This 6KW grid-tied photovoltaic system will produce roughly 7800KWhrs of clean electricity per year and reduce CO2 emissions by 10,452 lbs.

Solarbuzz just released a report on solar panel prices for early 2010. The exciting news is that global supply of solar electric (PV) panels continues to exceed demand – meaning a decreased cost per installed watt of solar panels.

In fact, the cost per watt for a grid-tied photovoltaic system has dropped by roughly 30% over the past 18 months, meaning that the time to lock in your energy rate with a renewable solar power system is now.

This is great news for people in northern New England who want to save money and clean up the environment. Most of the electricity generated in Maine and New Hampshire today comes from oil and gas-fired power plants, which emit enormous quantities of harmful byproducts into the atmosphere.

Solar power systems, on the other hand, have zero emissions and only need sunshine for fuel. ReVision Energy has installed more than 1,000 grid-tied solar electric systems, thereby gradually reducing the need for fossil fuel power plants.

One of the biggest struggles many homeowners have when considering solar is the ROI – due to the up-front cost, many people want to know how long it will be before they will start saving money on the system vs. what they would have paid to energy utilities.

Lowered cost of solar panels does a lot to make this technology more affordable.

ReVision Energy customer Ben Tipton pointed out on his blog how important he feels a solar investment is to a house:

Everyone always talks about the return on investment when it comes to solar … This to me is a silly question. No one ever asks when the refrigerator, TV, furnace, car, video game is going to break even. I consider my solar a integral part of the house, something that the house couldn’t be without. I have not found the solar additions to the house any more expensive than say a regular furnace.

Indeed, Tipton’s attitude – that energy efficiency is simply part of house design, not an optional luxury, is growing more common as it becomes increasingly clear that our road to energy independence needs to happen today, and by individuals, rather than by somebody else some day down the road (check out our coverage of Tipton’s house).

If you’d like to learn more, you can always contact us for a free solar site evaluation or attend one of our many events. We’re going to have a free, one hour Solar Sustainability Crash Course in our Portland office on January 23.

Skoglund with his homemade solar water collector

Six new PV panels installed

Photos courtesy Free Press Online

ReVision Energy has anointed Robert Skoglund, aka “the humble Farmer,” the “Solar Pioneer of the Year” for his efforts to make his home in St. George more energy-independent.

Skoglund, whose radio show ran on MPBN for 28 years (and now continues as a podcast and on independent community stations), successfully installed a homemade solar hot water collector, which on a sunny day heats water to 115 degrees. However, he encountered more trouble trying to install a solar electric system and called in ReVision Energy for assistance.

In a single day, ReVision installed six 230-watt Canadian Solar PV panels. The panels will provide close to 1800 killowatt-hours a year of clean, renewable energy each year. The system also has room to add twelve more panels.

Read more about this project in the Free Press Online article.

Receiving the Leed for Homes Innovative Project Award
Photo courtesy Bright Built Barn blog

The Bright Built Barn recently won the prestigious 2009 LEED for Homes Innovative Project Award from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

The award recognizes projects, developers and home builders who have demonstrated leadership in the residential building marketplace.

Phil Kaplan from Kaplan Thompson Architects and Tedd Benson from Bensonwood went to Phoenix, Arizona to accept the award at GreenBuild, the USGBC Annual Conference, this past December.

A write-up of the event is available on the Bright Built Barn blog.

We also received this report of performance of Bright Built Barn‘s solar systems, one year later:

I’m happy to report that [BrightBuilt Barn] has exceeded all expectations.

On a subjective level, it has been a joy to live and work in – warm in the winter, cool in the summer, light and airy and lovely to look at all year round. I am also delighted to report that I have not had one minute of trouble with any of the systems – high praise indeed from a guy who hates maintenance and repair, and who has had his share of woes while living in a number of conventionally built houses over the years. The solar systems in the Barn are simple, with few moving parts, and highly reliable – so far, they just work.

BrightBuilt Barn Generated a surplus of more than 5000 KW/hrs in 2008-09

ReVision installed the solar hot water and solar power systems in this innovative, net-zero building.

In its first year, the home’s PV system generation a surplus of 5094 kilowatt-hours – or enough energy to power 5 conventional homes for a month.

Building owner Keith Collins goes on to say that “The Barn does, in fact, power my conventionally built main house (over 15 years old and no paragon of energy efficiency) which sits about 100 feet away, and has produced over 60% of that home’s electrical use.”

You can see real-time system performance of the Bright Built Barn online at brightbuiltbarn.com.

Ben Tipton’s house is smaller than many conventional homes, uses sustainable building materials, and has a PV and solar hot water system

Last year we discussed the construction of a sustainable four-person household built by the Tipton family in Woolwich, Maine.

Completed in October 2008, Ben Tipton recently shared data about his home’s energy performance with us.

Over the course of the year, Ben Tipton reports that his Maine solar power system generated about half of his family’s energy needs, and that his current home uses roughly 2800% less propane for heating and hot water than his previous home.

Here are some details:

Thank you to all that helped on our house. Even if you did not pound a nail your support, encouragement and friendship has been felt all along the way. I now have one year of data and the numbers look really good. No place to go from here but down. I have posted them here and on the blog. We could not have done it without all the help.

Here is the final first year tally…..

• Cost per day: $0.93
• Kw created on site: 1415
• Kw sent out to the grid: 700
• Kw purchased from grid: 2614 (wind and eco-friendly hydro power)
• Yearly Cost: $339.86
• Monthly utility Cost: $28.32
• Total Kw used: 3329
• Propane for cooking: 25 gal
• Wood: 1.5 cords sustainably harvested from the land

So what is a net carbon impact this year??? The only thing that wasn’t made on site or in Maine was the 25 gal of propane. Our last house used over 700 gallons propane, 3 cord of wood and 5000kw. I have to say that these number are impressive and have exceeded my expectations. I owe a huge Thank you to all that helped on this project.

Ben

As part of Ben’s and his family’s commitment to sustainability, they continue to look for ways to reduce their energy consumption and sustainably produce what energy they do use.

You can follow Ben’s story on his blog, Simple Living in Maine.

From our Residential Solar Photo Gallery

See more installations on our Solar Projects Map

The Redfern House in Portland, Maine Achieved a LEED Platinum rating

We were impressed when we heard that the designers of the Redfern House intended to build a home so efficient that it would not need a fossil fuel boiler (no oil nor gas) – even in Maine’s cold climate!

The finished product has exceeded everyone’s expectations, resulting in a Platinum rating from the US Green Building Council’s LEED for Homes Program.

LEED is an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and provides a set of standards for environmentally sustainable construction for new design or renovation.
Located on Victor Road in Portland, Redfern is another super-efficient creation of Catherine and Jonathan Culley of Redfern Properties in Portland.

The Culleys, who are refreshingly passionate about green design, set out to build a home that was both green and affordable.

Catherine explains that “green design doesn’t work if only a few people can afford it.  We wanted to make it so that it’s attainable for more people – so that sustainability is less ‘pie in the sky.”‘

Redfern Properties chose to work with LEED accredited architect Chris Briley to come up with the design of the home. Chris is the founding principal of Green Design Studio, based in Yarmouth.

Coming in at just under 2,000 s.f., the two-story, 3 BR, 2.5B Redfern House is built with resource efficient materials and incorporates low mass, high efficiency electric on-demand hot water heater which is powered by a 2 kilowatt grid-tied solar electric system.

Other features of this home include non toxic paints, cellulose insulation, a detached garage and resource efficient framing. Being located in the downtown region, it’s assessable to public transportation and to Greater Portland’s resources.

Horizon Residential provided consultation on insulation, ventilation, and heating performance. Horizon is also serving as the ‘rater’ for the home in a number of the LEED categories. Other sustainability partners that helped to make this project a success were Cuddledown, Furniturea, Green Designs, Ember Grove, Angela Adams, and Back Cove Yardscaping. Learn more at www.redfernproperties.com.

This low fossil energy home in Freeport has a 3 kilowatt grid-tied solar electric array that produces roughly 340 kwhrs of clean electricity per month. The solar thermal collectors at upper right produce enough domestic hot water for a family of four. You can see ReVision Energy’s workmanship up close on October 3rd when the home will be open for the Solar Open House Tour.

The price of solar electric panels in the global marketplace is dropping, and systems that were once out of reach are now a more affordable opportunity.

For solar electricity, the most costly component of the system is the photovoltaic panels. According to a recent article in the New York Times, “panel prices have fallen about 40 percent since the middle of last year. The price drops – coupled with recently expanded federal incentives – could shrink the time it takes solar panels to pay for themselves to 16 years, from 22 years”.

The cost reduction is due to two key factors: increased production of polysilicon, the raw material that enables solar panels to convert sunlight into electricity and a panel glut due to a decrease in worldwide demand as a result of the economic downturn.

Although many manufacturers are continuing to see profit losses in 2009, according to the New York Times, some “say that cheaper panels could be a good thing in the long term, spurring enthusiasm among customers and expanding the market”.

What does this mean for people in Maine and New Hampshire who want to invest in a grid-tied photovoltaic system for their home? The timing is perfect because you have the advantage of an all-time low installed cost combined with generous state and federal financial incentives. It is important to remember that grid-tied PV is the most reliable renewable energy technology (no moving parts anywhere in the system) that comes with a 25-year warranty and expected lifespan of 40 years. This means you can lock in your own electric rate for decades and reduce your CO2 emissions.

In Maine there is a $2,000 rebate for solar electricity. In New Hampshire there is a $6,000 rebate through the NH Public Utilities Commission and a $3,500 incentive if you are a NH Electric Co-op member. The federal tax credit improved in 2009, lifting the cap for solar electric (and solar thermal) installations. The federal tax credit now totals 30% of the total system cost.

Since the April 2009 solar installation, Terry McIlveen has reduced his oil consumption by 83%. He is using a 120-tube Apricus solar hot water collector array to produce nearly 100% of domestic hot water and a significant portion of radiant space heating.

In the first half of 2008, as the price of oil started to rise without any sign of relief, energy consumption became part of our everyday consciousness

From driving to work to heating our homes to the cost of food, Americans across the country realized just how vulnerable we were to fluctuating energy costs. Long-term energy solutions were pushed to the forefront as we all re-evaluated our relationship with energy consumption.

Now, even though the price of fossil fuels has dropped, there are still numerous important reasons to consider renewable energy systems, including lower utility bills, a reduced carbon footprint, energy independence and control, a first-hand understanding of energy, how it is produced, and ownership over that process.

ReVision Energy is pleased to assist our clients as they move towards renewable energy, and we appreciate the various reasons why people do so. We also appreciate the feedback we receive from clients after an installation and were happy to receive the below from Terry McIlveen of East Waterboro.

In an effort to move away from oil dependency when prices reached record highs, Terry decided to install a solar hot water space heating system at his home.

Many thanks to Terry for sharing his story with us!

Tour this home during the Green Buildings Open House held October 3rd from 10am-4pm.

This Lincolnville, Maine installation has 90 evacuated tubes (at top) and
20 solar electric panels arranged between the skylights.

Cynthia Lao has taken a giant step away from fossil fuel energy dependence by converting almost every inch of her south-facing roof to solar energy collection.

At the peak is a 90-tube Apricus solar hot water collector array, which will produce roughly 25 million BTUs of clean, renewable heat energy annually.

This energy is stored in a 160-gallon solar storage tank with three inches of rigid foam insulation to prevent overnight heat loss. In fact, ReVision has tested the tank and found that heat loss is less than .5 degree F per hour, which works out to less than 6 degrees from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

When the sun is shining, the system will easily produce 100% of domestic hot water. Plus, during the early fall and late spring, the system will have excess heat capacity which will be used to heat the radiant floor system.

In the heart of the heating season, when less solar energy is available, the existing boiler will come on for space heat and domestic hot water as necessary to ensure there is a consistent supply of comfortable hot water, and a comfortably heated home.

Also installed is a 4.5 kilowatt grid-tied solar electric array below the solar hot water collectors and above the existing skylights.

The system is comprised of twenty 225-watt SunPower solar electric modules and one SunPower 4000m inverter. This system is expected to produce 6,150 kwhrs of clean, renewable electricity per year, offsetting roughly 8,200 lbs. of CO2 emissions annually.

With no moving parts anywhere in the system, grid-tied PV is the most reliable renewable energy technology.

This is why PV systems come with a 25-year warranty! When you combine the 30% federal tax credit and $2,000 state rebate, grid-tied solar electricity becomes an attractive investment opportunity because you can lock in your electric rate for the next three decades.

More Photos from Our Commercial Solar Photo Gallery:

For more installations, see our Solar Projects Map