Improving Local Grid Reliability
Our local electric grid is not up to the 21st century demands of EVs, more air conditioning requirements, heat pumps instead of natural...
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Jul 17, 20172 min read
Enphase Battery Storage System Review
Future energy sources in our homes and businesses will be a combination of rooftop solar, battery storage and power delivered by the...
Jul 13, 20173 min read
San Jose Mercury News Op-Ed: More solar panels and battery storage at homes could prevent power fail
At 1:30 on a Sunday afternoon in June, I experienced the second power outage at my Silicon Valley home this year. Then, last weekend a...
Jun 11, 20172 min read
Best EV for the Money
In spite of the fact that it’s neither fast nor furious, the Chevy Bolt is currently the most practical and economical Electric Vehicle....
Jun 5, 20171 min read
Tesla Solar Roof Tiles – Customer and Installer Perspectives
There’s no doubt in my mind that the home of the future will be solar powered. Intuitively it would be great if the roofing material...
May 29, 20171 min read
The Solar Coaster
I think Charles Dickens was describing the Solar Coaster in his introduction to “A Tale of Two Cities”: It was the best of times, it was...
May 22, 20172 min read
Key Factors for Long Term Solar Satisfaction
Many industries have boom and bust cycles as manufacturers try to adjust supply to customer demand. These challenges are accentuated in...
May 15, 20171 min read
Remember the EPA?
all Americans are protected from significant risks to human health and the environment where they live, learn and work; national efforts...
May 10, 20171 min read
What Home Owners Need To Know About Battery Storage Systems
Since the sun does not shine at night we need a way to store daytime-generated solar energy. Net metering is an elegant and 100%...
May 2, 20171 min read
Commercial PACE Financing - With Brandon Deno
PACE financing, or Property Assessed Clean Energy, started out about 10 years ago as a financing mechanism for residential solar....
Apr 25, 20172 min read
How Often Should I Clean My Solar Panels
When someone gets a new rooftop solar installation, the second question they always ask is “how often do I need to clean my solar...
Apr 16, 20172 min read
Westinghouse Nuclear Energy Killed by Gas, Solar and Wind
Video killed the radio star – just as natural gas, wind and solar are slowly but surely killing the nuclear power industry (we’re already...
Apr 9, 20172 min read
Ten Tips For 25 Years Of Trouble Free Solar Power
Find an installer who has been in business for 5+ years and uses their own installation crews (not subcontractors). You get what you pay...
Apr 3, 20172 min read
How Many Solar Panels Do I Need?
It may seem counter-intuitive, but you can have too many solar panels on your roof. With conventional net metering, your utility will not...
Mar 27, 20171 min read
Getting your Solar Investment Tax Credit
It’s that time of the year…tax time, that is. Every year we get questions from customers about filling out their solar investment tax...
Mar 13, 20172 min read
Coal, Nuclear and Oil are Losing Steam - Can They Compete?
Our sources of electrical power are quickly shifting. In 2016 there was 26 gigawatts of new electrical-utility capacity added in the U.S....
Mar 7, 20171 min read
Future Rooftop Solar Costs - Getting to $2.50/watt
The solar industry is one of our most obvious success stories. Our industry directly employs 261,000 people. We generate energy that is...
Mar 1, 20171 min read
Protecting the Solar Consumer - Interview with Tom Kimbis from SEIA
The promise to homeowner’s is simple: install solar panels on your roof and save money on your electric bills. There are about 10,000...
Feb 17, 20172 min read
DOE Jobs Report
In January the Department of Energy (DOE) published their annual jobs report. The U.S. energy industry employees 6.4 million people. The...
Feb 14, 20172 min read
Three Options for Local Clean Energy
If you have an electric bill there are three basic ways for you to get your electricity from renewable sources. The most popular is...
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