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Naples Botanical Garden Photovoltaic System Completed
Early morning dew covers PV panels at Naples Botanical Gardens Fafco Solar has completed the FGCU Naples Botanical Garden photovoltaic system installation. I am particularly proud of this system and...
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Time-of-use Metering Coming to Southwest Florida?
Don’t panic! It’s not here yet! Time-of-use metering allows a utility company to charge you different rates based on the time of day. This billing approach is popular in places like California and the...
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Plug-and-Play Solar Panels
You may have seen the promise of plug-and-play solar panels coming to a store near you. I’ll try to make sense of these “new” products and tell you what they will and won’t do for you. There are two...
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Wattvision Energy Monitor is an Accounting System for Your Household...
I recently set up a Wattvision meter on my Fort Myers, FL home to evaluate its effectiveness. I have to say, I love it! It definitely clues you in to how much energy you are using, when you are using...
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Solar Pool Heaters Work Better With Variable Speed Pumps!
Solar pool heaters work better with variable speed pumps because the optimum flow rate can be achieved to maximize solar performance. A single speed pump is typically fine to use with solar pool...
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Variable Speed Pump Video
Fafco Solar Video on Pentair Variable Speed Pump Fafco Solar just released a short promotional video on the Pentair Variable Speed pool pump. The variable speed pump is a perfect match for solar pool...
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Comparison of Southwest Florida Utility Electric Rates
Utility electric rates in Southwest Florida vary quite a bit depending on how much electricity you consume. I created a spreadsheet to calculate what your utility electric rate would be with different...
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Florida Residential Electricity Prices
The price of residential electricity has historically trended upwards despite routine promises of future innovation resulting in lower energy prices. Based on the linear trend, electricity in 25 years...
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Solar Boat “Ra” Stops in Fort Myers
The solar boat Ra has docked in Fort Myers on its 6,000 mile “adventure powered by the sun.” Captain Jim Greer and crew are taking the solar powered vessel around the Great Loop of the United States...
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How do Clouds Affect Solar Photovoltaic (Electric) System Performance During...
With the fantastic monitoring tools available today, we can see exactly how much energy production drops on cloudy days and when storms pass by. Tropical Storm Isaac just passed by Southwest Florida,...
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Electric Vehicle Charger Causes Fire in Estero, FL
NBC-2 News reported that a smart car charger caused a fire in Estero, FL yesterday causing $200,000 to a home. From the story I gather that the homeowner installed the smart charger himself. While I...
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Solar Energy Panel at Naples Community Hospital
Tonight I was invited to part of a panel before a public group at the Naples Community Hospital. I guess you could call it a Solar Panel. Here is the text of my brief speech: “I would like to address...
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Calculate Impact of Cape Coral’s Public Service Tax for Solar Electric Customers
As expected, Cape Coral passed the Public Service Tax measure on April 29, 2013. The tax impacts every utility electric customer in the City. The more you use electricity, the more tax you pay. As I...
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Pros and Cons of Alternating Current Photovoltaic (ACPV) Modules
I am seeing an uptick in requests about Alternating Current Photovoltaic (ACPV) Modules. ACPV solar panels are traditional solar electric panels that have an inverter affixed to the back. The module...
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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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