Landscaping – Energy – Environment
Our home electric and gas utility bills arrived in late October. Total: $38.67 Image: Electric bills for 12 month period = $290.44$24.20 average per month includes EV charging It’s been over a year since we upgraded our home heating and cooling system from an… Continue Reading “Hybrid HVAC with Solar Energy and an EV”
‘Community solar is about to explode’ in Illinois Nara Schoenberg wrote a story in the Chicago Tribune on October 31, 2022, “A way to get solar energy — no rooftop panels required — is making headway in Illinois: ‘Community solar is about to explode’… Continue Reading “No Room on your Roof? Try Community Solar!”
A small town in Oregon has just commissioned a utility-scale, renewable-energy, ‘hybrid’ plant — the first of its kind in North America — combining solar power, wind power and massive batteries to store the energy generated. Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facilities (PDF Source)
G.E.T. Solar Energy Help Now; Avoid Natural Gas Price Spikes By David E. Hess | PA Environment Digest Blog | September 26, 2022 According to a new national report on schools’ adoption of solar published last week by nonprofit Generation180, Pennsylvania ranked 11th in… Continue Reading “PA Catches Up in National Rankings for School Solar”
To Give $1.8 Billion Boost to Pa. Economy and Help Farmers By David E. Hess | PA Environment Digest Blog | September 19, 2022 With solar energy policy on the agenda of the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee on September 20, dozens… Continue Reading “Landowners Urge Pa. Lawmakers to Pass Real Community Solar Energy Bills”
A September 14, 2022 Opinion, China Is Writing the Story of the Climate Future, by David Wallace-Wells in The New York Times, points out the complexities of climate change and renewable energy in China, a country that was blanketed by heat and drought during… Continue Reading “Yin & yang of climate & energy in China”
At the end of an article about the increased use of coal yesterday, I noticed a comment from a familiar and anonymous name… a troll who has continually spewed lies and misinformation in multiple newspapers over the years, making feeble attempts to support fossil… Continue Reading “Sunny Outlook for Solar”
While that sounds good, especially with heavy air conditioning use during humid 90-degree weather, it’s even better than that! We were finally able to do a full 12-month “look back” at our cost savings with solar energy, since upping our game to 29 solar… Continue Reading “Five Dollar Electric Bill”
When we added the first eleven solar panels to our roof three years ago, we also added a Tesla Powerwall 2 (lithium- ion) backup battery (rated at 14 kWh) to the mix. The greatest advantage to me, is the ability of our house to… Continue Reading “Household Battery Backup”
It’s hard to believe that you can get a sunburn on a cloudy day, even though it’s true. Even harder to believe, is that you can produce solar energy on a rainy morning, but that’s also true! That’s right, even though it rained all… Continue Reading “Solar Energy In The Rain”
When we first landscaped our house, nearly 40 years ago, we made sure to plant a large growing Maple on the west side. That planting location came very close to the concept of planting a large deciduous tree on the southwest side of a… Continue Reading “Going Solar With Large Trees”
After two terrible months for rooftop solar energy production, it was great to see a $7.29 electric bill for March. On top of frequent and persistent snowfalls keeping our front 18 solar panels covered with snow for the first two months of 2021, solar… Continue Reading “March Gladness”
This solar energy “flower” fascinated me the first time I saw it! It gives true meaning to the term “flower power!” The first time we saw it was on the way into a Christmas concert at Trinity High School in Washington, Pennsylvania. The solar… Continue Reading “Flower Power”
The investment tax credit (ITC) for residential solar installations has been extended 2 years! COVID-19 Stimulus Bill Includes Key Renewable Energy Tax Credits Dec. 28, 2020 -The US stimulus bill passed into law yesterday includes several key extensions and additions to the tax credits… Continue Reading “Good News for Solar!”