DREAM WITH THE WIND

Why Small Wind?


For homeowners, farmers, small businesses, and public facilities, a wind turbine is a smart investment that will lower your monthly expenses, increase your net worth, and help support manufacturing jobs. At the same time it will help clean the air, slow climate change, and move us towards energy independence.

For remote sites without grid power, a wind turbine can significantly lower operating costs over a diesel generator and provide sustainable power where the power grid cannot reach.

Electrical Systems and Services, Inc. is an authorized dealer of Bergey Wind Turbines




Why Bergey?

Bergey Windpower is the oldest and most experienced manufacturer of residential-sized wind turbines in the world.

Thirty years ago Bergey pioneered the radically-simple “Bergey design” that has proven to provide the best reliability, performance, service life, and value of all of the hundreds of competitive products that have come and gone in that time. With only three moving parts and no scheduled maintenance necessary, the Bergey 10 kW has compiled a service record that no other wind turbine can match. We back it up with the longest warranty in the industry.

There are now many new small wind products on the market. Though sometimes heavily promoted, these new entrants lack the track record that provides confidence as a sound investment. Over the years Bergey wind turbines have often replaced unsuccessful competitive products. The bottom line is that wind turbines are a big investment, and Bergey is the wise choice.

HERE ARE SOME NUMBERS ON SOLAR GROWTH

US Solar Energy Industry Experiences Record-Breaking Growth in 2010




Photovoltaic installations double over 2009; Largest concentrating solar power plant in 20 years comes online; Solar heating and cooling reverses trend and expands



WASHINGTON, D.C., and CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The U.S. solar energy industry had a banner year in 2010 with the industry’s total market value growing 67 percent from $3.6 billion in 2009 to $6.0 billion in 2010, according to the U.S. Solar Market InsightTM: Year-in-Review 2010 released today by the Solar Energy Industries Association® (SEIA®) and GTM Research. Solar was a bright spot in the U.S. economy last year as the fastest growing energy sector, contrasting overall U.S. GDP growth of less than 3 percent.



In total, 878 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic (PV) capacity and 78 MW of concentrating solar power (CSP) were installed in the U.S. in 2010, enough to power roughly 200,000 homes. In addition, more than 65,000 homes and businesses added solar water heating (SWH) or solar pool heating (SPH) systems.



The U.S. PV market made the most significant strides in 2010, more than doubling installation totals from 2009 according to the latest U.S. Solar Market InsightTM report. This expansion was driven by the Federal section 1603 Treasury program, completion of significant utility-scale projects, expansion of new state markets and declining technology costs.



The section 1603 Treasury program helped fourth-quarter installations surge to a record 359 MW and was critical in allowing the solar industry to employ more than 93,000 Americans in 2010. Originally set to expire at the end of 2010, the 1603 Treasury program was ultimately extended through 2011.



In addition, market diversification was a distinguishing characteristic of U.S. solar energy development in 2010. Sixteen states each installed more than 10 MW of PV in 2010, up from only four in 2007. The top 10 states for PV installation in 2010 were: California, New Jersey, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Florida, North Carolina and Texas.



Cost declines were also an important factor in the 2010 solar expansion, as technology costs fell and the industry matured further, capitalizing on greater economies of scale and improved installation practices. In the residential and commercial-property segments, installed annual PV system cost declines of 8 percent and 11 percent respectively spurred record build-out.

More Solar PV Information

Solar Electric (Photovoltaic)

• Photovoltaic (PV) devices generate electricity directly from sunlight via an electronic process that occurs naturally in certain types of material, called semiconductors. Electrons in these materials are freed by solar energy and can be induced to travel through an electrical circuit, powering electrical devices or sending electricity to the grid.

• PV devices can be used to power anything from small electronics such as calculators and road signs up to homes and large commercial businesses.

History

• The PV effect was observed as early as 1890 by Henri Becquerel, and was the subject of scientific inquiry through the early twentieth century. In 1954, Bell Labs in the U.S. introduced the first solar PV device that produced a useable amount of electricity, and by 1958, solar cells were being used in a variety of small-scale scientific and commercial applications.

• The energy crisis of the 1970s saw the beginning of major interest in using solar cells to produce electricity in homes and businesses, but prohibitive prices (nearly 30 times higher than the current price) made large-scale applications impractical.

• Industry developments and research in the following years made PV devices more feasible and a cycle of increasing production and decreasing costs began which continues even today.

Present Status

• The cost of PV has dropped dramatically as the industry has scaled up manufacturing and incrementally improved the technology with new materials. Installation costs have come down too with more expereinced and trained installers. However, the U.S. still remains behind other nations that have stronger national policies to shift energy use from fossil fuels to solar. Globally, the U.S. is the fourth largest market for PV installations behind world leaders Germany, Japan and Spain.

• Most modern solar cells are made from either crystalline silicon or thin-film semiconductor material. Silicon cells are more efficient at converting sunlight to electricity, but generally have higher manufacturing costs. Thin-film materials typically have lower efficiencies, but are simpler and less costly to manufacture. A specialized category of solar cells - called multi-junction or tandem cells - are used in applications requiring very low weight and very high efficiencies, such as satellites and military applications.

SOLAR POSSIBILITIES

Windspire catches the wind

Another area of renewable energy ESS is currently involved in is wind power. We have many installations of the Windspire wind turbine in very visable locations. Here is some basic information on the Windpsire wind turbine.

About Windspire


The Windspire Wind Turbine is a radically designed, low-cost, low-noise, attractive wind power turbine for use in urban, suburban, rural and remote locations. Windspire is a propeller-free, vertical-axis design that features patented technology that maximizes energy conversion from wind into electric power, regardless of changing wind speed and direction. Electricity is generated with vertical airfoils that rotate around a center shaft, which will offset energy consumed from the utility. Thus reducing your electric bill and also reducing your impact on the environment. Windspire is designed & engineered in the US and is 100% made in Michigan at a former automotive facility, putting laid off auto-workers back to work. The Windspire has been featured in Fortune, Popular Mechanics, Popular Science, and on “20/20”, CNN and NPR. Electrical Systems and Service, Inc. (ESS) is Southeastern Wisconsin’s Authorized Windspire Dealer and will perform a free site assessment and proposal for your Wind Turbine System.

SOME "GREEN" NUMBERS TO SAVE YOU SOME "GREEN"

Be Seen with Green

“Focus On Energy” Rebate Offer for LED Retrofit Fixtures


We are excited to show you how in just a few minutes you can go green and start saving money and energy. And with the current Wisconsin “Focus on Energy” Rebate offers, going green has never been so easy.
It’s as simple as taking out your old incandescent light bulb, and replacing it with a LED Retrofit Fixture and start being seen with green. These LED lights are cutting edge technology, which will increase your energy profile in the eyes of your customers; providing them with a first-hand example of leading energy efficiency technology. These lights install directly into, your existing Edison-base sockets, and can be self- installed; eliminating all installation costs.

How simple is it to save money and energv by simply installing LED retrofit fixtures?

•  Let’s assume you have 25, 75 watt incandescent lights that run for an average of 12 hours 
•  That means those lights consume (25 x 75 x 12) 22,500 Watts every day.
•  This leads to 675,000 Watts every month!
• At $0.16 per kW, it costs you $108.00 every month on your electric bill.

•  Now let’s assume you replace those incandescent lights with a 12 watt LED retrofit fixture.
•  The LED lights consume (25 x 12 x 12) 3,600 Watts per day.
• This leads to 108,000 watts per month.
•  At $0.16 per kW, it only costs $17.28 per month

•  That’s an energy savings of $90.72 each and every month by just taking a few minutes to install the new 12 Watt LED Retrofit fixture.

The savings are not over yet:

• The average Life of an incandescent bulb is 750-1000 hrs.
• Based on an estimated 12 hours per day of use, your average light bulb lasts 84 days.
•  This means that each bulb needs to be replaced 4 times per year per fixture.
•  That is 100 new light bulbs each and every year!
•  At an average of $2.00 per bulb and add a labor cost of $2.00 per bulb installed, you will spend $400.00 per year just on new bulbs and installation.
• This averages out to be a cost of $33.33 each month on old inefficient light bulbs.
• The manufacturers stated lifespan of the LED down light retrofit fixture is 50,000 hrs.
•  Based on your estimated 12 hours per day of use, your LED down light retrofit fixture will last 4167 days, or 11.4 years,
• This fixture requires no maintenance, which means no additional cost every month.

Now let’s look at your savings every month:

•  Your energy saving per month is $90.72.
•  Your material and labor savings is $33.33 per month.
•  This is a total savings per month of $124.05.
•  This means in only 15.1 months, based on the total savings per month, the LED Retrofit Fixtures will have paid for themselves.

DID YOU KNOW?

Facts About Solar Energy



Myth: Solar Energy works well in only warm, sunny climates.

Reality: Solar technologies work efficiently even in cloudy climates. Proper design allows for solar systems to function up to 30 consecutive days without sunlight.

Myth: Solar Energy is too costly.

Reality: There are hundreds of applications where solar is the least expensive method for delivering power. Every solar system will save money over its lifecycle.

Myth: Solar Energy is not as reliable as conventional energy technologies.

Reality: Solar is often more reliable than other energy sources. The National Renewable Energy laboratory had found photovoltaics to be “the most reliable source of electric power ever invented.” Solar Energy is reliable since it is not subject to power blackouts or breaks in a systems network.