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Kids Say the Darndest Things (About Solar Energy)
Summer’s here, and that means it’s time for my annual trek to the Naples Botanical Garden Summer Camp. Fafco Solar installed 164 solar panels at the Garden’s education facility a couple of years ago,...
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Why Distributed Solar Energy is Better Than Utility Scale Solar
Florida Power & Light loses about 8% of the energy it produces in transmitting it to your home. Right out of the gate, that’s a great argument for producing energy at or near the point of use....
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FPL’s Energy “Independence” Advertising Campaign
Earlier this month FPL took down the Port Everglades power plant to make way for a new natural gas powered plant. In conjunction with the demolition they embarked on an aggressive advertising campaign...
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Solar Power Does Not Create Energy
The Law of Conservation of Energy is a basic recognized law of physics, and one I occasionally forget when writing and speaking about solar energy. Solar power does not “create energy.” It simply...
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Enphase Microinverter Per-Module Monitoring Provides Valuable Data
One of my favorite solar electric systems to watch is located at a customer’s residence in Cape Coral. It’s a favorite because there are solar modules on roofs facing due South, East, and West. This...
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Southwest Florida Local Perspectives on Lawrence Berkeley Solar Report:...
Florida has some of the nation’s lowest installed PV Prices I just finished watching to the webinar from the Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, “Tracking the Sun VI: An Historical Summary of the...
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PV System Power Production Guarantees
I received a question from a potential customer today about power production guarantees for Photovoltaic (PV) Systems. I realized that I hadn’t covered that issue on my blog, so I thought I would copy...
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10kW Residential Photovoltaic Array Completed in Fort Myers, FL
Artistic rendering of my Fort Myers solar electric system prior to installation. It has been extremely exhausting, but I finally completed installing a 10kW photovoltaic (solar electric) system at my...
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FPL Raises Rates for Florida Residents
FPL rates for Bonita Springs, FL residential customers effective January 2, 2014, not including taxes. Did you notice your latest bill from FPL hit you a bit harder in the pocketbook? Effective January...
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Hybrid Solar Pool Heating Systems Provide Best of Both Worlds
Some in the industry call a solar pool heating system with a heat pump or gas heater a Hybrid Solar Pool Heater. I prefer to call it a solar pool heater with auxiliary or backup heater. The word...
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Comparing Pool Heating Options for Southwest Florida
In my last article I explained that a Hybrid Solar Pool Heater is a combination of a solar pool heater and an auxiliary heater, either an electric heat pump or a gas heater. Hybrid systems can be an...
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Net Metering Under Attack, Florida Spared for Now
Net Metering, the concept and laws that allow solar electricity producers to connect to the grid and sell back energy, is under attack in the United States. Florida has been spared from the recent...
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Integrity Florida Releases Scathing Report on Utility Company Influence on...
Integrity Florida, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research institute and government watchdog whose mission is to promote integrity in government and expose public corruption, has just released a scathing...
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Ghana to Purchase Electricity for World Cup? Not Exactly.
I was driving home today listening to Miller and Moulten on ESPN radio like I often do. They were talking about how Ghana is planning to purchase electricity from Ivory Coast to make sure television...
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How Ghana Could Have Kept TVs on During the World Cup with Solar Power
Well, the match was great… A big win for the US team. Maybe Ghana should have let power lapse during the match… In case you missed it, I posted on Monday about how Ghanaians have a power shortage, and...
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The Florida Debate on Solar Energy Heats Up This Summer
Let me start by saying that the solar energy debate has nothing to do with solar pool heating or solar water heating, which are traditionally the bread and butter of solar energy products in Florida....
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Fostering a Healthy Relationship with Energy Use
My closest friends know I’m a huge Happy Gilmore fan. Back in the day I watched it at least a few times a week. I had ringtones and computer alerts with soundbites from the movie. In the scene where...
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Florida Utilities’ Disingenuous Argument Against Netmetering
You may have seen my recent post on how Florida utility companies are trying to spin the argument against Netmetering, the method by which millions of solar energy systems interconnect with the utility...
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Should I Buy a Solar Water Heater or Solar Electric System
Solar water heaters are very old and proven technology, with roots in ancient times. Modern solar water heating collectors can capture about 85% of the available solar energy in a given area. That’s...
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My Fort Myers Solar PV System, 8 Months Later
It has been 8 months since I installed my solar photovoltaic (PV) system, and I couldn’t be happier. Low electric bills and the pride of producing my own energy makes all of the hard work worthwhile. I...
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