 per kWh for electricity.  That’s what most of today’s electric vehicle (EV) owners are paying for a battery to power their cars.  To put this into perspective, the Chevy Volt will cost owners 2 cents per mile to drive compared to the 12 cents per mile on gasoline at a price of $3.60 a gallon.  Or a trip from Phoenix to Tucson would run a measly $1.98 on electricity or almost 6 times that at $11.88 on gas.

 Shocking as the $450 per kWh may be, a decrease to $300 per kWh is considered the tipping point to mass market uptake.  An article published by webtech company, GigaOm, sites that leasing the battery is one solution to bring down the battery costs.  If you have thought about installing solar panels for your home, you’ve probably heard about solar leasing programs or PPA’s for larger solar applications, some groups are applying this concept to the electric car market.  It will be interesting to watch if and how automakers and startup companies adopt the electric vehicle lease; and also how the EV infrastructure is built-up to meet demand.

Save energy while you cook – energy saving tips in the kitchen

Kitchen appliances can account for up to 15% of your home energy usage and how you choose to cook will impact your energy bill.  By following some energy savings tips, you can reduce your bills and here's how.

There is more than one way to skin a cat:

If you took an inventory of all the appliances you use to cook with the list might look something like this: oven, stovetop, slow cooker or crockpot, microwave and toaster oven.

As you can already guess, each of these appliances uses a different amount of energy but what is not so obvious is how much energy each one uses.  When you can choose between making a baked potato in the oven or in the microwave, which one uses less energy?  How about cooking a soup or stew over the stovetop, or using the slowcooker?  Meatloaf in the oven or toaster oven?   Just like if you lived in a smaller house, it would take less time to cool the inside of the home with the same sized AC unit than if you lived in a larger house; it takes less energy to heat a smaller space than a larger one.  So what would use less energy if you could put that meatloaf in a toaster oven compared to the conventional oven?  How much less?  You would be cutting your energy use by more than half! (and reducing the temperature in the kitchen as well).

Of course, each appliance is “specialized” to cook certain foods but when you can choose, I encourage you to do so.  Below is a table showing the energy costs of various cooking methods.

Other energy saving tips in the kitchen include:

-          When using the electric stovetops it is important to match the pan size to the element size, otherwise you will be wasting almost half the heat produced from the element.-          The ideal pan also has a concave bottom to maximize the conduction in the pan.
-          A pressure cooker will also cook stovetop items faster and with less energy because the built-up pressure drops the boiling point of water thus cooking the food faster.
-          Cleaning your appliances increases their efficiency.
-          Avoid peeking into the oven while baking.
-          Double portions when using the oven to save energy on cooking.
-          Remove foil on the bottom of ovens to improve air circulation.

Phoenix Energy Audits and the Energize Phoenix Program

There is no lack of variety of housing types in the City of Phoenix.  Phoenix neighborhoods include the idyllic Arcadia District, the lively Camelback Corridor, the newly formed Lightrail Corridor and the beautiful historic district to name a few.  In addition to a great weatherization program, The City of Phoenix has developed a new Energy Efficiency program, Energize Phoenix.  The City of Phoenix is offering huge cash incentives to make your home more energy efficient.  Energize Phoenix is a large scale rebate program for residents who live along the Lightrail Corridor.  Residents receive APS-matching rebates from the City of Phoenix and for qualifying residents, a 60% Federal grant with no upper limit is available to fund efficiency upgrades like energy efficient AC units and furnaces, duct sealing, air sealing, shade screens and insulation.  If you live along the Lightrail Corridor, Energize Phoenix is making going green as easy with little upfront money, reduced utility bills and a more comfortable home.  There has never been a better time to go green

 Program Overview:

1. Have a home energy audit performed to identify the largest sources of energy waste.

2. Your Energize Phoenix approved contractor will walk you through each recommendation, its costs and offsetting rebates and cash incentives available through APS and Energize Phoenix.

3. Complete and submit the Energize Phoenix paperwork and your Energize Phoenix contractor will complete any work you requested and facilitate the rebates on your behalf.Rebate Overview:Rebates are available upon 6-8 weeks of completion of install and include the following.

- 10 free CFLs
- 2 free low flow faucet aerators
- 1 free low flow showerhead
- 1 free low flow kitchen sink aerator

- Home energy audit - discounted to $99

- Duct sealing - 75% off net costs up to $250 rebate per HVAC system from APS; matching rebates up to $250 from the City of Phoenix

- Air sealing - $250 rebate from APS; matching rebates up to $250 from the City of Phoenix

- R-38 insulation - 75% off net costs up to $250 rebate from APS; matching rebates up to $250 from the City of Phoenix

- Shade screens - $1 per sq ft rebate up to $250 from APS; matching rebates up to $250 from the City of Phoenix

- High efficiency AC units and furnaces - $175 to $525 rebate from APS; matching rebates up to $525 from the City of Phoenix


Visit Energize Phoenix's homepage and the AZ Home Performance With Energy Star for more information.

How to Winterize Your Home in Phoenix

Yes, even the desert gets cold at night.  Since it can get chilly enough to wear a sweater during a Phoenix evening, here are some things you can do around home to save energy, improve your indoor air quality and be comfortable enough to walk around barefoot, even in the dead of the winter. 

1.     Seal up your air leaks

Warm air raises and can escape out the chimney of a fireplace.  A chimney pillow can be installed in the flue to stop heated air from escaping during the winter.  Just be sure to leave the tag on and remove the pillow come summer.  Also check around potential leakage “hot spots” such as old windows, doors, plumbing penetrations under sinks and electrical outlets.  By replacing old weatherstripping around the doors or caulking around the windows or plumbing penetrations you can effectively keep your conditioned air where it belongs, inside.  Check the local hardware store to find outlet sealers to add a little insulation behind light switches too.

2.     Get up to snuff with your insulation

For Phoenix and central Arizona, the DOE recommends at least 12-inches of blown-in cellulose or an R-38 value to slow the transfer of cold air into the home.  If your attic has fiberglass batt insulation, it should be in contact with the attic floor at all times to work properly.

3.     Have your furnace or heat pump inspected

A seasonal tune-up may be in order if not done annually.  If the temperatures will never reach the temperature set-point the HVAC system may be low on refrigerant or something else may be awry.  Best to have it checked by a professional.

4.     Remove shade screens

During the Phoenix winters, solar gain through windows can help significantly warm the home, lowering energy bills from decreased heat use.  Shade screens can be unclipped and stored until it comes time for summer.

5.     Stay safe

Install CO detectors if you have a fireplace or gas appliances 3-6 feet from the ground.  Use a bubble solution to check for gas leaks around fireplaces, water heaters, furnaces and feeder lines.  Be sure that the furnace or water heater has a good clearance to allow for fresh air intake and that they are not located in the same room as a dryer.

Follow these tips for a safe and comfortable winter in the Valley of the Sun.  Also check out how a typical home in Phoenix uses energy or see some tips on how to save energy.