From the category archives:

solar

Party Promo – Free Solar Upgrade to Net Zero Energy

July 29, 2009

If you haven’t heard yet, we are having a party this Thursday evening to announce some new homes we plan to build. If you are coming, you probably like modern architecture, affordable homes, sustainable design or some combination of these three. No matter which is your fancy, we think you have great taste and want [...]

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Premature Solarization – Solar Power Before Reducing Consumption

January 22, 2009

Disclaimer: I am aware that solarization is used incorrectly in the title of this post, but I use it in an attempt to make a joke that is both juvenile and trite. Forgive me. We are planning on attending a solar happy hour this evening, and that got me thinking about that most recognizable of [...]

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Increasing our Solar Thermal System vs. Gas Boiler Backup

November 7, 2008

Problem Statement The high efficiency Munchkin gas boiler is more expensive to install (>$3,500) than budgeted as both a backup to the Schuco Slimline II-80 solar thermal system spec’ed out for domestic hot water and a sole source of heat to our hydronic radiant heating system (more on these mechanicals here). Installing gas service to [...]

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PV Solar Panel Quote for 100K House

May 13, 2008

Just for the heck of it, I had a PV system quoted for the 10K House to see how much it would cost to take care of 100% of the electrical demand with a grid-tied system. The good people at SunPower Builders gave me an estimate today. We would need about a 5KW array to [...]

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