Does
solar really work in NY?
Absolutely, although it does work
better in places like Arizona and Utah! In most regions of NY and PA,
each kilowatt (1000 watts) of direct grid-tie PV will average 1,000 -
1,100 kilowatt hours per year.
Do I
have to cover my entire roof
with solar modules?
That depends on how much energy you
want to produce. Each kilowatt of mono or multicrystalline PV
will
occupy about 90 square feet. One south facing roof side of a 24 x 40
ranch house is almost 1000
square feet...so a 3 kilowatt array would
need less than 1/3 of that.
How
much electricity does the
average home use?
I have no idea!! Seriously, everyone
uses electricity in their own unique way. I've seen cabin systems
use
30 kilowatt hours per day and full size homes use less than 6. That's
why we do a load evaluation
for off-grid system design or look at 1
year's worth of electric bills for grid-tie systems.
Can
I install that wind turbine on
my roof?
Yes you can! If you like the sound
of "free energy" coursing through the home's framing members.
It's also
a great way to remove roofing material for a great view of the sky from
your living room.
Seriously, this is NEVER a good idea. At
the very least, there is too
much turbulence and not enough
wind potential on a roof to make any
amount of energy. Structural damage and even human
injuries
can occur. Your roof was NOT designed to absorb the forces that a wind
turbine will subject it to.
Install a wind turbine where it's fuel
is....up in the air
well above nearby obstructions!
People ask me all the time: "How did
you get started in the Renewable Energy business??
Back
in 1970, my parents gave me a Radio Shack 10 in 1 electronics
experiment kit. One of the
components in that kit was a small solar cell which I used to power the
little am radio station I
built. From that moment on, I was hooked and began to tinker with all
things related to renewable energy.
In 1971, I won first prize in my 8th grade science fair at Dudley
Junior High (Dudley, Mass) for a
solar demonstration project.
In 1974, for another school project, I made a methane digester and ran
a small engine with the methane
gas. The only problem...the school, citing health concerns, would not
let me bring manure into the school
for the digester. So I used the next best thing, the school lunch
leftovers. Worked great, but the lunch
ladies were not impressed with me using their culinary masterpiece for
a manure substitute.....no more
free second helpings on lunch after that....such is the price of progress!
Tutorials
The
difference between
power and energy
Power is a “rate” like speed in miles per hour
The rate at which energy is
used is measured in kilowatts (kW)
1 kW = 1,000 Watts
Energy is a “quantity” like distance in miles
Energy is power X time and is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh)
1 kW of power used for 1 hour =
1 kWh of energy
How
to do a load evaluation
