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Homeowners can see how their daily sunshine dollar is spent

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Most homeowners who have invested a tidy 20 – 30K in a whole-house solar electric system want some idea of exactly how much, and when, their solar system is generating energy. This is true especially given the fact that most solar systems in Maryland, DC, Virginia and surrounding area are grid-tied. The solar electric system provides a large portion, though generally not ALL of a home’s electricity, with the balance coming from the traditional energy provider (BGE, PEPCO, etc.) during periods of high usage and/or low sunshine levels. So most customers still receive an electric bill, albeit greatly reduced. An online solar monitoring system keeps the homeowner plugged in to how much energy they are receiving from the sun versus their utility “back-up”.

The monitoring system is tied to the Inverter… (An inverter, by the way, converts DC power to usable AC power.)

SES often uses Enphase Microinverters in residential solar electric systems. This is our preferred monitoring system for a variety of reasons, including simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and customer support. With this system, each panel has its own inverter and associated monitoring. In contrast, solar systems that use only one inverter for the whole array do not have the ability to monitor performance of individual panels; just the entire as a whole. Microinverters, convert, quantify, and record the DC to AC energy conversion on each individual panel, independent of the other panels. These microinverters come with the Envoy Enlighten monitoring system. The homeowner simply clicks on a link from on their computer or Smartphone to see live readout of their current system power generation along with a robust record of historical data. Both the homeowner and system installer are notified when Enphase detects issues such as a panel or inverter failure (a rare occurrence), communication issues or shading (due to tree growth etc.), enabling a speedy remediation. Fortunately, true solar panel/inverter issues are few and far between, if at all, keeping the monitoring system employed at its optimum job: counting the rays of sunshine that power your home.

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Solar veteran Roger Perry gives his two penneth about on-demand water heaters as viable solar water heating back-up candidates.

CAN I — USE AN ON-DEMAND HEATER AS SOLAR BACK-UP?

All solar water heaters in Maryland, D.C., and the Mid-Atlantic provide a family of four with around 75% of their annual hot water load. Most customers use their existing electric or gas sources for the remaining 25% backup (usually needed dead winter.) On-demand water heaters have a couple of advantages over tank-type heaters, but they are somewhat mitigated with a solar system.

The touted advantages of on-demand heaters:

Endless hot water– In a solar system with a properly sized back-up you will, pretty much, have endless hot water in the summer and plenty of hot water the rest of the time.

Large savings because of no stand-by losses– The claims of “up to 40% savings” are a bit exaggerated in all but the oldest water heaters. Our solar tanks are extremely well insulated and their stand-by losses are minimal. Also, in a solar water heater, the tank is an integral part of the system so the small stand-by losses are a fact of life.

Then there are the disadvantages with on-demand heaters:

On-demand heaters can get very confused when fed water that is already hot– This can result in temperature fluctuations as the heater tries to adjust or, in extreme cases, the heater shutting down on high limit.  One way we have gotten around this is to use a motorized 3-way valve that bypasses the on-demand heater.  This works well but adds to the complexity of an alredy complex piece of equipment, which leads me to…

They are very complex pieces of equipment– A standard water heater, gas or electric, has a bimetallic spring that moves to make an electrical connection when it cools, and moves to break that connection when it heats up. It doesn’t get a lot simpler than that. An on-demand heater must sense the flow of water (demand), measure the outgoing water temperature, and adjust the amount of gas to feed the burners so as to maintain a constant temperature at the tap. It also has to do this very quickly so as to not deliver water that is too cold when another tap is turned on or too hot when another tap is turned off. After a couple of years, scale begins to build up in the water valve; the unit needs to be descaled or it will stop working. For safety reasons, the default for most problems in any of these systems is for the unit to shut down.

All of this said, believe it or not, I do like these systems and would recommend one to anyone who could not get a solar system for some reason. I just don’t think they are worth the added headaches as a back-up for a solar water heating system.

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Solar veteran Roger Perry discusses the pros and cons of One Tank Vs Two for Solar Back-up

All solar water heaters in Maryland, D.C. and the mid-atlantic provide a family of four with around 75% of their annual hot water load. Most customers use their existing electric or gas sources for the remaining 25% backup (usually needed dead winter). When installing a solar system one question that will come up is “Should I use my existing tank and have it fed by the solar system?” or “Should I remove my existing tank and use the electric back-up that comes in the solar tank?”. A couple of situations make this an easy decision;

1. An existing electric water heater with no room for another tank. This is especially satisfying and cost effective if the existing tank is leaking or on it’s last legs. It’s like getting $1500 off the cost of a solar system because that money would have needed to be spent anyway. In this case you would definitely chose a single tank system.
2. The other is if you have a gas water heater. While not as cut and dry as the example above, using the electric element would mean using a higher cost fuel for back-up (not so much with propane). Much of this extra cost would be mitigated because the single tank back-up would not run as much because it would be affected by solar input without running a faucet. You would need to run an electric circuit (30 amp, double pole breaker). This may be difficult or very easy depending on the breaker box location and available space in it. Most jurisdictions will also require a master electrician and a permit for this to be done. In this case, I think, most people would shy away from a single tank system unless there was just no room for another tank.

Let’s look at the pros and cons of each system;

SINGLE TANK PROS

• Smaller footprint
• Less heat loss
• Electric element can sense the solar output and not come on from stand-by losses
• Can go “all solar” just by turning off the element (essentially flipping a switch).

SINGLE TANK CONS

• Less back-up in cloudy weather (can be compensated with a larger solar tank which will have a larger back-up capacity).
• Less solar storage when the element is on (can be compensated for with a larger solar tank which will have more solar storage).

TWO TANK PROS

• Usually greater back-up capacity

TWO TANK CONS

• Greater heat loss
• Larger footprint

The secondary backup tank can’t sense the primary solar tank temperature unless a faucet is turned on, sending the water through the two-tank system.  This causes the second tank to turn on from stand-by losses when the primary solar tank is already plenty hot.

Going all solar requires operating valves as well as turning off back-up.

Personally I’m a fan of single tank systems. For the most part their two main drawbacks can be compensated for by installing a larger tank. An upgrade from a 80 to a 120 gallon solar tank is only a few hundred dollars. For a 50% increase in solar storage it is a small price to pay.

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SES gives the skinny on going sunny

1. 1. Cut your Energy Losses
   In most homes, heating and cooling accounts for the most energy usage. Regardless of where your energy is coming from; gas, coal, solar, electric, wind, etc. a homeowner’s first consideration is to reduce the loss of incoming energy:
   • Replace old windows and doors with Energy Star products. This can reduce energy consumption by 7 – 15%.
   • Seal up any air leaks throughout the house, attic and basement.
   • Insulate! This blocks air loss in the winter and preserves cool air in the summer.
2. Consider those Big Appliances
   Refrigerator: Keep the condenser coils clean. Keep refrigerator away from oven/washer/dryer and other heat producing appliances. Place with consideration to air circulation.
   Stove: Remember that gas is generally a more cost-effective choice than electric.
   Attic Fan: An excellent way of pushing hot air outside in the day, and drawing cool air at night.
3. Need a new roof?
   If you think your roof may need repairing or replacing within the next 5 or so years –it may be worth replacing before the solar panels are installed. If you’re on the fence about replacing your roof prematurely, remember that installers such as SES do provide a Remove and Reinstall service where, for a reasonable fee, the panels will be safely removed then re-installed after re-roofing.
4. Small Bite or Full Monty?
   Just about every solar energy company sells and installs Solar Electric (Photovoltaic) systems. However, solar water heaters are an entirely different type of solar panel and not every solar company installs them. Thus, not every solar company is likely to tout the cost-effectiveness of this mature technology. Solar water heaters require only a fraction of the roof space (and often a third of the cost) that a solar PV system requires. For a family of four, currently using electric to heat their home’s water – solar water heating may provide the biggest bang for your solar buck, providing around 75% of a home’s annual hot water. However, a family of two heating their water with gas may consider investing in a solar electric (PV) system sized for their usage. Insofar as solar electric (PV), many homeowners cover 60 – 100% of their electrical needs from solar. Some choose to offset as little as 25% and opt to add panels as their budget allows.
5. READ your Energy Bill
   For electricity, your energy bill should tell you how many kilowatt hours you use per year. This is an important number as you generally do not want to install a system that will exceed your annual consumption. Experienced installers can help you assess this, but a good rule of thumb is to divide that number by 1200kwH and that will tell you the approximate max sized PV system you should consider. That will be represented in kW – probably something like 8 to 10 kW if you are an average consumer. If you heat your water with electric, then solar water heating should absolutely be considered first.
6. Best way to pay for your solar system
   The beauty of an increased popularity in solar is that there are a number of ways a homeowner can finance their project. Without question, whether immediately or over time, Solar Power is far cheaper than your Utility bill.

Payment plans range from No-Money-Down leasing options to initial investments ranging from $2000 – $50,000 depending on your energy usage and type of solar system. Thanks to current financial incentives, many Marylanders receive over 50% of their upfront investment back the first year. Some of our customers have transferred funds from low yield CDs and even borrowed from 401ks in order to fund their higher-return solar investment. Other homeowners have no interest in ROI’s and fund-juggling and simply want a lowered electric bill/carbon footprint. Thankfully there is a wide variety of financing options available.

• Know YOUR solar energy tax credits, grants and incentives
  Any solar salesperson worth his/her salt will visit your home with full knowledge of the available financial incentives for your state and county. For example, an Anne Arundel County resident has the good fortune of FOUR different financial incentives (for both PV AND solar water heating) that combine to offer a huge discount on their system. Acclimating yourself to current incentives for your county will help the sales process be much more informative for you. Every solar homeowner is eligible for a 30% Federal Tax Credit. Then SRECs (solar renewable energy credits), state grants, county tax credits differ across the region.
• Solar Panel Placement
  Whether solar water heating or solar electric (PV), a south facing shade-free roof provides optimum conditions for solar panel placement. However, any shade-free roof – including East and West orientations provide excellent rooftops for solar panels. The number of panels installed depends upon system size, roof space and budget. Homeowners with a good amount of spare land may also consider ground-mounted systems, some of which offer solar tracking options where panels are mounted to motorized pole that literally follow the sun, improving solar efficiency by 40 – 45%.
• How many solar panels on the roof?
  Insofar as solar water heating, a shade-free area of 64 square feet is typical to house two 4′ x 8′ solar thermal panels (sized to provide a family of four with around 75% of their annual hot water load). Most solar electric (PV) panels measure 3′ 6″ x 5′ 6″. So, a roof that is 30′ wide by 14′ from gutter to ridge will fit two rows of 9 panels. An experienced solar designer will get precise roof measurements and ensure the panels are placed in the most space-efficient and visually appealing design.
• Choosing a solar energy installer
  Of course, the author of this blog would like to gleefully exclaim, “Choose Solar Energy Services!”. However, most educated consumers know that the best way of finding the best fit for an installer comes from shopping around for the popular 3 proposals/estimates. There are a lot of solar installers our there in today’s market. Some considerations:

 

Time in the Business: This matters. Obviously the more systems a licensed installer has installed – the more experience they’ve gained – and the more they’ve refined their installation technique. Just as important, however, is the question of whether the installer will be around in 5, 10 or 15 yrs when perhaps the incentives for solar have declined. An older company is likely to have deeper roots in the industry regardless of current solar trends and incentives. You want your installer to be around for the life of your system, 25 – 35 yrs plus. This narrows the field considerably.

Service Department: Solar Water Heaters require a 3 – 5 yr simple service visit. Does the installer provide this service?

All Options on the Table: A company who offers both leasing AND upfront purchase will likely lay ALL your options out on the table. This also goes for installers who offer both solar water heating AND solar electric.

There should not be a charge associated with a site evaluation of your home for solar energy. This is a necessary part of the sales process and should take place before the cost estimate/proposal is presented.

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“If my collector is at 136 degrees, my TST (bottom of tank temperature) is at 161 degrees and my S3 (top of the tank temperature) is at 154 degrees – why is my circulator pump still running? Won’t this cool the bottom of the tank?”

SES says: The pump runs intermittently for a minute periodically when the collectors reach 240 degrees. This keeps the collectors from overheating. Your maximum tank temperature is set to 160. If the bottom sensor, the TST reading, exceeds 160 degrees, the controller will run the pump briefly in the evening to bring the tank temperature back down to 160.

It has been our experience that setting the max temp higher than 160 leads to overheating problems. Yes, you are losing a little heat from the tank when the cooling feature comes on, but at this time of year it is excess heat. You are producing much more hot water than you are using at this time. This is the summer solstice; the collector and tank temperatures will moderate in a few months. Some customers add an extra loop to their solar tank and use that excess heat to heat a swimming pool or hot tub. Most just use control features to manage the excess heat.

Don’t worry about the power consumption. The Grundfos Alpha pump only uses about 5 Watts whether heating or cooling the tank.

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The solar clock is ticking – don’t wait for solar energy costs to come down

The installed cost of a solar electric system has come down dramatically in the past several years – by 50% in most cases. However, homeowners considering investing in solar would do well to act sooner rather than later. Declining financial incentives and the threat of increasing panels costs (due to US tariffs on chinese solar panels), mean that the cost of solar energy could start to go up very soon.

SOLAR ELECTRIC (PV)

Whole house solar electric systems are being installed every day in Maryland. The system can be sized to offset some or most of a home’s electricity bill and are grid-tied; the homeowner’s utility-provided energy is still readily available for them in times of no-sun. Also, when there is more sun than needed – the extra energy serves to turn the homeowner’s meter “backwards” – crediting their utility account. Current grants and tax credits, coupled with unprecedented low solar panels costs, means that most of the solar electric systems currently installed pay for themselves in around six years and are warrantied for 20 to 30 years. That’s 20 to 30 years of ZERO rate increase.

TYPICAL 5kW SOLAR ELECTRIC SYSTEM

• Estimated System Cost $21,000
• Federal Tax Credit $6,300
• MD State Grant $1,000
• AA County Property Tax Credit @ 75% $1,875
• SREC Payments* $6,700
• Total Incentives $15,875
• Net Cost to Homeowner $5,125
• Payback in Years 5 – 7yrs
• 25yr Annual Energy Savings +$800 per year

SOLAR WATER HEATERS (thermal)

The solar panels used to heat a home’s water for laundry, showers etc. are entirely different from those used to provide electricity. They require much less space and are substantially less expensive. A solar water heater sized for a family of four provides 75% of the home’s annual hot water load and CAN PAY for itself in around 3 years.

Again, this is a system slated to last 20 to 30 years. Gas or electric is used as a back-up system.

TYPICAL 4-PERSON SOLAR WATER HEATING SYSTEM

• Estimated System Cost $9,000
• Federal Tax Credit $2,700
• MD State Grant $ 500
• AA County Property Tax Credit @ 75% $1,875
• SREC Payments* $3,200
• Total Incentives $8,275
• Net Cost to Homeowner $725
• Payback in Years 1 – 4 yrs
• 25yr Annual Energy Savings +$400 per year

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Listen to NPR’s January 2012 Interview with Rick Peters

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The cost of the residential solar system has come down dramatically in the past five years. With 4 separate grants and incentives, Anne Arundel County residents are catching on.

LET THE SUNSHINE IN – Residential solar energy systems are being installed every day in Anne Arundel County where local business owners Roger Perry and Rick Peters are working hard to keep up with rising demand. Their rapidly growing 18 person firm, Solar Energy Services, Inc. (SES) installs and services solar electric, solar water heating, and solar pool heating systems in Maryland and DC, with the majority of their residential customers located within AA County. When asked why he thinks solar has taken off even in these tough times, SES president Rick Peters said there are many drivers, but economics lead the way. “Rising utility bills, decreasing cost of solar panels and generous financial incentives all combine to give homeowners the opportunity to pay off 25yrs worth of BGE energy in about 6 years, not to mention the environmental and societal benefits.”

One House – two solar systems:

Most solar shoppers are unaware that there are two types of solar energy for the home. Whole house solar electric, commonly referred to as PV (Photovoltaic), is what most people think of as solar energy. However, a solar water heater can offset 75% of your annual hot water energy. Roger Perry quickly points out that if you have a large sunny roof, there is plenty of room for both systems. He and Peters both have solar water heating and solar electric on their homes.

The clock is ticking…

Each of the 4 different substantial incentives for a residential property owner in Anne Arundel County currently has a limited life-span, with the idea that solar can be competitive without them in the future. Peters notes that the current average payback on a solar electric system is about 6 years, for a system that lasts 25 – 30 years. With solar hot water, a 4 year average payback with a similar system lifespan. The payback is even faster if you have a large family (lots of hot water use) or if you need to replace your water heater anyway. Rick Peters leaves us with some food for thought, “You can invest your money in a lot of different places these days, but most are very uncertain, or producing a very low return. On an annual basis, the return on solar energy is quite predictable, and the economic return is hard to beat with any financial investment strategy.”

TYPICAL 5kW SOLAR ELECTRIC (PV) SYSTEM
Estimated System Cost	$27,500
Federal Tax Credit	$8,250
MD State Grant	$2,500
AA County Property Tax Credit @ 75%	$1,875
SREC Payments	$10,000
Total Incentives	$22,625
Net Cost to Homeowner	$4,875
Payback in Years	6.09 yrs
25 yr Annual Energy Savings	+800 per year
25 yr Lifetime Return on Investment	>250%

 

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Your recent editorial (The Capital, April 18) suggested Gov. O’Malley should put more emphasis on the distributed approach to renewable energy, where solar and wind power are generated by smaller systems throughout the state. In fact, the governor intends to sign legislation next month to do just that. Delegate Sally Jameson and state Senator Robert Garagiola sponsored what is essentially budget-neutral legislation (HB/933/SB717) to open up the state’s solar goals to include solar water heating, a very mature and efficient technology, first patented in Baltimore in 1891.

This family friendly technology currently saves a typical family of four about $500 per year on electric bills by obtaining 75 percent of their annual water heating energy from solar. The new law will allow system owners to sell green credits to help utilities comply with the state’s solar goals. Consequently, homeowners will now see simple paybacks on these affordable systems shortened from five to eight years to a very manageable two to four years, on a 25-year lifespan.

Aside from advancing our solar goals, and allowing modest-income homeowners to participate in the benefits of solar, there are significant economic benefits too. Solar water heating is a labor intensive installation, which keeps dollars recirculating in the community. It requires trades people to install it, a group much in need of work.

The components are low tech, but heavy and bulky , so there is strong incentives to manufacture domestically, if not locally. A typical residential system only requires 40 to 80 square feet of sunny roof, drastically increasing the potential pool of participants.

As a daily consumer of solar-heated water himself, O’Malley is well aware of the opportunity for Maryland. I commend him and our legislators for their leadership on this issue.

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