RENEWABLE ENERGIES CONTINUE TO GROW

Renewable energy use gaining worldwide

Renewables like solar and wind represent the fastest-growing source of energy power generation and will make up a quarter of the global power mix by 2018.

In 2016 renewable energy will overtake natural gas as a power source and will be twice that of nuclear, and second only to coal as a source of power.

The growth of renewables -- non-fossil fuels like hydropower, wind, solar, geothermal and bioenergy -- has been bolstered by increased competitiveness compared with conventional energy.

Non-hydro renewable power, mainly wind and solar photovoltaics, is projected to grow from 4 percent of all power generation in 2011 to 8 percent in 2018.

Still there is some uncertainty about long-term government policies that discourages investment; reduced subsidies in some countries due to economic problems; and tough competition from other energy sources, such as the United States, where a boom in shale gas has made that fuel more competitive.

US President Barack Obama's energy and climate proposals were unveiled Tuesday. Obama's polices constitute a clear example of a target that goes beyond the four years of a presidential mandate.

A report released earlier this month warned the world is on track to surpass by more than double the two-degree Celsius warming goal set by the United Nations, unless urgent measures are taken. The recommendations include curtailing coal-fired power stations and phasing out fossil fuel subsidies.

Let's continue the growth in all areas of renewables right here in the USA.

Update on SOLAR IMPULSE

Solar plane on cross-country trek

The Solar Impulse solar plane landed in St.Louis early Tuesday, completing the third leg of a planned five-flight trek from San Francisco to New York.

After taking off Monday morning from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, the aircraft landed in St. Louis after a flight of 21 hours and 21 minutes, its longest flight to date.

After the landing the Swiss-built aircraft was moved to an inflatable hangar originally designed for a planned round-the-world flight, but brought into action after a storm caused heavy damage to the airport hangar originally reserved for Solar Impulse.

The inflatable hangar was brought in to the USA for testing purposes and in fact it allowed the mission to stay on schedule. This exercise is now a proof of concept: rather than taking the airplane to a hangar, the hangar has been taken to the airplane.

Two men, both pioneers and innovators, both pilots, are the driving force behind Solar Impulse.

• Bertrand Piccard, doctor, psychiatrist and aeronaut, who made the first non-stop round-the-world balloon flight, is the initiator and chairman.
•  André Borschberg, an engineer and graduate in management science, a fighter pilot and a professional airplane and helicopter pilot, is the co-founder and CEO.

The first leg, beginning May 3 and piloted by Piccard, started from NASA's Moffett Field in the San Francisco Bay Area and ended in Phoenix; a Phoenix-to-Dallas flight with Borschberg at the controls began May 22.

The long flight times of each leg meant Solar Impulse had to fly through the night; 12,000 solar cells built into the wing use sunlight to charge the batteries for night flight.

A fourth flight will see the plane land in Washington, D.C., this month, while the final leg will end at JFK Airport in New York in early July.

You can follow the excitement of this fantastic voyage on the web at:

www.solarimpulse.com

Interesting Info, not Renewable Related.

More woes for PC sales in 2013:

More bad news for struggling makers of personal computers: a new forecast  suggests sales will fall another 7.8 percent in 2013 as buyers delay PC purchases or choose an alternative device.

The drop is likely to be steeper than its previous prediction, and come on the heels of a four percent decline in 2012.

The updated forecast reflects a huge drop in volume in the first quarter of 2013 and consumer reaction to new PCs using Windows 8, including more thin, convertible, touch, and slate models.

Many users are realizing that everyday computing, such as accessing the Web, connecting to social media, sending emails, as well as using a variety of apps, doesn't require a lot of computing power or local storage.

These users have not necessarily given up on PCs as a platform for computing when a more robust environment is needed, but this takes a smaller share of computing time, and users are making do with older systems.

Worldwide sales of PCs last month, slid 13.9 percent in the first quarter of 2013, the worst contraction since beginning the tracking of the market in 1994.

We expect to see some improvement in 2014, particularly in the commercial segment, as support for Windows XP expires.

Tablet sales are expected to grow 58.7 percent in 2013 to 229.3 million units.

This would bring tablet shipments above those of portable PCs this year.  Tablet shipments would begin to outpace the entire PC market by 2015.

What started as a sign of tough economic times has quickly shifted to a change in the global computing paradigm with mobile being the primary benefactor. Tablets surpassing portables in 2013, and total PCs in 2015, marks a significant change in consumer attitudes about compute devices and the applications and ecosystems that power them.

ELECTRIC VEHICLE UPDATE AS GAS REACHES $4 A GALLON

Rocky road for electric car market

The road has gotten bumpier for electric cars.

 As much as I like to report all of the advancing benefits of renewable energies, sometimes you need to report some bad news. Maybe the rising cost of filling up at the pump will renew interest in the EV's.

Coda Automotive, one of what had been a promising crop of electric car startups, filed for bankruptcy protection this month, and said it would reorganize around the electric storage market.

High-end electric car maker Fisker Automotive, which has had financial woes for months, announced meanwhile it was laying off 75 percent of its workforce, raising the prospect of defaulting on US government loans.

Electric cars are still coming to market from luxury maker Tesla, and from major automakers such as General Motors, Nissan and others, but the outlook has become murkier.

Analysts are divided on the outlook, but few believe President Barack Obama's goal of getting one million electric cars on the market by 2015 will be met.

Americans just don't see how an electric car can fit into their lifestyle. We continue to be risk-averse in investing in new technology in our cars. People are aware of the electric cars on the market but there is still a low number of consumers who say they would purchase an electric car. Battery-powered vehicles' share of US auto sales was just 0.08 percent in 2012, and predicts this will reach only 0.47 percent by 2015.

Consumers are held back by a lack of plug-in charging stations, concerns about the range of the vehicle before it needs recharging, and especially the high cost.

Gasoline-powered cars are improving enough to meet the needs of the consumer, without the price tag of electric cars. The lack of range and long recharging times are key factors.

Chevrolet cut production of its Volt last year amid soft demand, and is reported to be working on a less expensive version. Toyota and Honda also scaled back plans for all-electric vehicles for the US market.

There are a few bright spots, however.

Tesla Motors posted its first-ever quarterly profit, of $11 million in the first quarter as revenues rose 83 percent from the prior quarter.

Tesla is banking on its Model S, which sells for upwards of $60,000, by offering special financing and leasing deals with a guaranteed resale price. The car, which has an estimated range of more than 200 miles, was given a top rating by Consumer Reports.

Nissan has boosted sales of its all-electric Leaf to over 5,000 in the first quarter, overtaking the Chevrolet Volt, which has seen sales sputter.

MORE GOOD NEWS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGIES

New Battery Design Could Help Solar and Wind Energy Power the Grid

Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE)  have designed a low-cost, long-life battery that could enable solar and wind energy to become major suppliers to the electrical grid.

For solar and wind power to be used in a significant way, we need a battery made of economical materials that are easy to scale and still be efficient. The believe is that the new battery design may be the best yet designed to regulate the natural fluctuations of these alternative energies.

Currently the electrical grid cannot tolerate large and sudden power fluctuations caused by wide swings in sunlight and wind. As solar and wind's combined contributions to an electrical grid approach 20 percent, energy storage systems must be available to smooth out the peaks and valleys of this "intermittent" power - storing excess energy and discharging when input drops.

Among the most promising batteries for intermittent grid storage today are "flow" batteries, because it's relatively simple to scale their tanks, pumps and pipes to the sizes needed to handle large capacities of energy. The new flow battery developed  has a simplified, less expensive design that presents a potentially viable solution for large-scale production.

Today's flow batteries pump two different liquids through an interaction chamber where dissolved molecules undergo chemical reactions that store or give up energy. The chamber contains a membrane that only allows ions not involved in reactions to pass between the liquids while keeping the active ions physically separated. This battery design has two major drawbacks: the high cost of liquids containing rare materials such as vanadium - especially in the huge quantities needed for grid storage - and the membrane, which is also very expensive and requires frequent maintenance.

The new battery design uses only one stream of molecules and does not need a membrane at all. Its molecules mostly consist of the relatively inexpensive elements lithium and sulfur, which interact with a piece of lithium metal coated with a barrier that permits electrons to pass without degrading the metal. When discharging, the molecules, called lithium polysulfides, absorb lithium ions; when charging, they lose them back into the liquid. The entire molecular stream is dissolved in an organic solvent, which doesn't have the corrosion issues of water-based flow batteries. In initial lab tests, the new battery also retained excellent energy-storage performance through more than 2,000 charges and discharges, equivalent to more than 5.5 years of daily cycles.

To demonstrate the concept, the researchers created a miniature system using simple glassware. Adding a lithium polysulfide solution to the flask immediately produces electricity that lights an LED. A utility version of the new battery would be scaled up to store many megawatt-hours of energy.

Keep checking back to our blog for more updates on news in the renewable energies.

NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

OK, so let's try something completely different for a change. A little break from the renewable energy posts we normally do... 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOBILE PHONE/CARPHONE/PORTABLE PHONE/CELL PHONE. WHAT IS NEXT? I SEE HAVING A CHIP OR SOMETHING PLACED INSIDE OF THE SKIN OF OUR EARS, NO MORE DEVICE REQUIRED. 

Mobile phone turns 40, with little fanfare

The mobile phone turned 40 on Wednesday with no fanfare to mark the occasion in a market which seemed focused on new smartphones like the iPhone and a possible Facebook-themed device.

The first mobile call was placed April 3, 1973, by Motorola engineer Martin Cooper, head of a team working on mobile communication technologies.

Cooper made the call on Sixth Avenue in New York, before going into a press conference using a Motorola DynaTAC -- a device that weighed one kilogram, (2.2 pounds) and had a battery life of 20 minutes, according to Motorola. It was nicknamed “ The Brick ”

Cooper told the technology website The Verge last year that he placed the first call to a rival, Joel Engel of Bell Labs.

In 40 years, the industry has come a long way. Research  predicts 900 million smartphones will be sold in 2013 -- along with roughly the same number of more basic feature phones.

And the phone has become a key advertising platform -- eMarketer said US mobile advertising spending grew 178 percent last year to $4.11 billion, and spending is expected to rise a further 77.3 percent to $7.29 billion in 2013.

USA SOLAR HAS RECORD GROWTH IN 2012

The United States experienced record growth in solar installations in 2012.

A total of 3,313 megawatts of capacity was added in the United States last year, bringing the national solar photovoltaics total to 7,221 megawatts. That's a 76 percent increase compared with 2011.

More new solar systems were installed in 2012 than in the three prior years combined. There were 16 million solar panels installed in the U.S. last year -- more than two panels per second of the work day -- and every one of these panels was bolted down by a member of the U.S. workforce. The report forecasts 4,300 megawatts of new PV installations for 2013, an increase of 29 percent over 2012.

Most credited supportive government policies for helping to spur the growth and called for longer-term policies to provide certainty to the solar sector. You need the same certainty that has been provided to the oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear industries.

The market value of solar installations reached $11.5 billion in 2012, from $3.6 billion in 2009.

Amidst this boom, the solar industry faced newly imposed import tariffs on Chinese solar cells and ongoing consolidation in the manufacturing space. Last year, the U.S. International Trade Commission imposed a 36 percent tariff on Chinese solar cell manufacturers, for dumping cheap products on the U.S. market. These tariffs did have the desired effect of barring Chinese cells from entering the U.S. market.

Average costs for residential systems dropped nearly 20 percent in one year, from $6.16 per watt in 2011 to $5.04 per watt in 2012.

California led the nation in the number of megawatts installed. An update Thursday from the California Public Utilities Commission indicated that the state has installed 1.5 gigawatts of rooftop solar. That's almost equal to the amount of power generated by three medium-sized coal-fired power plants. Under its "Million Solar Roofs" program created in 2006, California, with the help of $3.3 billion in incentives, aims to generate 3 gigawatts of solar power by 2016. The state had passed the 1 gigawatt benchmark in November 2011.

THE NEED FOR A BETTER GRID SYSTEM

Improved synchronicity: Preventive care for the power grid

President Obama in this year's State of the Union address talked about the future of energy and mentioned "self-healing power grids" -- a grid that is able to keep itself stable during normal conditions and also to self-recover in the event of a disturbance caused, for example, by severe weather.

But as the national power-grid network becomes larger and more complex achieving reliability across the network is increasingly difficult. Now scientists have identified conditions and properties that power companies can consider using to keep power generators in the desired synchronized state and help make a self-healing power grid a reality.

Designs for a better power grid could help reduce both the frequency of blackouts and the cost of electricity as well as offer an improved plan for handling the intermittent power sources of renewable energy, such as solar and wind power, which can destabilize the network.

The use of renewable energy is growing. More people will be driving electric cars, and the power grid will be delivering this energy, not gas stations. The need will be for a power grid that is more capable and more reliable. This requires a better understanding of the current power grid as well as new ways to stabilize it.

The crux of the challenge is that for the U.S. power grid to function the power generators in each of its three interconnections (Eastern, Western and Texas) must be synchronized, all operating at the frequency of 60 hertz. Out-of-synch power generators can lead to blackouts that affect millions of people and cost billions of dollars -- losses similar to those of the Northeast blackout of 2003. Having a network that can synchronize spontaneously and recover from failures in real time -- in other words, a self-healing power grid -- could prevent such blackouts.

When a problem develops in the power-grid network, control devices are used to return power generators to a synchronized state. The researchers derived a condition under which the desired synchronous state of a power grid is stable. They then used this condition to identify the parameters of the power generators that result in spontaneous synchronization. This synchronization can be autonomous, not guided by control devices.

The blackout at this year's Super Bowl was caused by a device that was installed specifically to prevent blackouts. A large fraction of blackouts have human and equipment errors among the causes. Reduced dependence on conventional control devices can improve the reliability of the grid.

SOME FUN FACTS ABOUT ENERGY USE

Energy Efficiency Starts at Home
TV blasting, air conditioner humming - that's no time to start the dishwasher, do laundry, or bake a cake.

 Studies show how consumers can save energy by running their appliances at the optimal time of the day - or have smart monitors do it for them. The "smart" home of the near future will communicate with the electricity grid to know when power is cheap, tell appliances when to turn on or off, and even alert when renewable energy resources are available to offset peak demand.

 The idea is that eventually our appliances and homes are going to be able to 'talk' to the grid.

The goal is to reach 50% energy savings for new construction and 40% savings for building retrofits.

Cooling Efficiently in All Climates
Nothing runs up the energy bill like air conditioning. Air conditioning currently accounts for 15% of all electricity use in the United States, and can be as much as 70% of use during hot summer days.

Researchers borrowed ancient cooling ideas and combined them with outside-the-box thinking to come up with a radically new kind of air conditioning. The system first dehumidifies the air, and then sends it through an evaporative cooler to produce cool, dry air in any climate. The keys are paper membranes that separate the air from the water and the liquid desiccant, and a re-routing mechanism that uses a thermal cycle to refresh the desiccant and vent moisture away. The technology has the chance to lower air-conditioning energy bills by 40% to 80%, because it uses water rather than electricity to perform most of the process.

More Efficient Buildings
Forty percent of the nation's energy is used in buildings - from hospitals to factories, restaurants to office complexes.

Our nation's architects and engineers are looking to find ways to reduce by 50% the energy intensity of large hospitals, schools, and retail buildings.

U.S. hospitals spend more than $5 billion annually on energy, equaling about 2% of a typical hospital's operating budget.

Schools Finding Big Energy Savings
New schools and those going through a renovation can demonstrate an average energy savings of 30%. Among cost-saving measures, the blueprints called for pretreatment of humid air rather than over cooling the entire airflow; aligning the new schools on an east-west axis, with large, efficient, south-facing windows; and smart monitors to assure that only the lights that are needed are turned on.

The potential savings are monumental, amounting to some $75,000 per year, per school. In the United States there are about 100,000 public schools. This year, $14 billion will be spent constructing about 750 new schools and renovating others. If all the new and renovated schools followed green-school designs, the savings would be more than $50 million the first year, compounded each succeeding year. And the average school is built to endure 50 to 100 years.

NEW BATTERY ADVANCEMENTS

New batteries can recharge in 10 minutes

Researchers  say they've developed a lithium-ion battery using nanoparticles that has more energy capacity and recharges more quickly.

Scientists report using porous silicon nanoparticles in place of the traditional graphite anodes has yielded superior battery performance, holding three times as much energy as graphite-based designs and recharging within 10 minutes.

This discovery opens the door for the design of the next generation lithium-ion batteries.

The new batteries, which have applications from cell phones to hybrid cars, could be commercially available within two to three years.

Previous silicon anode designs using tiny plates of the material quickly broke down from repeated swelling and shrinking during charging/discharging cycles.

Using this design, porous silicon nanowires less than 100 nanometers in diameter and just a few microns long are used, and the tiny pores on the nanowires allow the silicon to expand and contract without breaking.

This also increases the surface area of the battery, allowing lithium ions to move in and out of the battery more quickly, improving performance.

SOLAR CELLS CAN BE MORE EFFICIENT

Simulating more efficient solar cells

Using an exotic form of silicon could substantially improve the efficiency of solar cells.

Solar cells are based on the photoelectric effect: a photon, or particle of light, hits a silicon crystal and generates a negatively charged electron and a positively charged hole. Collecting those electron-hole pairs generates electric current.

Conventional solar cells generate one electron-hole pair per incoming photon, and have a theoretical maximum efficiency of 33 percent. One exciting new route to improved efficiency is to generate more than one electron-hole pair per photon.

This approach is capable of increasing the maximum efficiency to 42 percent, beyond any solar cell available today, which would be a pretty big deal.

There is reason to believe that if parabolic mirrors are used to focus the sunlight on such a new-paradigm solar cell, its efficiency could reach as high as 70 percent.

In particular, the probability of generating more than one electron-hole pair is much enhanced, driven by an effect called "quantum confinement.”

But with nanoparticles of conventional silicon, the paradigm works only in ultraviolet light, this new approach will become useful only when it is demonstrated to work in visible sunlight.

SOLAR PV INSTALLATION IMPROVEMENTS

Electrical Systems and Services, Inc is always looking at new and improved solar PV installation techniques. These improvements not only allow for better and longer lasting solar systems, but in most cases decrease the overall cost of the system, with quicker installation times.

No two solar sites are precisely alike; both the built and natural environments affect an installation’s specifics. A thorough site survey quantifies these factors, and a quality system requires tailoring the design to the site specifics. Working with PV rack companies can take much of the guesswork out of the process, as they will provide engineered designs to meet wind uplift forces, snow load, and soil or roofing material types. 

Roof-Mounted PV Arrays

Because of space limitations, ground-level shading, and the excavating and trenching required for pole and ground mounts, the least expensive and most frequent location for PV arrays is on a roof.

Roofs can be classified as either low- or steep-sloped—low slope generally means a roof with a pitch of less than 3:12 (less than 14°). Low-sloped roofs are often mistakenly referred to as flat roofs, but no roof is ever really flat, as a pitch is needed for shedding water. Even a roof that appears flat will have a pitch of at least 0.5:12.

Top-Down Innovations

On steep-sloped roofs, modules are almost always flush-mounted—mounted parallel to the roof plane. The most common technique for flush-mounting steep roof arrays is “top-down mounting.” Anodized aluminum rails are used to support modules, and stainless steel or aluminum compression clips hold the modules onto the rails, usually with a bolt and nut captured by slots in the rails. This speeds up installation, eliminating bolting through the mounting holes on the back of module frames as was once common. Now, installation is easily accomplished with the modules in position on the rails from above—thus, the description “top-down”. 

Recent design improvements in top-down mounting decrease materials and reduce labor. They include automatic grounding   and one-tool installation, all of the bolts have the same size head, so one wrench fits all bolts. Snap-in nuts attach standoffs and top-down clips, the rails are height-adjustable, and there’s a built-in channel for wire management. In addition, both the mid- and end-clips have a universal design, meaning that regardless of module-frame dimensions, a single clip works with any module and the clips don’t have to be specified in advance.

Structural Attachments

Structural attachments from the array to the roof are a critical part of the installation. The attachment type and method will vary based on the roofing type (shingle, metal, tile, etc.) and with the roof’s structural design (wood trusses, structural insulated panels, metal, etc.). 

Preventing roof leaks and meeting building codes for live and dead loads (including wind uplift, rack and array weight, and snow loads) are primary concerns. A properly installed array will meet these concerns and maintain the roof warranty. In nearly all installations, every roof penetration needs to be flashed for waterproofing. On a composition (asphalt) shingle roof, the metal flashing fits underneath higher rows of shingles, so water runs over the top of the flashing and around the roof penetration. For years, many installers relied solely on sealant for penetrations, but new structural attachments make installing flashed penetrations simple and quick. 

LED LAMPS ARE NOT ALL EQUAL

Buying “the Wrong” LED Tube Lamps can be Expensive

Electrical Systems and Services, Inc is always concerned that our customers are well educated on what's new as well as comparing products. Many times when we get asked to bid on a project, we go over and above the demand by offering the customer several different options.One of the more common recent lighting upgrades ESS has done has been the T12 to T8 or T5. With a little more dollars up front, we can usually show the customer how money will be saved in the long haul, using LED's 

When making purchasing decision on energy efficient lighting, it is not uncommon for people to choose LED tubes lights on price alone. With conventional lamps where all things are equal, per-lamp price is a reasonable yardstick. However, with LED T8 lamps all things are everything but equal. Per-lamp price alone is inadequate to reflect the real cost of a retrofit project. Experienced lighting professionals are now considering  these factors when calculating the true cost of a retrofit project:

• ·         Per-lamp price
• ·         Per-lamp installation labor cost (50% labor saving is a lot)
• ·         Per-lamp accessories cost (for new tombstones, wirings, or an external driver)
• ·         Per-lamp rebate (available only for qualified LED products listed with LDL or DCL)
• ·         Per-lamp incentive (for it has strict requirements and expiration date)
• ·         Per-lamp energy difference (18W LED T8 saves 18% more energy comparing to 22W LED T8.)
• ·         Warranty (Rebate lists routinely call for 5-year warranty, thus a 3-year warranty is no longer acceptable.)
• ·         UL label (IFAR 1598C will be the standard in Feb, 2013, and many LED T8’s will lose their listing.)

With this holistic view for your retrofit project, buying a “lesser” LED T8 may be the wrong choice. Saving money by using a single-end lamp that only carries a 3-year warranty won’t get you the rebates. Also, you will need to use non-shunted tombstones, which your fixture may not have. Lastly, change-out time is greater since the fixture will require the electrician more labor time.  Now, how much did you really save with the “lesser” LED tube with that 3-year warranty, additional 4-watt higher on power consumption and without any rebate qualification, no UL1598C classification and requiring 50% more labor time on replacing fixture tombstone? You actually end up paying a lot more on a project basis with this “lesser” LED tube even though its per-lamp cost is cheaper.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS AND SERVICES HAS JOINED FORCES WITH FOCUS ON ENERGY AS A TRADE ALLY

ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS & SERVICES HAS BECOME A TRADE ALLY PARTNER WITH FOCUS ON ENERGY

Focus on Energy Trade Allies deliver products, services and knowledge about energy efficiency and renewable technologies directly to customers. A Focus on Energy Trade Ally has the opportunity to work with the many programs that Focus on Energy offers, saving customers energy and money. In addition, Focus on Energy Trade Allies gain access to a wealth of resources and other exclusive benefits.

As a Focus on Energy Trade Ally, Electrical Systems and Services will be working closely

with Focus on Energy representatives. This will give you access to resources, information and training on the latest energy technologies and program opportunities.

Here is an example of a program offered by Focus on Energy

Small business owners understand the importance of the bottom line. The Focus on Energy Small Business

Program helps business customers protect that bottom line by taking advantage of our easy and affordable installation of money-saving energy efficiency upgrades.

Participating small business owners will receive a free energy assessment which shows the building’s

energy use and recommendations for energy efficiency improvements that can reduce operating costs.

After reviewing the energy assessment and recommendations for ways to save with Electrical Systems and Services, the business owner may decide to install a free package of energy savings

measures or pursue a $129 co-pay package of enhanced energy saving measures.

The Small Business Program is available to small businesses of participating utilities with an average

peak monthly electric demand under 100 kW. or around 24,000 kWh per month.

Ways to Benefit

The Focus on Energy Small Business Program offers:

■ FREE energy assessment by Electrical Systems and Services, showing savings opportunities

■ Immediate energy savings from a direct install

■ Information about Focus on Energy incentives

■ Lower monthly energy costs

Small business owners will have the option of having Electrical Systems and Services, Inc. install the following packages:

FREE ENERGY SAVING PACKAGES

1. CFLs (dimmable, non-dimmable, globes)- Unlimited
2. CFL reflectors- Unlimited
3. Cold drink vending machine controllers- Unlimited
4. LED “OPEN” sign (neon sign replacement)- 1 maximum
5. Faucet aerators- Unlimited
6. Water-saving showerheads- Unlimited

$129 Gold Energy Savings Package:

All measures from the FREE Energy Savings Package, plus:

1. 42-watt CFLs- Unlimited
2. LED exit signs- 5 maximum
3. De-lamping of redundant fixtures- Unlimited
4. Occupancy sensors- 5 maximum
5. Interior and exterior hardwired fixtures- 5 maximum of each fixture
6. 4′ T12 to T8 fluorescent lighting retrofits* (maximum applies to 4′ and 8′ T12s)- 80 lamp maximum
7. 1″ and 2″ hot water pipe wrap- 10 foot maximum

*Additional copay applies to 8′ T12s

PLEASE CONTACT ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS AND SERVICES, INC. TO SCHEDULE YOUR FREE ENERGY ASSESSMENT.

MORE SOLAR INFORMATION

Cell Type & Efficiency. 

If you have limited mounting space, PV module efficiency is a key consideration. Modules with crystalline silicon PV cells—as opposed to thin-film—will likely be required, since thin-film modules produce about half of the wattage per square foot.

Within the crystalline module category, there are variances in power density (watts per square foot). Average power density is about 12.7 W per square foot, but some modules have higher power densities:

Using a module with higher power density means getting more power out of your usable mounting area. For example, let’s say our shade-free mounting area measures 20 feet by 10 feet, for an area of 200 square feet. Without considering module dimensions, choosing a module with a 12 W per square foot power density will yield a 2,400 W array; selecting a module that yields 18 W per square foot results in a 3,600 W array—a 50% improvement.

The downside is that modules with higher power densities typically are more expensive per watt (about 7% to 12% more). Decreased installation and racking costs for higher-efficiency modules may—or may not—amount to much. In most cases, if you have plenty of installation space, you won’t likely want the more expensive modules.

Bifacial modules that produce power from both the front and back of the module  report two values for module efficiency. These modules have clear backing, allowing some light to pass through, and can generate some energy from the reflective light that hits the back of the module. These modules can be good choices for awning and carport installations that can take advantage of reflected light.

Module Size & Dimensions. 

This will determine array layout—how many modules can fit in the available space. Differing roof planes, such as trapezoids (created by hip roofs) require carefully choosing modules with appropriate dimensions, so that roof space is maximized without hanging modules off the roof’s edges. Required setbacks for local fire department guidelines, accessibility for maintenance, module mounting infrastructure, and module interconnections and string layout will also influence what size modules will work in an array at your site.

CONTACT ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS AND SERVICES, INC.

TO SCHEDULE A FREE SITE SURVEY FOR YOUR SOLAR 

PROJECT.

AUSBILDUNG IN DEUTSCHLAND

If you know German, you will know that "Ausbildung in Deutschland" translates to English meaning "Training in Germany".

For the fourth year, ESS has participated in the International exchange program held by Gateway Technical College in Racine. This year ESS hosted one student, Laura Steigerwald of Johannesberg, Germany. She spent 3 days at ESS learning many aspects of the business. One of their "assignments" was to write and post on our blog, a story about the German educational system and how it differs from the American system. She did a lot of writing, in between all of the other activities, and came up with the wonderful blog post. Please enjoy her blog and many thanks to Gateway for having this unique program. 

Apprenticeship in Germany

Hello my name is Laura Steigerwald, I’m from Germany. At the moment I’m doing a student exchange and in this week I’m doing a job sharing at ESS. During the time in America I recognized that our education system in Germany is different.

I’m doing a apprenticeship as an industrial clerk in the second year. A common apprenticeship takes 3 years – it’s a dual system. The company works very closely with the school. And I get paid during the apprenticeship.

The school is responsible for the theory and general education. They offer subjects with reference to the profession. Also, sports are important because we don’t move very much in the office.

The company is responsible for the practical part. During our apprenticeship we go thru all the different departments to understand the processes of a company and to learn all the different tasks. For example Marketing, Human Resources, Accounting, Sales, Purchasing etc.. For the most companies it also very important to improve our English. So we have not only at school English lessons – but also in-house lessons. Furthermore, I can apply for a stay abroad for two month – for example to come to Turkey or Holland.

The Aim is to train their students so that they are able to work in every of their departments. And you have the chance to work in that company after the apprenticeship. In my opinion it is a chance to find my favorite department.

Posted by Laura Steigerwald of Johannesberg, Germany

NEW SOLAR TECHNOLOGY

Solar cells made from black silicon

Solar cells convert three-quarters of the energy contained in the Sun's spectrum into electricity - yet the infrared spectrum is entirely lost in standard solar cells. In contrast, black silicon solar cells are specifically designed to absorb this part of the Sun's spectrum - and researchers have recently succeeded in doubling their overall efficiency.

The Sun blazes down from a deep blue sky - and rooftop solar cells convert this solar energy into electricity. Not all of it, however: Around a quarter of the Sun's spectrum is made up of infrared radiation which cannot be converted by standard solar cells - so this heat radiation is lost. One way to overcome this is to use black silicon, a material that absorbs nearly all of the sunlight that hits it, including infrared radiation, and converts it into electricity. But how is this material produced?

Black silicon is produced by irradiating standard silicon with femtosecond laser pulses under a sulfur containing atmosphere. This structures the surface and integrates sulfur atoms into the silicon lattice, making the treated material appear black. If manufacturers were to equip their solar cells with this black silicon, it would significantly boost the cells' efficiency by enabling them to utilize the full Sun spectrum.

Researchers have now managed to double the efficiency of black silicon solar cells - in other words, they have created cells that can produce more electricity from the infrared spectrum.

This enabled the scientists to solve a key problem of black silicon: In normal silicon, infrared light does not have enough energy to excite the electrons into the conduction band and convert them into electricity, but the sulfur incorporated in black silicon forms a kind of intermediate level. You can compare this to climbing a wall: The first time you fail because the wall is too high, but the second time you succeed in two steps by using an intermediate level.

The researchers have already successfully built prototypes of black silicon solar cells and their next step will be to try and merge these cells with commercial technology.  They hope to be able to increase the efficiency of commercial solar cells - which currently stands at approximately 17 percent - by one percent by combining them with black silicon. Their starting point is a standard commercial solar cell: The experts simply remove the back cover and incorporate black silicon in part of the cell, thereby creating a tandem solar cell that contains both normal and black silicon.

The researchers are also planning a spin-off: This will be used to market the laser system that manufacturers will be able to acquire to expand their existing solar cell production lines. Manufacturers would then be able to produce the black silicon themselves and include it in the cells as standard.

JUST TO REMIND YOU

Here are the five most practical and popular ways that solar energy is used:

IN NO SPECIAL ORDER.

1.       Small portable solar photovoltaic systems.

      We see these used everywhere, from calculators to solar garden products; portable units can be used for everything from RV appliances while single panel systems are used for traffic signs and remote monitoring stations.

2.       Solar pool heating. 

      Running water in direct circulation systems through a solar collector is a very practical way to heat water for your pool or hot tub.

3.       Thermal glycol energy to heat water. 

      In this method (indirect circulation), glycol is heated by the sun's rays and the heat is then transferred to water in a hot water tank.
This method of collecting the sun's energy is more practical now than ever. In areas as far north as Edmonton, Alberta, solar thermal to heat water is economically sound. It can pay for itself in three years or less.

4.       Integrating solar photovoltaic energy into your home or business power. 

      In many parts of the world, solar photovoltaics is an economically feasible way to supplement the power of your home. In Japan, photovoltaics are competitive with other forms of power. In the US, new incentive programs make this form of solar energy ever more viable in many states. An increasingly popular and practical way of integrating solar energy into the power of your home or business is through the use of building integrated solar photovoltaics.

5.       Large independent photovoltaic systems. 

      If you have enough sun power at your site, you may be able to go off grid. You may also integrate or hybridize your solar energy system with wind power or other forms of renewable energy to stay 'off the grid.'