tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3112791120114206762023-06-20T06:24:21.779-07:00Green Alternatives to Energy NeedsI explore use of solar panels, hybrd Prius, and other methods of alternative or green energyrbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-37493833648517625182014-04-14T14:39:00.000-07:002014-04-14T14:39:09.679-07:00New True-up bill- another year on the booksOur yearly PGE bill for our electricity used that we did not produce- The actually charges would have been $64.20 for the year, which would have been pretty good by itself. But due to credits we get for being a grid-tied producer of electricity for PGE, that was knocked down to $15.38 for the year which is pretty close to free at that price. . .<br />
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Whats this? The next bill from PGE has a $31.00 climate credit which the bill says will be given to residential customers twice a year. That makes our electricity cost free for the year, and next year, and as long as we can keep our cost at or around $15 a year, free for the foreseeable future. . . <br />
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<br />rbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-52356442699200987232013-09-05T14:46:00.001-07:002013-09-07T14:26:21.300-07:00Some updates on odd items. . . <br />
My Prius is now approaching its tenth year anniversary. And I am happy to say that my mileage is still steady in the 50 mpg or more range. In the last few days I have made multiple trips up into the foothills near home requiring freeway use, around town driving and trips to an elevation of just under 2,000 feet elevation. Overall mpg for the past few days is 52.2 mpg. Not bad for an ten old hybrid. <br />
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The tank-less water heater is going strong. Our PG and E gas usage in summer is around $5.00 a month. It makes all the difference in the world to not have to reheat a 50 gallon tank to leave sitting and cooling after use- and all day for that matter. <br />
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Solar panels are still going strong. We are nearing the end to the higher use charge (and our higher rate of repay for that extra production.) I doubt our true-up bill will be as low this year as the less than $20 it was last year. This year it was a bit warmer- particularly last month when we had to use the air conditioner for the first time and last time this summer. I still wish we had put in more panels originally. Not worth going into debt to get a possible 4 cent a kilowatt hour payback for the extra production.<br />
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rbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-5303405206842536062013-03-19T17:00:00.001-07:002013-09-05T14:36:05.381-07:002012-2013 True-up period- PG and E and low rate of PG and E refund for excess production<br />
We have just finished the most recent true-up period this month. For the year, our electricity cost from the true-up bill was just under $20.00. Not too shabby. <br />
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And, we wondered about adding a bit to the system to get to the point we would over produce for a change. We were told that it would not work that way. We could shoot for the $20 mark, which may only take an additional panel. It would not be economical to just add a panel or two just to get that cost down. And in the event we went over, PG and E would only reimburse us at the rate of four cents a Kilowatt hour. What a deal for them. Not too different than it used to be actually when they would just lob off the excess production at year end and not let us use it or reimburse us for it. Four cents? Yikes. I guess we are at their mercy if we are on the grid. Oh, and there is also this. . . No amount of any over production can be used in an off-set of other fees charged over the year. So the $5.00-$6.00 charged in taxes and other fees that everyone pays, would still have to be paid. <br />
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rbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-46195774621363240382011-05-16T14:58:00.001-07:002013-02-28T19:25:27.468-08:00On-site power generation at Sierra Nevada Brewery<div class="MsoNormal">
This is an interesting site whatever beer you drink, or even if you do not drink anything. These guys take reduction of their carbon footprint seriously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, by the way the beer and food available at the pub is good too if you are ever in the Chico, Ca area.</div>
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<a href="http://www.sierranevada.com/environment/solar.html">http://www.sierranevada.com/environment/solar.html</a> </div>
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And here is the web page Chico Electric which installed the solar array at Sierra Nevada Brewery. </div>
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http://www.chicoelectric.com/</div>
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They talk about this install, and one at Butte College. </div>
rbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-70951160368311408572011-04-26T15:27:00.000-07:002011-04-26T15:34:52.939-07:00Are we in the long emergency?<p class="MsoNormal">I have been reading "The Long Emergency" by <span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black">James Howard Kunstler</span>. The basic premise is that the one constant in the world’s industrial expansion and all life as we currently know it (at least in the industrialized power countries) was possible only because it happened during the times of cheap oil. We are currently near or just past the maximum world production for oil, and there is only down-hill to go from here. Because production of cheap oil is past its maximum now, and demand is still there, we are rapidly going to be in dire straits. Look elsewhere for reviews. His prediction seems pretty cut and dried. We are doomed to be in the decline and he holds little hope for us to get out of the emergency in any form that is close to life as we currently know it.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black">He does make a few good points. It is true that there is a limited supply of finite resources. Maybe this means we should be going much more towards some other energy source than we have been in recent years. He does not think we should rely on letting technology come up with a solution, because any alternative that technology brings to light will require cheap oil to build to a point that it becomes a feasible alternative. And we no longer have the cheap oil.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black">Maybe it is a good thing that oil has jumped a bit in price recently, whatever the reasons except for oil company price fixing or speculators trying to manipulate the markets. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Maybe we need the wakeup call that life as we know it needs to change. We need to start conserving a bit, and we need to institute some way to get away from oil, whoever is producing it. And we need to stick to that plan. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">When Jimmy Carter was elected President he installed solar panels on the White House roof. At the time this was very experimental and expensive and few regular people could afford to even consider a move like this. He did it as an example of the spirit we need to adopt in order to get out of a potential energy shortfall. When the next president took over, the first energy related step he took was to remove the solar panels. If we had proceeded back in President Carter’s days and maintained that energy awareness, maybe Mr. Kunstler could have written a bit less scary book. If we start working in a concerted effort now, maybe we can get out of the emergency more or less intact. </span></span></p>rbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-4292999398481815942011-03-17T15:30:00.000-07:002011-03-17T15:31:17.562-07:00True-up Electric billing for 2011<p class="MsoNormal">Our true-up electricity bill for the year was $46.14 for electricity used that we did not create ourselves. Add in the monthly charges that are administrative in nature, and it goes up to $110.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is still pretty good.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In 2008, our total cost was $125.00 with administrative cost added in. We could easily be using $100.00 per month in electricity at least in the summer months. </p>rbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-22123742369801888892011-03-13T19:07:00.001-07:002011-03-13T19:07:25.595-07:00updates<p class="MsoNormal">Gas has gone up nearly fifty cents in a month here. Most recent price for regular was 3.869 with a three cent a gallon Safeway member discount.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>My current mileage in the Prius is in the mid 40’s which is OK for winter, and the fact that my trip length is very low now that I no longer have to drive to work. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Last tank or so, I did a few longer trips and the mileage was back into the high 40 to low 50 range, still good for a car that is nearing seven years old- and a hybrid at that. I still would rather drive this Prius than most any other car out there. Well, maybe the new 2010 Prius or the new Chevy Volt. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Our solar panels are still putting out OK. This last year we had major higher daily use of electricity than in other years, but we are still under $100.00 for the year. Not too bad considering we have not been able to conserve as much as in previous years.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p>rbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-79351260467753723292010-10-06T06:51:00.000-07:002010-10-06T06:58:59.113-07:00Cleaning Solar panelsThings are changing pretty fast in solar as far as cleaning goes. A couple of years ago when I searched for information about cleaning solar panels, it looked like no one had anything to say. Now it is different. Not only do you have information suggesting dirty panels can cost at least 10% loss in production, but there are cleaning services listed in some communities, and there are automated cleaning systems. <div><br /></div><div>One is here: <a href="http://www.solarpanelcleaningsystems.com/solar-panel-cleaning-services.php#pl">http://www.solarpanelcleaningsystems.com/solar-panel-cleaning-services.php#pl</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.solarpanelcleaningsystems.com/solar-panel-cleaning-services.php#pl"></a>This is a system that includes a sprayer for each panel, filters and soap dispensers. It can be set to rinse between wash cycles. I am not suggesting this is the answer. It is hard for me to see just how effective this system would be in my area where it takes a bit of scrubbing to get the dirt off. But if you are in a fairly low dirt area, it might be fine for you. </div>rbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-10641996840484509892010-06-17T08:36:00.001-07:002010-06-17T08:36:53.683-07:00Solar UpdateAs if 06/16/2010 we have now past 16,700 KWh of production on our little solar array. Presently we are producing a bit over 10 KWh a day, with most of this being produced from noon to six. That means we get reimbursed at the higher rate for E7 Time of Use metering. That is a good thing. We are a bit off recently due to cooler cloudy conditions the end of May and in early June. We also have a contractor working, so our use is a bit up overall.rbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-70759769479954954532010-05-12T17:11:00.001-07:002010-05-12T17:11:54.224-07:00Unscheduled Solar panel maintenanceActually, there is so little maintenance for these things. You may think though that you can just set up and let it go forever. That may be true, but you should check thigs out from time to time. <br /><br />Here, in a quick check earlier today I realized that a tree branch had grown out over one section of the panels since I had looked a bit ago. It was shading the panels form around noon on. True, it was only a small portion of our total panel area, but that can add up to a big problem over the long haul. These things are wired in series, so a small area of shade can degrade production of the entire system. <br /><br />I cut a few branches, and our output went from around 1100 watts to 1400 watts, and higher. That difference can add up to more than an extra kilowatt hour over the days production.rbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-52532478111063524932010-03-13T16:24:00.000-08:002010-03-13T16:25:07.261-08:00True up Bill Final after being moved up a couple of monthsRemember I mentioned the California legislation changing how surplus power would be compensated in the future? Part of that bill also allows you to adjust when your “true-up” period starts. Since our was in June, and after the rate changes for summer, we decided to adjust it forward so all of our current production would be for the current year instead of having a couple of months be for the previous year. <br /><br />So, that has happened, and the results for the period from June 2009 to March 2010 are in. We had 1916 KWh in use for the period, and a total true up amount of $7.38. Add that to the total monthly billed taxes and other charges not related to electricity use, and our bill for the 10 month period was $60.98. So, including all taxes and other monthly set fees, our cost for the 10 months was 3 cents per KWh. <br /><br />Now, we start again. . .rbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-9439281520823565122010-02-17T14:21:00.000-08:002010-02-17T14:22:10.981-08:00Solar UpdatesAs of the February billing period, we have officially used up our credits for electricity. Our unbilled charge for the year (starting last June) is now $24.67 and our total KWh used since June is 1,638. If my math is right, that equates to <span style="font-weight:bold;">1.5 cents per KWh</span>. The normal rate for residential use in my area starts at around <span style="font-weight:bold;">15 cents per KWh</span>. We have been producing around 5 KWh a day on sunny days, and the sun is out again today. Of course, we still need more rain even though I am happy to see the meter going backward this time of year.rbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-71059136554392246282010-01-30T16:49:00.000-08:002010-01-30T16:51:14.206-08:00California Bill to change the way power companies compensate net energy producers- AB 920- Huffman- Solar and Wind GenerationIt appears that the new law would require net energy producers to be compensated for that production. In my case that would mean PG and E would have to provide compensation for my net production at the time of my yearly “true-up”. Currently, if I have surplus production at year end true up time, it is zeroed out before the new billing cycle starts. <br /> <br />Quote from http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/Bills/AB_920<br /><br />“The bill would require the electric utility to<br />offer a standard contract or tariff to eligible customer-generators<br />that includes compensation for the value of net surplus electricity.<br />The bill would require the electric utility, upon an affirmative<br />election by the eligible customer-generator to receive service<br />pursuant to this contract or tariff, to either: (1) provide net<br />surplus electricity compensation for any net surplus electricity<br />generated in the 12-month period, or (2) allow the eligible<br />customer-generator to apply the net surplus electricity as a credit<br />for kilowatt hours subsequently supplied by the electric utility to<br />the surplus customer-generator.“rbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-69712419604515592902010-01-15T16:07:00.000-08:002010-01-15T16:11:11.588-08:00Jan 2010 electricity billingJanuary billing information is in, and we are now at 1,255 KWh used since June 1, and with $6.27 surplus from the summer production. All in all, this January is a bit better for us than last Jan 2009 with a few KWh less use. It will be interesting to see how this turns out in the next few months. In 2009, we were already out of our surplus, and behind by $20.00 by this month's billing.rbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-72301757649991082912009-11-09T08:57:00.000-08:002009-11-09T09:01:10.774-08:00New Season of "Living with Ed" ???I just saw Living with Ed come up on my TV selection screens, and noticed an episode date of 2009. Yikes. They are back at it. <br /><br />Living with Ed<br />BRAND NEW Episodes on Planet Green TV<br />Wednesdays at 9PM EST<br />Repeat on Mondays, 9PM PSTrbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-15850947742848115892009-10-10T16:01:00.000-07:002009-10-10T16:02:26.019-07:00Final bill for the "on-peak" time of useThrough the October bill for PG and E, we have a total of $78.25 in credit. Last year, we had $45.16 at this point. We go into the Off-peak mode at the end of October.rbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-61527032634245770442009-09-11T16:20:00.000-07:002009-09-11T16:22:41.919-07:00Sept Billing PeriodSept 2009 we used 92 KWh for credit of $9.19, bringing our total for the billing year beginning June 2009 to 205 KWh used, and $71.46 (credit). Last year in Sept we had $8.39 in credit with a use of 83 KWh, a total of 278 KWh used and $36.16 (credit). <br /> <br />Our yearly use for 2009 seems to be lower by 73 KWh, even with the addition of our pond pump running daily. Our credit for the year starting in June is running $35.30 above last year’s total through this Sept.rbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-17302383665284060772009-09-03T11:36:00.000-07:002009-09-03T11:39:19.259-07:00update Nearing 15,000 KWhs ProducedIt happend a bit sooner than I expected. We are now at 15,148 KWh produced. If we had the correct orientation all along I wonder what our total would have been now? I could figure it out, but it would not change anything.rbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-25214896042824319932009-08-26T10:47:00.000-07:002009-08-26T10:50:45.732-07:00Taking a Dim View of Solar EnergyA Newsweek <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/213468?from=rss">article </a> suggests that utility companies may begin to fight the incentive programs now in place as their energy shares decrease in the wake of huge increases in roof-top energy production, suggesting that “So far, they're getting vastly outpaced by the decentralized rooftop approach. According to the Interstate Renewable Energy Council's 2006-08 count, consumers added 522 megawatts to the grid; whereas utility generated sites added just 96 megawatts.” The increase is attributed in part to subsidies and also to lowering prices overall of solar panels. <br /><br />It goes on to say “The disparity has utilities worried about loosing (sic) their grip on the country's energy industry, and the $130 billion residential electricity market. In some cases, utilities are actually taking direct steps to thwart rooftop solar. Two weeks ago in Colorado, the state's biggest utility, Xcel, tried passing a surcharge on homes and businesses using rooftop solar power. The rate hike would've generated $180 million, $55 million of which was slated to help fund Xcel's newest coal-fired power plant, the Comanche Unit 3, due to come online this fall. The public went ballistic, and with pressure from Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter, the proposal was eventually shelved.”rbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-90851822380317035272009-08-24T12:03:00.000-07:002009-08-24T12:09:12.849-07:00Is gas still too cheap?It must be for some. <br /> <br />For others I am sure high prices lead to scrimping at times to be able to fill the tank when those bargain prices under $3.00 a gallon surface. I drive a Prius, and I am very aware of my gas use. I get oddly upset when my mileage on any given tank drops below 50 MPG (my lifetime mpg average). And even with mostly shorter trips, I can usually have 50 MPG around town in summer. <br /><br />Then I see an SUV type vehicle in the parking lot of our local Trader Joe’s food store. I can hear the motor running, and I see a person in the passenger side front seat, obviously listening to a favorite song on the radio. This is nothing I have not seen before even with prices closer to $5.00 a gallon briefly last summer. This one is different though. <br /><br />For one thing, it is only around 80 degrees at barely 10 am. Sure it may be hotter later, but this is still basically a nice cool morning for summer around here. Surely it is not warm enough to waste gas with the AC on. But, I figure maybe the person has some sort of infirmity requiring cooler temperatures than a normal person. Then I see the ultimate irony of the situation. The SUV’s rear passenger windows are both down. What is the point of that? <br /><br />As I loaded my own groceries, the driver of the SUV came to load theirs. I figured he will see the rear windows are down, and scold his passenger for messing around with the windows. No. This did not happen. He simply opened up the back, loaded the bags in, and drove off with the rear windows down. Why is that so odd? I mean, I drive around with my windows down too. The difference is that my AC is not on when I do so. <br /><br />Even when gas was closer to $5.00 a gallon last summer, I saw people running their AC while the car was parked. I remember one time there was a beautiful young lady in the passenger seat. While I sat nearby with my windows down and wind blowing through, the young male driver came over with his hands full of icy refreshments from two different stores. I can understand why he allowed her to sit in the car running AC on a day it was not that hot out. He had other things on his mind and no doubt wanted to impress her. <br /><br />At least she had the windows up.rbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-25601201778915376622009-08-15T17:14:00.000-07:002009-08-15T17:15:47.638-07:00August 2009 PG and E unbilled credits in-Well, the end of July was mostly in the mid 90’s to low 100’s, similar to how it was last year. Last year we used 132 KWh with an unbilled credit of only $2.57. It was a pretty hot month last year also, but to me it seems we ran the AC more this year than last. I think we must have increased efficiency other places. This year, we used 116 KWh- so right away; we had an improvement of 16 KWh in use. Plus, our unbilled credit for the month is $14.61. Our total unbilled credit for 2009 goes to $62.27. The rest of summer is looking pretty good at this point. Our total for last year summer production was only $45.00 through October.rbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-13381990707729066472009-07-22T14:16:00.000-07:002009-07-22T14:33:13.917-07:00Nearing 15,000 KWhs ProducedIn a couple of months our PV array production should pass 15,000 KWh in around five years. Of course, most of that is with the inferior southeast orientation, but it is still pretty good even at that.rbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-55858440025887690452009-07-20T16:10:00.000-07:002009-07-20T16:11:15.871-07:00Let the consumer beware. . .This thing about having to pay to have our panels moved still ticks me off. So, I went back to my contractor and showed him how big the difference in production was between the old location and the new, and asked him if- since he had mentioned that ‘we usually install them on the southwest side if it is available’- if he could help us out a bit in the fee to move them. To us, it seemed like paying to move them was rewarding them for making a mistake in the location in the initial installation. <br /><br />Nope. They are not liable for placement of the panels being inferior to another placement. He claimed that the industry standards only suggest that the companies install panels in a generally southerly position within a range of degrees of direct south. And, they were within that range in the initial installation. <br /><br />So, BEWARE consumers. Make sure that the location of your panels is correct and will maximize your production from the start. Most solar contractors now have access to equipment that can tell you the maximum exposure for your installation. Go with one of those. If you have a contractor without this equipment, even if they are the low bid- Get a new contractor. They are only guessing. And with your system costing as much as they can cost it is worth it to have them where you will get the maximum exposure to get a faster payback.rbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-10767844048415824662009-07-11T17:45:00.000-07:002009-07-11T17:53:04.725-07:00The July 2009 PG and E bill is inWell, for our first full two month total credit for 2009, we have hit $47.66 which is just about what our total unbilled credit was through all of last year. This is looking pretty good. We did have a bit of AC use last month so our total electricity use is up to 10 Kilowatt Hours for July. Of course, putting that with our 13 KWh credit from June, we still have a 3 KWh credit over the first two months of this billing year. The 10 KWh use for July 2009 compares to a relatively high 63 KWh in July of 2008. It is amazing what moving those panels has done. <br /><br />Oh, and the natural gas portion of the bill is pretty good also. For July, our gas bill was only $3.93 for 2 therms for the month. That is about equal number of therms compared to last year.rbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311279112011420676.post-7733466778204442862009-07-06T12:38:00.000-07:002009-07-06T12:41:52.827-07:00Cleaning your Solar Panels to get the maximum productionHow many times have I seen Ed Begley Jr. hop up on his roof and clean his solar panels as if he was standing on solid ground without a care in the world? Too many times- actually, this is more a comment on how often the show <a href="http://www.livingwithed.net/">“Living with Ed”</a> is re-run. I guess a new season is not in the works? Too bad: I guess we will have to live with the limited series it was. Now, getting back to cleaning the panels, what do you do if you are not Ed Begley Jr., or do not at least have his “non-fear” of roofs? <br /><br />I have already mentioned that a dirty panel can cut as much as 7% annually from your production. It would seem that you should try to find a way to get at least some of the dirt and grime off. There may be a way at <a href="http://www.realgoods.com/product/solar+power/solar+electric/accessories/solar+module+cleaning+soap.do?search=basic&keyword=solar+module+cleaning&sortby=bestSellers&page=1">“Real Goods”</a>. This is a solution that comes pre-mixed in an applicator bottle. You simply connect it to a hose, get as close to your panels as you can without taking the inevitable plunge off the roof- and spray it on your panels as if you are applying fertilizer to your lawn through a hose end sprayer. That is basically it. You spray the surfactants on, and let it soak into the crud for a few minutes. Then you switch the sprayer to fresh water and rinse the dirty suds away. I am sure it would be better to actually have a brush to physically wash the heavier stuff away, but this is a pretty easy alternative to that heavier job. I am not 100% sure how it has worked yet, but the panels did appear to be cleaner after the treatment. Time and the next PG and E statement will tell if it has helped. It could at least work as in interim solution until you can locate someone else to do it in return of a six-pack of their favorite beer.rbwaltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554153285078602793noreply@blogger.com1