No one’s happy when the grid goes out. Power outages are at the minimum inconvenient, and, if a home is poorly suited to be without power, problematic or even dangerous. So it would seem obvious, why not install a grid-tied solar electric system and power your home using sunshine during an outage?

While technically this is possible, it is not so simple. Grid-tied photovoltaic systems are designed to provide decades of trouble-free electricity generated by the sun. They are simple, economical, reliable, and, as their name implies, tied to the grid. When the grid goes down, the system goes down, too.

This is by design: by shutting down, the grid-tied solar electric inverter (the component that converts direct-current power from the solar panels into grid-compliant 120V AC power used in your home or business) prevents power from backfeeding to the grid and injuring nearby line workers.

The only way to circumvent this is to add batteries, which provide a backup source of power when the power goes out. Unfortunately, batteries are almost the antithesis of a grid-tied system: they are bulky, inefficient, ecologically unfriendly, unreliable and expensive.

Grid-Tied with Battery Backup Vs. Off-Grid

A grid tied battery backup system uses the same principles as an off-grid solar electric system when the grid goes down. Instead of shutting off completely, the system switches to an alternate inverter, which is designed to interact with a battery bank, letting you run household loads off the battery bank and charge them with your solar panels.

The equipment to do this is quite sophisticated (in the situations where ReVision goes this route we install SMA’s Sunny Island product), and is derived from R&D for very remote locations where grid access is not feasible. While they can work smoothly, they come at a great cost, especially once you consider the cost of short-lived lead acid batteries (using similar technology as is in your car battery).

An average home with an electric bill of $100/month, for instance, consumes ~625kWh of power a month (assuming a grid price of .16c/kWh). That averages around 20kWh/day of power. Enough good-quality batteries to carry that load for just two days would cost around $25,000. Realistically, a battery-backup system is only designed to support emergency loads for short periods of time (water pump, refrigerator and maybe a freezer), but even so, the cost reaches approximately $20,000 of additional cost for a short-term grid-tied battery backup solution.

Further limitations of this system is the battery life – approximately 5-7 years – as well as the battery potential. While this system can provide backup power for a few days, for true energy security you need an option for charging the batteries should a long-term outage occur during bad solar weather (which tends to be when we lose power in Northern New England). So, even with a large battery investment you still require a generator to be totally secure.

Getting To Your Goals: Why Are You Going PV?

Most people look at a solar energy investment as a way to reduce their fossil fuel energy consumption while locking in their electric rate below the grid average for a duration of 25+ years. Cost pressure on solar panels and generous state and federal rebates make grid-tied PV an excellent investment right now, with a ‘simple’ payback of around 10 years in Maine or New Hampshire.

Adding battery backup changes this equation completely. Dollars that could be invested in more renewable energy production are invested in short-lived, ecologically unfriendly battery components. Realistically, with the grid down as infrequently as it is, a battery-backup system means you are paying a stiff premium for a system you do not need 99% of the time.

With that caveat, there are times when solar with battery backup meets specific goals, mostly in situations where no grid downtime is tolerable. For example, keeping critical loads like life support equipment online, or simply ensuring failsafe electricity for homes where one spouse travels frequently in the winter and doesn’t want their partner home alone in a power outage!

So What Am I To Do During Power Outages?

Though we are loathe to recommend the installation of a fossil-fuel burning appliance, the reality is that for the average numbers of days a typical home is without power (1-2 days a year or less), and given the cost and complexity of installing a grid-tied system with batteries, a generator is often a better investment.

Even an extremely robust home standby generator is roughly 1/4 of the price of enough batteries and equipment to maintain a home for a few days without power. While a battery bank will struggle to keep up with heavy energy hogs like a refrigerator or well pump, a properly sized generator will carry these without missing a beat.

If you just can’t stand the thought of a generator, here are some other power outage tips from our renewable energy experts:

• Wood is good – Cord wood stoves are a tradition in New England and a wonderful appliance to have when the power goes out. They can be good for cooking and eating.
• Stockpile water – Most people’s top complaint about power outages is running out of water. Fill up your tubs and empty milk jugs with water so you can cook dinner, wash hands and flush toilets during outages. And if you’re on city water and have a solar hot water system, you can continue to use your solar hot water even without power!
• Keep alternative lights handy – With the sun firmly set by 5pm nowadays, a power outage can make for a long dark night. Luckily, LED flashlights are lightyears more efficient than their incadescent predecessors. LL Bean has a nice selection.
• Make it fun – A power outage need only be as much an ordeal as you make it. Kids especially can be encouraged to make it an opportunity for adventure and find it fun to cook on the woodstove or propane grill. A bit of flexibility and patience go a long way.

Stay warm out there!

ReVision joined energy auditors, architects, and builders last week for a rally in support of UBEC, the Uniform Building and Energy Code, which sets standards for how homes and commercial buildings are built, from structural strength to ventilation, foundations and even the size of aggress windows. The Code also includes tough standards for energy conservation to help ensure new homes in Maine are less fossil-fuel dependent than their predecessors.

In a speech given by ReVision’s Jennifer Albee, we took the opportunity to highlight the value of the energy efficiency industry as a bright spot in a tough economy. Albee emphasized how exciting it is for a young person born and raised in Maine, to be in an industry geared for the future!

The IEA predicts a steep decline in production from current oil reserves counterbalanced with a discovery of new, if dwindling supplies.

This past week the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) released their World Energy Outlook 2010 which concludes that peak oil isn’t just looming, but has passed – back in 2006.

This is a somewhat startling revelation since only a year ago the IEA had predicted that the world would not reach peak global oil production for another decade.

In the new report, the IEA predicts that production from current oil fields will drop steeply in the coming decades, to less than half of their current rate of production by 2035. To keep supplies at their current levels, the report suggests that predicted new discoveries of reserves will need to make up nearly 40 million barrels a day by 2035.

Meanwhile, there will be increasing pressure on oil supplies thanks to industrialization of India and China, which will force prices up:

An Era of Growing Alternatives

The ray of sunshine in this gloom picture is that increasing demand for oil will increase prices, and increased prices for fossil fuel will make renewable energy ever more attractive. This is particularly hopeful since the other costs of oil are becoming more evident – the 2000s were the hottest decade on record, for example, and earlier this year we saw the risks of oil exploration all too clearly in the the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

And while the report paints a fairly unsustainable picture of China, the blog BusinessGreen highlights GreenPeace findings that China may actually be leading the renewable energy revolution:

A recent report from Greenpeace predicted that oil firms and energy investors will find it harder to justify long-term investments in tar sands projects as the impact of global renewable energy and low-carbon initiatives leads to falling demand for fossil fuels.

“The idea that falling demand for oil in the EU and US will be offset by increased demand in China is increasingly open to question,” said a spokesman for the green group. “For example, you now see China giving its people incentives to buy smaller cars in a manner that is even more aggressive than the fuel standards in the US and Europe. Meanwhile, Obama’s recently introduced fuel-efficiency standards are expected to cut demand by a million barrels a day.”

What to Do in a Post-Peak World

The IEA’s report, like many other signals, says that we need to reduce our dependence on oil. Further, it suggests that if we aren’t able to reduce our fossil fuel use ahead of time, market forces will force us to. And the consequences of delay will be severe.

On a macro level, the IEA proposes a “450 Scenario,” a set of policies that will stabilize greenhouse gas emissions at 450 parts per million (ppm) of CO2-equivalent. By reducing coal-fired fossil fuel electricity generation with aggressive policies to promote electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, we can both manage the effects of climate change and reduce the effects of the post-peak oil scenario:

For some ideas how to reduce your own dependence on fossil fuels see our tips: 9 Things You Can Do About the Gulf Oil Spill.

While it’s faced legal hurdles in other parts of the country, Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing may finally be arriving for Maine residents as early as mid-November according to Efficiency Maine. UPDATE: As of April 4, 2011, PACE Solar Loans are now available.

This unique program allows residents in towns that have passed a PACE ordinance to get low-interest loans on energy efficiency and renewable energy systems, everything from insulation and caulking to solar hot water and solar electric systems.

The program allows homeowners to get an energy efficiency loan that is tied to their property – rather to them personally – so that they will not be liable for the loan if they decide to sell the house. In the meantime, however, a home with improvements financed through the PACE program will benefit with improved comfort and reduced fossil fuel energy costs and carbon emissions.

How Does PACE Work?

PACE loans will be available for up to $15,000 on what Efficiency Maine calls “energy saving improvements,” that is, either work that “result[s] in increased energy efficiency and substantially reduced energy use” or a “renewable energy installation or an electric thermal storage system.” Which means that residential solar hot water systems and grid-tied solar electric systems qualify for loans under the program (from the Model PACE Ordinance (PDF)).

These loans are intended to be tightly entwined with performance of efficiency upgrades so that the cost of the loan payment is comparable to or less than the current utility payment. PACE loans will not be allowed for terms longer than the expected life of the improvement.

Solar hot water systems, such as this one in Biddeford, Maine, will save the homeowner more than $15,000 in utility bills over its first 20 years of operation.

This is certainly a good model for solar energy systems which will last more than 20 years, and are most affordable when taking a long view of energy savings.

For instance, a typical solar hot water system saves 300 gallons of home heating oil per year, worth roughly $780/year at today’s prices, for a savings of more than $15,000 over the life of the system. With an out of pocket cost of $5,500 to $6,000 once you factor in state and federal rebates, it will take about 8 years for the system to pay for itself.

The same system, benefiting from a 15-year PACE loan at 5% interest, results in a payment of roughly $71/month, or $852/year.  Since the PACE loan is based on net installation cost of the system, you would still benefit from the $3,150 federal tax credit, which if applied to your monthly payment would bring your average payment down to $57/mo, or $684/year.  A financed system saves money from day one!

How Can I Get a PACE Loan?

Getting access to the fund requires a few things:

• You must live in a town that has passed a PACE ordinance. So far that includes Cumberland, Yarmouth, Arrowsic, Waterboro, Fayette, South Portland, Old Town, Hampden, and Belfast with dozens more in process. If you’re unsure whether your town has passed an ordinance, now is the time to call your town office!
• You must have an energy audit done, and the energy auditor must be able to show that your proposed system will meet Efficiency Maine’s performance requirements. PACE will be managed through Efficiency Maine’s existing Home Energy Savings Program (HESP), which requires a computer model that demonstrates a 25% energy savings from the proposed efficiency improvement.This modeling biases towards weatherization, though solar hot water can also be considered (since combined with boiler improvements solar hot water achieves dramatic decreases in home heating oil use). It’s not clear how solar electric systems will be evaluated for PACE loans just yet.

What About PACE in New Hampshire?

Unfortunately, PACE legislation has hit a big snag in New Hampshire. SeacoastOnline reported it this way:

Last year, the New Hampshire Legislature passed House Bill 1554 to create the framework for municipalities to develop PACE, according to Eric Steltzer, a policy analyst for the state Office of Energy and Planning. New Hampshire set up PACE as assessment districts, such as a water or sewer district. As such, PACE became a priority lien holder.

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the Federal Home Mortgage Corp. and Federal National Mortgage Association, respectively, balked at being put in a secondary lien position. The mortgage giants said they would not support PACE in states in which those loans are given a priority status on liens, said Steltzer.

This means, said Steltzer, “When you sell your house, they will not offer a mortgage on a property that has PACE on it. I do not foresee any communities in New Hampshire creating PACE entities.”

In contrast, Maine’s program specifically states that the PACE loan is secondary to the primary mortgage to avoid this road block. However, New Hampshire citizens still can take advantage of terrific state rebates and a growing number of private financing options.

We’ll keep you posted as the program evolves in both Maine and New Hampshire, and of course alert you to any new rebate programs, incentives, or solar financing options!

Resources on PACE

• Towns backing energy efficiency loan program – Current Publishing
• Maine seeks to pick up ‘PACE’ of energy savings – SeacoastOnline
• PACE Incentives – DSIRE
• PACE FAQs – Efficiency Maine
• PACE Model Ordinance – Efficiency Maine (PDF)
• PACE Law Enacted in Maine – Efficiency Maine (PDF)

Efficiency Maine has announced that their popular $1,000 summer promotion for the Home Energy Savings Program (HESP) has been extended. Sign up by August 31st to qualify for an additional $1,000 beyond the existing $1,500 – $3,000 of incentives available in the program.

Here’s how it works:

• You no longer have to complete the project by August 31st.  Simply send in your application using the Efficiency Maine website.
• You’ll need to have an energy audit completed by September 30th and the project completed by December 31st.
• The $1,000 bonus is above and beyond the HESP standard rebates, which are:
  • 30% of Project Cost up to $1,500 for projects that will result in 25% – 49% total annual thermal energy savings - OR -
  • 50% of Project Cost up to $3,000 for projects that will resulting total annual thermal energy savings that will be 50% or more
• If solar hot water is part of the HESP project you’ll still get the standard solar hot water rebate, including an additional $500 for a total $1,500 solar hot water rebate.

To get started with the HESP program, be sure to submit a request before the August 31st deadline – that will secure your $1,000 bonus rebate. Then find an energy auditor – if you’d like a referral in your area just contact us!

The Home Energy Savings Program is funded by a stimulus grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

The GO Home in Belfast, Maine is slated to be the first “Passive House” in Maine. ReVision designed and installed the solar electric and solar hot water systems.

Come see the new super-efficient GO Home — at a Talk-and-Tour at the Belfast Free Library on Thursday, April 8, 2010 at 7 p.m.

On track to become the first Passive House certified home in Maine, The GO Home is the affordable and super-energy efficient model for the 36-home Belfast Cohousing and Ecovillage slated to begin construction in the Spring of 2010.

Why Build A Passive House?

The GO Home is designed to solve the problems of energy consumption and greenhouse gases resulting from poorly built, drafty homes, which are increasingly more costly to heat and hazardous to the environment.

Among the energy efficient building elements of this remarkable home are triple glazed windows, doors with three air seals, foundation insulation and comprehensive air sealing – including sealing underneath the foundation and on the building envelope.

To offset what energy the GO Home does consume, GO Logic called in ReVision Energy to install solar electric and solar hot water systems. The solar electric system consists of 2.7KW of Canadian Solar panels, which will offset roughly 4,900 lbs. of CO2 emissions annually. The 60-tube Apricus solar hot water array is sized to meet the needs of a family of four, and will produce an estimated 14,200,000 BTUs of clean, renewable heat energy annually.

So far, we have received a report that in March the prototype has produced more energy than it has used. According to CMP we used 137KWH, and made 184KWH, with a surplus of 47KWH!

This Thursday’s event will feature an unveiling and discussion of The GO Home at the Belfast Free Library followed by a preview Tour at 83 Crocker Road, Belfast, on Saturday, April 10 at 11 a.m.

For more information, please contact Matt O’Malia or Alan Gibson at (207) 338-1566 or visit their website: www.gologichomes.com. To track construction and development on The GO Home, visit the prototype blog at: http://www.gologichomes.com/blog/category/prototype/.

What is a Passive House?

Similar to the LEED program, a Passive House (also known as the German “Passivhaus”) meets very strict requirements for building efficiency and performance, specifically regarding insulation values and energy consumption requirements.

More details of these requirements on the Passive House website.

We put a lot of effort into ensuring our systems will operate trouble-free in New England winters for 20+ years, which is no small feat!  Exceptional manufacturers help make this a reality.

We recently learned that one of the manufacturers we use for solar electric panels, Canadian Solar, received some of the highest rankings in PV USA (PTC) rankings.

These rankings, required by the State of California, exhaustively test module performance in laboratory settings and are required for a module to be eligible for California’s solar financial incentives.

Five of Canadian Solar’s solar module series, the CS6P- 220P, 225P, 230P, CS5P-240M and CS5A-180M obtained rankings that were near the top of all of those tested.

You can read Canadian Solar’s official statement, or see the full listing of PTC rankings and requirements.

Here are some pictures of recent installations that use Canadian Solar panels:

Wall Street Journal journalist Gwendolyn Bounds wrote a story on solar hot water for homeowners – what the technology is like, how it works, and the quite impressive economics of investing in solar hot water.

Rather than tackling the environmental benefits of drastically reducing your oil consumption (since in many homes, a solar hot water system can eliminate boiler usage during summertime), the article focused on the great economic incentives for installing solar hot water.

In Maine, these incentives include a $1000 rebate from Efficiency Maine, as well as a 30% tax credit offered by the federal government.

This economics over environment approach is increasingly common – indeed, it’s consistent with the approach Obama took in the State of the Union – and seems to be steering the minds even of those still skeptical of global warming.

Bounds writes:

In the average home, harnessing the sun’s free energy for daily hot-water needs can be a more practical and affordable bet [than solar electricity]. Water-heating is the third-largest energy expense in most households, after space heating and air-conditioning, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. This year, Hawaii began mandating solar water heaters in most new homes, and cold-weather locales such as New York and Colorado are among the state leaders in installations.

A misconception in Maine is that it is too cold for solar, a fact that is totally untrue! In fact, Maine is far sunnier than Germany, the world-leader in solar installations. Today, a gray January day in Maine, our solar hot water tank at the shop reads a toasty 138 degrees.

Whether your motivations are environmentally or economically driven (or better yet, both!) we appreciate the Wall Street Journal’s efforts in presenting the facts about solar hot water to homeowners.

If you’d like some more information on the technology for yourself, take a look at our solar hot water page or contact us to talk about a free site evaluation at your home or business.