Joe and Tom started a new consumer advocacy website for solar water heating. Feel free to check it out here: Solar Water TV. You will find tons of free information about solar water heating. Everything from interviews with past customers to a comprehensive rating of solar water heating systems by manufacturer and system type. See you over there!
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
New Consumer Advocacy Site
Thursday, April 8th, 2010
PolarSolar Expansion!
Thursday, February 11th, 20102 New California Branches!
Burbank, CA
Costa Mesa, CA
We will be posting more news and information following our April 2 Grand Openings - Stay Tuned!
2000s: Natural Gas Price Rose the Most of All Commodities (142%).
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010Wow - We weren’t kidding about that natural gas market volatility. The subtext of what Rachel Deahl over at HeatingOil.com highlighted again (which was first mentioned in the Wall Street Journal by Russel Gold but was otherwise widely underreported): Natural Gas is a silly commodity to depend upon needlessly- We should be using it more to avoid burning as much coal! For a very balanced source on natural gas check out Rachel’s article and heatingoil.com.
Client Reception at New Resource Bank
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009New Resource Bank invited us to table at their holiday party. It was a great turnout and we had a very enjoyable time talking to other bank clients about solar water heating. The bank’s clientele is a very refreshing mix of forward-thinking San Franciscans, Bay Area residents, and green businesses. PolarSolar highly recommends banking with New Resources. Aside from all the great stuff they do to promote green technology and the renewables, they are a top quality financial institution with a community focus - check out their introductory video to learn more.
Key Water Saving Tips:
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009Here are a few new tips to keep in mind - They are all basically commonsensical, but worth repeating:
1. When you brush your teeth, make sure to turn off the faucet - you can save eight gallons every day with this one.
2. Shortening your showers by as little as two minutes can save another eight gallons every time you shower.
3. Leaky faucets can waste 20 gallons per day, so don’t hesitate to fix these fixtures - call a plumber!
4. Make sure you wash only full loads and you could be saving 50 gallons of water per week.
5. If you are replacing the old commode, install a High Efficiency Toilet (HET).
6. Stop using the toilet as a trashcan or wastebasket.
7. Your hot water pipes should be well insulated, preferably with eco-friendly insulation made from recycled materials.
8. Of course - Install low-flow faucet aerators.
9. What goes for the clothes washer goes for the dishwasher - FULL LOADS ONLY!
10. Washing and rinsing dishes by hand should be done in the basin or a sink bucket - not with the water running directly down the drain.
11. You can check for toilet leaks by adding food coloring to the tank. If coloring appears in the bowl you have a leaky toilet that could be wasting many gallons per day (Make sure to flush after your test so that you dont stain your toilet bowl).
12. Do not shave with the water running - conserve water by using a bowl or the basin.
13. If you like your drinking water cold - fill up the container and put it in the fridge - stop running the water until its cold.
14. You should not need to run your garbage disposal all that much (are you composting?…).
15. Your plants would love that old, murky fish tank water, so don’t just pour it down the drain.
16. Thaw food with ambient air, not running water.
17. One last point on toilets - instead of jiggling that handle to stop the runny toilet - how about fixing it? Your guests don’t know that trick and you yourself might be forgetting sometimes…
That’s all for now - tune back in later for more money, water, and energy saving tips…
The problem with Natural Gas is…
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009…essentially, we continue to waste it and pollute our atmosphere needlessly. It simply shouldn’t be used as if it is the most abundant, sustainable, and cost effective catch-all solution to our climate crisis. It is a finite resource and it is time to begin using it as such. Yes, it is cleaner than coal - Sure, we should use it as a bridge solution to cleaner, renewable sources of energy (instead of coal for electricity generation). But very simply - we don’t need to rely on it anymore as a principal water heating source and there are big potential hazards associated with its use. Hydraulic mining (hydraulic fracturing, more specifically) uses vast amounts of water mixed with chemicals to break up the shale to mine the gas. Aside from the waste of water, this practice is likely poisoning our water tables! Check out the new article in the New York Times : Dark Side of a Natural Gas Boom .
How to size up a water heater’s output…
Thursday, November 26th, 2009A client recently asked me if I thought that one of our systems would produce enough hot water for him and his family. The following might give you some guidance on how to assess the output of any water heater you consider installing…
The first thing to consider is that solar energy input varies, so let’s
take that out of the equation initially to consider the tank’s output.
The tank has two 4500 W elements, or electrical burners.
The tank holds 75 gallons, or 625 lbs of water.
A single 4500 W element is equal to 15,354 BTUs
the tank has two elements: one located toward the top, and one at the middle
of the tank (vertically speaking as indicated in the diagram I sent)
1 BTU= 1 lb of water/1 degree F/Hr
Your average inlet temperature is roughly 62 F, and we need to raise it to
120 F.
This is a delta T (temperature change) of 58 F.
58(DT) x 625 lbs = 36,250
36,250 / 15,354 = 2.3 hours
That is, without any solar input, one 4500 W element will heat 75 gallons of
water at 62F to a piping 120 degrees in 2.3 hours without considering a
standby loss of 0.9 degrees per hour (see system manual for standby loss).
However, this does not completely answer your question for 3 main reasons:
The first being that the tank we recommended installing has 2 of these elements. The second
being that the whole 75 gallon tank does not need to be 120 degrees F for
you to have hot water as the hot water comes out of the top of
the tank. Lastly, this does not consider that the solar-heated glycol
narrows the temperature differential every day, ultimately keeping the top
of the tank at above 140 F on sunny days on solar input alone (without any
electricity).
Furthermore, we have several clients that have their auxiliary heating elements off still (in the middle of November). Though these results will vary across all situations depending on latitude, shading, and orientation, this 100% solar output is QUITE impressive.
The Top 5 Reasons to Join PaloAltoGreen Today
Monday, October 26th, 2009- It is the most successful renewable energy purchase program in the country and you can keep it that way.
- It has cut emissions 11% since 2005, with a goal of reducing them 30% by 2012 and 80% BY 2050.
- California leads the nation in electricity generation from renewables like geothermal, wind, fuel wood, landfill gas and solar and is second only to Washington State in hydroelectric generation. Yet at the same time, California has to import more electricity from other states than any other state in the nation. Programs like PaloAltoGreen help us keep our money in our state – investing in our future.
- When people talk about natural gas, the leading source of electricity production in the state of California, they are essentially talking about methane. And before it can be provided to the end user, raw natural gas needs to be heavily refined in order to remove almost all materials other than methane. The by-products of this processing include ethane, propane, butane, and pentanes, among others. Why transport this fuel from 2,000 miles away when renewable energy is available to us in California - here, now – through programs like PaloAltoGreen?
- Massive amounts of fresh, clean water are required in order to extract and produce natural gas – an estimated 5 million gallons per fracture and another 1 million for drilling! This fresh water mixes with sand and other chemicals being extracted to form a toxic chemical cocktail that is either forced down under pressure or rises to the surface in the form of radioactive waste. You have the choice to use a different kind of energy, and it begins with Joining PaloAltoGreen today.
Here is a great video to send to friends and family! - We are the solution.
We don’t use PVC…here’s why:
Monday, October 26th, 2009In response to Beth Terry’s informative post on her blog, “Fake Plastic Fish,” we want to announce here that PolarSolar will no longer use PVC in our installations. PVC is very common in a variety of plumbing applications. As plumbers we are declaring that we will not use this substance ever again and neither should you!…this is a repost, but we highly recommend that you follow Beth Terry’s essential blog on why and how you should get plastic out of your home and out of your life. Beth gives 7 important reasons to avoid PVC (and much more) on her website. Here’s reason number one:
So what’s wrong with PVC?
1. PVC is the only major plastic that contains chlorine, so it is unique in the hazards it creates. During production, PVC plants can release dioxins which harm workers and community members who live nearby. According to pvcinformation.org, residents of Louisiana, which is home to half the PVC production facilities in the USA, have been shown to have much higher concentrations of dioxins in their blood than the average U.S. citizen.
click here to read all the other reasons to skip PVC
The Smart Grid Library
Saturday, October 24th, 2009Christine Hertzog’s smart grid library is really a project worthy of recognition and a great resource for those of us who want to know more about smart grids and the future of energy distribution. In addition to the smart grid library (available in E and print forms), Christine’s blog is really engaging on a wide variety of energy issues and we here are BIG fans. A recent entry raises the very salient issues facing the EPA/DOE joint Energy Star Program, and I really recommend that you read about why CONSUMERS NEED 3rd PARTY TESTING and OVERSIGHT!!!!:
“Many people in the USA are familiar with the Energy Star ratings that appear on many devices that consume electricity. We like to feel good that we’re buying a product that has been tested and rated to exacting standards that help the environment. The Energy Star program guidelines state that only the top 25% of products in any one category can earn this special rating for energy efficiency. Energy Star is a great concept, but the reality is a bit different. Currently, companies test their own products, under their own conditions, to report on their energy use. For example, some refrigerator manufacturers tested their products’ energy use with the ice-makers turned off. Is that really the most common mode of operation? I don’t think so. Does self-certification serve the public interest? Not in these situations, and when big money is involved, verification of compliance with standards becomes critical. ”
How many times do we need to make the same mistakes?…Okay- Im going to get on my solar water heating horse for one sentence to point out that the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation independently tests and certifies all solar water systems eligible for incentives in the US, cutting out a LOT of the bunk…Anyway, we love Christine’s work and highly recommend adding the Smart Grid Dictionary to your library if you are in the energy industry, are an engineer, an activist, enthusiast, environmentalist, solar nerd, or all-of-the-above like us.
Essential Reference
