Solar Roof Tiles by Open Energy Corp

Allow the sun to power your home or business by using Open Energy Corp’s solar roof tiles.

With an Energy crisis on the brink in the US, consumers are asking more questions and demanding responsibility and answers.  Open Energy Corp is offering solutions to homeowners, business owners, and institutions alike: solar roof tiles.

Open Energy’s solar tiles will work on flat as well as sloped roofs.  Their solar roof tiles offer quiet & reliable power generation.  The power your roof will be generating is clean, safe, and of course, free, thanks to the sun.  For those of you with an aesthetic eye, the tiles come in three colors: slate gray, terracotta, and brown, to help integrate with your existing roof materials.

Using the solar roof tiles will significantly lower your Read more

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SOLAR: Will solar save you $$’s? We review the best/worst solar calculators!

UPDATED:  9/21/08

“Payback on solar isn’t the most important thing…it is the only thing the vast majority of potential solar homeowners care about.”  

GetWithGreen took a look at how easy it is for us consumers to actually estimate the cost of installation/installing solar during a home remodel - using a web-based solar calculator.  

Below are we have listed a number of sources for solar installation calculators, and we have compiled the most comprehensive list of these calculators available on the web.  We want to warn you, many of these solar calculators appear to made by scientists for, well we couldn’t always figure out who the target audience was :-). 

To help you, we have given a GetWithGreen Rating (”GWG Rating”) to each solar calculator, where 1 is very hard to use, and 10 is the easiest to use - for an average consumer.  You should also know that MANY of the solar calculators on the web are from the same creators, and are just re-skinned (web terminology for different colors).

Before you begin, make sure you have Read more

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How do you finance or lease solar panels and electricity for your home?

Considering solar power for your home during your residential remodel?  Financing solar panels is the big hurdle for most us.  Fortunately, the financing options for solar panels is becoming more obtainable.

Whether you are looking at solar panel suppliers and installers such as SolarCity, SunPower, and others, you now have options.  For example, SolarCity offers a leasing program that is targeted at delivering you solar power at a monthly payment less than your exiting monthy electicity/power bill.  With leasing options such as this, any repairs are typically covered, and at the end of the lease you can upgrade, purchase or return.

This timely LA Times article offers additional details and several homeowner examples of how solar panel lease and financing options have helped residents afford solar power for their homes: Solar Power Hits Home

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SOLAR: Cleaner for maximizing the efficiency of your solar panels

SolarFrameWorks Introduces Solar Panel Maintenance Solution

While we haven’t tried this at GetWithGreenwe wanted to bring you this News, SolarFrameWorks, a manufacturer and distributor of photovoltaic technology, last week introduced a solar panel cleaning agent, PowerBoost®. PowerBoost is a touchless, biodegradable solution that is said to repel debris from solar panels to maximize solar power production and lower utility costs. According to SolarFrameWorks, PowerBoost provides an immediate and dramatic increase in power output.

Available for both residential and commercial applications, PowerBoost can be applied within minutes using a standard garden hose to clean your solar panels. The foaming solution contains surfactants that remove grime thereby in theory increasing the level of solar insulation that is able to reach the solar cells. The company says that PowerBoost works on all types of glass, such as the tempered glass layered on the top of most crystalline solar panels. Additionally, the product is Read more

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DAYLIGHTING SYSTEMS: A Solatube installation review

Earlier this Summer, GetWithGreen.com selected a Solatube Model 160 DS Daylighting System for a residential hallway installation. A daylighting system was selected because a dimly lit hallway constantly required energy consumption for lighting — even during daytime hours.

Solatube was selected by GetWithGreen.com because of the sheer amount of clear information on the company’s and reseller’s website, and because it was so easy to find the product locally. It’s now time to update you on the install, and our final opinion of this specific daylighting system.

The Solatube 160 DS installation was a snap. Our GetWithGreen.com contractor installed the daylighting system within 90 minutes, and if you use a Solatube dealer this time could likely fall well below an hour! Our installation did require the wiring of electricity to the daylighting system, so that it could be used during the Read more

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REBATES: Solar rebates for San Francisco residents - legislation approved

On Tuesday the City of San Francisco approved an incentive plan for residents to install solar for their homes. 

Under the legislation program, residents can expect to receive a rebate of $3,000 to $6,000 per system.  The program could start as soon as July 1, and rebates are retroactive to atleast the beginning of 2008.  The City is hoping to increase the number of solar installation froms 770 to over 10,000 rooftops over the life of the 10 year program.  For more great insight on the legislation visit earth2tech.

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SOLAR WATER HEATER: 10 Misconceptions and Truths

Sooooo much buzz continues around solar water heaters. Mati Bishop recently posted to Building Seattle Green highlighting Ten Misconceptions and Truths about these popular talked about products.

His article Top Ten Misconceptions and Truths about Solar Hot Water, to explain that even in Seattle where it rains alot, you can still get hot water from one of these devices.  He brushes on topics such as rebates, using hot water from a solar system at night, expense of a system and installation.

For more on solar water heaters, see our recent article on solar water heater manufacturers and rebates.

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SOLAR: $68M in rebates for solar installs, yours for the taking in MA?

Massachusetts has a $68 million fund to provide rebates to local homeowners and businesses that install solar panels to provide electricity. Fill out the form, and determine just how much of the big piece of pie you can get.

Here is a video from WCVBTV5 in Boston with the details. Solar rebates in Massachusetts.

For more information on solar rebates in your area, check out the DSIRE database.

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SOLAR: For all us Dummies, here is how to Solar Power Your Home

This may be a book the book that helps you in demystifying a part of your eco-friendly remodel, Solar Power Your Home for Dummies.  The book was released in last December.

Want to take advantage of solar power in your home? Whether you?re looking to save on your energy costs by adding a few solar components or you want to build a solar-powered house from the ground up, Solar Power Your Home For Dummies attempts to take the mystery out of this energy source and shows you how to put it to work for you — according the Dummies team. 

The guide offers tips for making your home more energy-efficient though solar power?and helping the planet at the same time. The following topics are covered:

• Choose and install your best solar system
• Handle small to large solar projects
• Heat and cool your house with solar energy
• Install exterior solar lighting
• Handle swimming pool, water heater, or ventilation solar projects
• Create greenhouses or solar rooms
• Build, buy, or sell a solar home
• Finance your solar investments
• Take advantage of tax rebates and incentives associated with solar power
• Avoid the worst solar mistakes
• Featuring ten of the easiest and cheapest do-it-yourself solar projects, Solar Power Your Home For Dummies is the fun and easy way to meet your energy needs with this clean power source!

You can read an excerpt from book at Architecture Week online to see if the content makes sense for you.  You can read the more marketing/sales messaging about the book on Dummies.com.

The book was written by Rik DeGunther.  Rik is the founder of Efficient Homes, an energy consultant firm that focuses on home energy audits and the design of efficient heating and cooling systems.

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SOLAR: See all homeowners who are installing solar in San Francisco!

This is a fun one. 

Take a real quick look at the San Francisco Solar Map, and find out just how many homeowners are including solar in their San Francisco remodels. 

This neat little interactive tool offers a few minutes of fun by identifying locations across the city where homeowners installed solar, as well as a few interesting facts on solar in the city of San Francisco.

We liked it here at GetWithGreen, and wanted to bring it to your attention.  Have fun!

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