Fred Greenhalgh from ReVision has been out and about touring solar energy systems up and down the Maine and NH coasts, talking to people about solar and showcasing how they work. The result? A new web video series called The Solar Road Tour.

In Episode 1, we make it up to beautiful Freeport, Maine on a day of unlimited sunshine to see the solar atop Gritty McDuff’s and LL Bean.

Stay tuned for Episode 2, due out on August 19, where we visit the Freeport Library to see how they’re educating the public about energy efficiency, and tour the LEED Platinum home of author Melissa Coleman. Solar Road Tour is an ongoing series and we plan to have two short videos a month from now until the end of the year.

ReVision Energy co-founder Phil Coupe speaks at a press conference held to announce a new report on the efficacy of solar hot water in Maine.

In a press conference last Thursday Environment Maine released a report finding that Mainers can save millions of gallons of oil a year with solar hot water.

“We need to do everything we can to get Maine off oil, and installing solar hot water systems is one of the no-brainers. We have long had the technology and know-how to harness the zero-cost heat of the sun to produce hot water, while at the same time cutting pollution and putting people to work in our communities. And more than ever we have a workforce that is ready to install these affordable solar systems on roofs across the state,” said Environment Maine Field Associate Nathaniel Meyer, speaking in front of Senator Justin Alfond’s East End home, which has a rooftop solar hot water system.

ReVision Energy co-founder Phil Coupe continued. “Solar hot water is one of the safest investments you can make – with relatively small upfront investments, the financial and environmental return is guaranteed,” he said. “Maine is ripe for this technology. We get 33% more sun than Germany, the world leader in solar installations. On a sunny 20-degree day, a solar hot water system can generate water that’s 130 degrees – water that’s too hot to shower in.”

See video coverage from NECN:

Video also provided by WCSH:

And several news articles on this important story!

• Bloomberg Businessweek
• Bangor Daily News
• Portland Press Herald
• Solar Thermal Magazine
• Forbes

From our photo gallery:

We’re pleased to be able to show, not tell, the story of Suzanne Huard. A recent retiree, Suzanne fulfilled a long-time solar dream with the installation of an evacuated tube solar hot water system and grid-tied photovoltaic array on her home.

ReVision commissioned NowOrNeverMedia, as part of their “Green Screen TV” series, to cover the story of two solar installations in the middle of a blustery month.

Check out the video on YouTube:

We heard back from Suzanne about the project. She’s pleased to report that “things are going great … I can say now that our daily usage of hot water went down 16+% from our Jan/Feb bill to the prior Dec/Jan bill and the residential electricity went down 11+% (they are metered separately).”

Photos From Our Residential Solar Photo Gallery:

For more installations, see our Solar Projects Map

Fortunat Mueller, one of ReVision Energy’s resident professional engineers, gave a presentation at the first annual MABEP professional training conference held Jan 12-13 at the Holiday Inn By the Bay.

Fortunat’s presentation was geared towards home energy auditors who want to better understand the economics of solar hot water and in what situations solar hot water can result in tremendous energy savings.

In addition to simply replacing fossil fuels for heating of domestic hot water, a solar hot water system can often enable a home to dramatically reduce the use of a oil burner for water heating – particularly in the summer months, where an oil burner may not need to fire for months at a time.

The above clip shows Fortunat describing why solar hot water works extremely well for domestic hot water, and how boiler upgrades combined with a solar thermal system can dramatically reduce oil consumption.

ReVision’s New Hampshire branch manager, Will Kessler, recently captured this piece of stop motion footage which shows you the process of a solar hot water system and solar electric system coming together on a house in Eliot, Maine!

Watch for the photovoltaic (PV) panels coming in along the top – the solar hot water system consists of the tubes below.

This system will save nearly 300,000 lbs of C02 emissions during its first 30-years of service life.