Solar Southwest Florida

The answer is – it doesn’t really matter – if you are using a Fafco Revolution 500 series Domestic Solar Water Heating System. These featherweight panels are just 8 pounds each empty, and 22 pounds filled. The additional dead load imposed on your roof is totally inconsequential.

Fafco Revolution 500 Solar Water Heating System

A traditional 40 square foot glass/copper solar collector system weighs over 180 pounds when filled!

The pictured collector system is a 96 square foot Fafco Revolution system with four 2′x12′ solar panels, a photovoltaic panel for circulation, and an expansion tank. This low profile system is mounted on the roof and UV rated cross-linked polyethylene tubing (similar to PEX) is run to an integrated circulation module located next to your hot water tank. The system is simple – and simply amazing!

Don’t panic! It’s not here yet!

Time-of-use metering allows a utility company to charge you different rates based on the time of day. This billing approach is popular in places like California and the Northeast US where there are large peaks in electricity demand. Utilities deliver power by producing a “baseline” amount of power that corresponds with the lowest amount of total expected power demand for their customers at the lowest possible cost. It costs more to meet power needs that are above this baseline amount of power because production costs are higher to meet the peaks. Total demand changes based on the time of day and the time of year.

One way to think about it is how you drive your car. If you are cruising along at a constant speed, your fuel consumption is steady, predictable, and relatively low. When you accelerate and put the pedal to the metal, it costs a lot in terms of fuel consumption, and it’s a very inefficient way to consume fuel to get where you want to go. The same concept applies to utility companies’ power production. A utility’s dream is to be on cruise control, delivering a constant amount of power throughout the day and night.

LCEC's Southwest Florida Annual Load Demand Curve. January 2009 was particularly cold, causing a huge demand for electric heating.

Current electricity rates for PG&E customers in California with time-of-use metering can vary from 9 cents per kilowatt hour to over 47 cents per kilowatt hour! Depending on how much energy you use each day and when you use it, you could pay over 4 times the rate we pay in Southwest Florida!

Florida does have a relatively steady annual power demand because the population swells in the cool season. Even though less air conditioning is required per capita in the cool season, the sheer number of people here helps to level out the total amount of energy consumed each month. See the LCEC Annual Load Demand Curve to the right to illustrate this phenomenon. Nonetheless, demand throughout the day does vary significantly year-round.

The scary thing about time-of-use metering in Florida is that rates would be highest during the day in the summer when air conditioning is typically used. Electricity bills could skyrocket in Southwest Florida for annual residents and businesses unless habits are drastically changed. Commercial customers would be hit hard, as offices and shops consume the vast majority of their energy during peak hours. Retirees who are home during the day would also be hit with higher air conditioning costs. Lower income seniors may need to forego the luxury and comfort of temperature controlled surroundings.

The good news is that utility rates for off-peak times may actually be reduced dramatically. The other way for electric utilities to lower total cost of production is to actually raise the baseline. That means they want you to consume electricity during the off-peak times. One potential boon for this approach is electric cars. Imagine millions of electric cars charging up in garages overnight across Southwest Florida, flattening out the power demand curve!

Is time-of-use metering coming to Southwest Florida? Based on the status quo, we will probably not see time-of-use metering as a requirement in the near future. However, it is almost inevitable that some changes will be made to electricity rates in the mid- to long-run. It is totally impractical for utility companies to maintain a low baseline power production and meet peak demand with more expensive production options.

How does this relate to solar energy? Well, solar energy systems produce the most energy when the sun is out (surprise!) and this time generally corresponds to the peak power demand times for utility companies in Florida. If your solar energy system is reducing your usage during peak times, your bill will be reduced dramatically. You would be cutting down your usage of the most expensive power required for your home. Furthermore, any electricity that you sell back to the utility (power produced in excess of power concurrently used), would be sold back to the utility at premium rates!

Time-of-use metering is generally hated by the average consumer, but it is a more fair way to charge for electricity because it is tied to the cost to produce the power at the time it is consumed. If (when) time-of-use metering does come to Southwest Florida, one way to be prepared is to use a solar electric system to eliminate the most expensive power you will need.

Lee County Electric Cooperative (LCEC) places a paper insert in utility bill envelopes for netmetered customers (those with solar photovoltaic systems). This insert is a bit confusing, and it is no wonder that customers come to me asking if their solar electric system is meeting expectations. Months ago I made recommendations to LCEC on how to reword the information presented to make it more accurate and understandable, and they have made some improvements.

So how do you read the LCEC netmetering bill insert? Here is picture of a recent statement from a customer’s utility service. Let’s break down each line.

Example of a LCEC Netmetering Insert

1. Kilowatt hours consumed (from LCEC): This is the total amount of energy that your home used from the utility company. It is NOT the total amount of energy your home used. Your home also used some energy produced by the solar electric system.
2. Kilowatt hours returned to LCEC (the grid): This is the excess energy that your solar electric system “sold back” to the grid when it was producing more power than your home was using.
3. Kilowatt hours net from/to the grid: This is how much energy for which you will be billed. It is the difference between the energy you used from LCEC and how much you “sold back” to LCEC.
4. You have reduced your LCEC billable consumption by: This is always the same as #2 above. I don’t understand the need for this item, and it is the most confusing item on the statement. The asterisk should actually be next to this item. Without the asterisk, it would be easy to mistakenly assume that this solar electric system only produced 281 kilowatt hours during the billing period. The bottom line is that LCEC has no idea how much energy your solar electric system produces. The utility meter can only measure energy drawn from the grid and returned to the grid. It cannot measure power produced by your solar electric system that is consumed by your home concurrently. This is where the use of a solar energy monitoring system is helpful.
5. Reserves (accumulated) kWh to date: If the amount in #3 above is negative, it means that your solar electric system produced more energy than your home consumed in the billing period. This line is a running total of the “banked” kilowatt hours that you have in your account. If there are accumulated reserves at the end of the year, LCEC will cut you a check for the net amount of energy “sold back” to the utility.

It is unfortunate that this has to be so confusing, but it is a limitation of the bi-directional netmetering approach that local utilities have adopted. FPL uses the same type of bi-directional meter. Some utilities actually require a second meter that just measures energy produced by your solar electric system. This is called a revenue meter. You are billed the difference between your regular usage meter and the revenue meter. In this approach, the utility can tell you how much solar energy you produced, because you effectively sell all of your solar energy back to the grid. It also allows for varying energy prices. For example, you may be able to sell solar energy back to the grid for a higher price than the consumption rate. It also allows for a variety of time-of-use billing practices.

While the revenue meter approach is better for a number of reasons, the bidirectional meter is cheaper and easier to implement for the utility and the homeowner. The revenue meter would typically be easier for the solar contractor to install because integrating with some existing electrical distribution systems is troublesome. A revenue meter also allows you to compare you independent solar monitoring system to the revenue meter to ensure you are being credited properly for your solar production.

The LCEC bidirectional meter should accurately measure your net electricity usage. It allows you to sell your excess solar electricity back to the utility company at the same rate for which you purchase electricity. It may be a bit confusing, but ultimately it gets the job done!

Today at 11:00 am it was around 65 degrees in Fort Myers. My vehicle was parked at a job site with the windows closed for about one hour. When I got back to the vehicle, the car’s thermometer read 86 degrees inside!

When people ask me if solar pool heating or solar water heating works in the winter when it is cold outside, I always point to the hot car phenomenon. As long as solar radiotion is striking a surface, it has the potential to absorb solar energy. Since solar pool heating and solar water heating panels are designed to absorb solar radiation, the performance in winter is quite amazing!

Because we have such sunny weather in winter in Southwest Florida, solar collectors work great this time of year – the time of year that solar thermal technology is needed most!

If you have a Suretemp Solar System installed, you may have called them recently for service only to find that their phone is out of order. It has been a common complaint recently, and Fafco Solar is getting lots of calls and emails.

Suretemp is out of business… again. This isn’t the first time they have closed up shop and abandoned their customers. The good news is that with over 37 years of service to the industry, Fafco Solar is once again here to pick up the pieces.

If you need service on your Suretemp solar pool heating, solar water heating, or solar electric (photovoltaic) system, let me know. I would be happy to help. You can also call the shop at (239) 574-1500.

Note: Fafco Solar does not provide service on Suretemp Electric Heat Pumps. We recommend that you contact Dart Services.

If you are interested in tracking down Sure-Temp the registered agent address and phone number are listed with the Florida Division of Corporations on this document:

Now that the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf are showing up around Southwest Florida, I am starting to hear interest from people that want to offset their increase in electricity consumption with solar energy. In fact, we increased the size of one customer’s solar electric system recently in anticipation of his Chevy Volt purchase. That’s no surprise – an electric car does use a substantial amount of electricity instead of liquid fuels.

A Brand New Chevy Volt in Port Charlotte

For the Chevy Volt, each full charge gets you between 30 and 50 miles depending on driving style, and consumes 12.9 kilowatt-hours of electricity. That full charge equates to around $1.40 in utility electricity for customers in FPL’s Southwest Florida territory. Charging the electric car fully each day after consuming all of the usable battery capacity would increase your electricity bill by $42 per month.

How can you prepare for electric cars with solar for your home to deal with this increase in needed energy?

You will need have an electrical contractor look at your existing utility service and main load center (circuit breaker panel) to determine if an upgrade is required. Charging an electric vehicle uses a lot of power, and adding a dedicated circuit is required. Some older homes may require a utility service upgrade as well. This assessment can be done before or after you have your solar electric system installed, but it may be easier to do it all at once.

You will need to decide how many solar panels to install. If you want to offset the entire increase in anticipated electrical usage from fully charging a Chevy Volt once per day, you will need a solar electric system in the range of 3.5kW on your home. The Nissan Leaf is EPA rated at 34kWh per 100 miles, and can travel about 73 miles on a full charge. If you fully charged a Nissan Leaf battery once per day, it would cost around $82 per month and you would want a solar electric system around 7.0kW to offset the increase. Of course, you can choose to offset just a part of the electricity needed or install even more solar panels to further decrease your electric bill.

You can consider a solar electric system the “fuel” required for your new car. Essentially, you will be prepaying for your “fuel” and locking in the price for the next 25+ years. Another way to think about it is that solar is an “accessory” for your car. The only difference is that you leave it at home! However you think about solar energy systems for electric cars, the two products are made for each other!

I would like to send a special thank you to all of Fafco Solar’s customers, my co-workers, and Dan Morrissey for a great year. Christmas is a time of giving, and solar is the gift that keeps on giving all year ’round. I’m happy to be part or the solar industry and this great company!

Merry Christmas!

You may have heard about the wonderful Florida Power & Light (FPL) utility solar rebate program that provides $1,000 for solar water heating systems and up to $20,000 for solar electric systems. This program can significantly reduce the total cost of ownership for a solar energy system. However, leased systems do not qualify.

Solar leasing has become popular, particularly in other states where Federal, state and utility incentives can be directed to the leasing company. Solar leasing typically benefits the leasing company more than the homeowner, but it can be a way for just about anyone with good credit to get into solar energy without any upfront costs. The rewards are much lower, but the savings line up better with the costs of having the system.

With the FPL rebate, the only incentive available to residential solar lease customers is the 30% Federal tax credit. I am recommending that you stay away from solar leasing if you live in FPL’s service territory. Don’t give up the rebate – it’s like free money!

If you don’t want to commit to the upfront cost of a solar energy system, there are options. Possibly the best option is tapping a home equity line of credit or getting a home equity loan for low cost financing of the upfront cost. You can pay down the loan once your rebate and tax credit come in, leaving just the principal on the remaining about to finance. Typically the remaining principal will be just 30-50% of the upfront cost. For example, if you invest in a $4,000 solar water heating system, the tax and utility savings would return 55% of the initial cost, leaving you with a loan of only $1,800! Solar has never been so affordable!

Another option is financing through a third party. Solar dealers have financing arrangements through financial institutions that provide a variety of same-as-cash and consumer loan options. While you will be giving up a portion of your solar energy savings to the lending institution, you will have no upfront costs and you will start saving some money immediately. Once the system is paid off, you get 100% of the savings and you own the system.

Of course, if you have a pile of cash under the mattress or sitting in a low interest bank account, or even in the volatile stock market, paying for your system in cash will provide a reliable long-term return that has one of the best risk-reward ratios possible!

The FPL rebate is an amazing once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for people who want to get into solar at a lower total cost of ownership. Unfortunately, solar lessees need not apply, as the program does not allow solar leasing. The good news is that there are financing options other than leasing, and the you can apply for the FPL solar rebate whether financing or paying cash for your system. Ask me how!

New housing starts are picking up, and I am starting to get more requests to fit solar energy products onto new home plans. Typically this works great because we can make provisions during the construction stage to make the job easier and the installation better. However, it would be nice to get in on the “ground floor” and be consulted about the roof ahead of the construction start. Ideally I would get involved at the design stage and discuss requirements with the architect.

Since the “solar guy” is not often consulted in advance, here are the top 10 requirements that make for a better solar installation:

1. A south facing roof with lots of space, preferably a 5:12 or 6:12 pitch in Southwest Florida. Gable roofs provide more space for solar products, but understanding that is not in vogue today, a south roof with no dormers or other protrusions works fine.
2. Route vents to other roofs. This is typically not a big problem. Even if we get involved at the construction stage, we can have other trades reroute vents to adjacent roof surfaces with a simple plans change.
3. Provide access to the underside of the roof. Sometimes we need to install blocking between rafters to make suitable attachment points. Ducts, pipes, air handlers, and other obstructions can make this difficult or impossible. We also like to get in the attic and do our work prior to spray foam insulation work.
4. If a standing seam metal roof is anticipated, make sure the profile is compatible with S-5 Clamps to minimize roof penetration requirements, and require extra screws to increase uplift potential. Consider a standing seam metal roof over a 5V or other metal roof profile.
5. If planning a barrel tile roof, let us get in there after the roof is dried in but before tile is installed. It’s easier for the roofer to flash around our attachments than for us to remove roof tiles after installed.
6. Shingle roofs are the easiest and most cost effective for solar installations.
7. If considering solar on a flat roof surface or as a shade structure, definitely consult a solar dealer first.
8. Ensure there are no shading issues from the building and landscaping plan. Roof hatches, chimneys, and even electrical service entrances can cast shadows that are detrimental or even devastating to solar production.
9. Most modern trusses will be more than capable of handling the weight and wind uplift of solar products. If in doubt about the requirements, ask me!
10. If considering solar electricity, make interconnection provisions by providing appropriate lugs for supply side connections (see NEC 690.64(A)) or circuit breakers for load side connections (see NEC 690.64(B)).
11. Bonus Tip! Check out the National Renewable Energy Labs Technical Report NREL/TP-7A2-46078, December 2009, Solar Ready Buildings Planning Guide by L. Lisell, T. Tetreault, and A. Watson.

These tips will put you on the right track for designing and building a solar ready building when planning a new construction project in Southwest Florida. When in doubt, don’t hesitate to get a solar professional involved in the early stages.

Many Southwest Florida residents subscribe to FPL’s demand shedding On Call Program. This program reduces your electric bill by providing credits for allowing the utility company to turn off certain appliances when utility demand exceeds production capacity. What happens if you have FPL’s On Call program and you install a solar energy system?

The good news is that FPL still lets you participate in the program, even though you will likely use much less energy than the typical utility customer, and your demand may be less than the average utility customer. However, the program conditions state that you cannot receive more credit than 40% of your non-fuel electricity charges.

Let’s go through an example using the most popular option, the Cycle Option that allows FPL to shut off your air conditioning and heating for no more than 15 minutes each half hour for up to a total of six hours per day. This option saves you about $2.58 per month on your bill, or $31 per year. Under this option, if you consume less than 131 kilowatt-hours of utility electricity (net), your On Call credit will be reduced.

131kWh x $0.04914 = $6.44 x 40% = $2.58

(The non-fuel utility rate is currently $0.04914 for the first 1,000kWh consumed)

The average FPL residential customer consumes 1,100kWh of electricity per month. To reach the threshold where your On Call credit is reduced, you would have to eliminate 88% of an average electricity bill with solar energy, and at that point the On Call credit would be reduced proportionally.

If you participate in all of the available On Call options, your monthly savings can be as high as $11.42 per month. In this case, your On Call savings will begin to be prorated if you consume less than 580kWh per month.

This might not seem fair, as solar electric customers place less of a demand on the utility grid already. It would be nice if FPL rewarded solar electric customers for helping them manage demand, but the utility cannot control when solar energy systems produce power, so the benefit to the utility is not reliable. Still, solar electric customers could theoretically place the same demands on the utility company as a non-solar customer during times of peak utility demand, and some would argue that the On Call credit should be the same for all customers regardless of total net energy delivered in the billing period.

This is a debate in which both sides have legitimate arguments. At this point, FPL does not distinguish between customer types in the residential On Call program. Clearly there is a potential impact for netmetering customers with On Call, but the loss of On Call savings should be greatly outweighed by the solar energy savings because you receive credit for both fuel and non-fuel usage with netmetering.

At least we don't have to deal with snow on our solar panels in Southwest Florida!

Today, the winter solstice, is the shortest day of the year. That means your solar electric, solar pool heating, and solar water heating panels will have the least time in the sun today. It also means that your solar panels are probably not at an optimal tilt angle to capture the most radiation possible. Most solar power or water heating installations are geared to collecting the most energy over the whole year, so naturally there will be a best day and a worst day for solar.

The good news is that this time of the year is generally cloud-free in Southwest Florida. Although days are shorter, sometimes the solar production can exceed a cloudy day other times of the year. Nonetheless, this is the time of the year that people just can’t get their pool warm enough or don’t produce as much solar electricity as in the heydays of summer.

Most roofs in Southwest Florida are pitched at around 25 degrees. This happens to be the area’s approximate latitude, and it is the optimal tilt angle for annual solar production on a south facing roof. While your roof tilt may vary, it is usually close enough to optimal where any difference is negligible. However, the combination of short days and a tilt angle optimized for the annual average makes solar production this time of year less than average.

So today is a bad day for solar, but rest assured that the shortest day of the year is now behind us, and longer days ahead will assure increased solar energy performance for your system.

This is the time of year that I hear quite a few people saying that their solar pool heat is not working. In most cases, the system is working well, but they may not be comfortable swimming at the current pool temperature. The easy solution would be to ask them to turn off their solar pool heater and report back with the temperature after a few days. I bet it would be much colder!

Generally speaking, an unheated pool will be approximately the same temperature as the Gulf of Mexico. The average historical Gulf temperature in Naples, FL in December is 68°F. Today, December 20, 2011, the current Gulf temperature is 69.6°F. A typical well-sized and oriented solar pool heating system will raise the pool temperature about 10°F above the Gulf temperature, which would imply a temperature of almost 80 degrees.

Source: http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/egof.html

To get the current Gulf temperature in Naples, FL, go here: http://www.solarsouthwestflorida.com/gulf-of-mexico-temperature-naples-fl/

A pool cover will add a few extra degrees to the pool temperature, especially when nighttime air temperatures dip below 65°F. In fact, when temperatures get below this level at night, all or most of the heat generated by the solar panels (or heat pump, or gas heater) during the day simply escapes into the cold night air.

Why do people come to the conclusion that the solar pool heat is not working when their pool temperatures are well above the Gulf temperature? I think there are a few factors at play.

1. The average Gulf temperatures in Southwest Florida in October, November, and December are 81°F, 73°F, and 68°F. This is a precipitous temperature drop in a short period of time, and people recall swimming comfortably “just a few weeks ago.”
2. “The water coming out of the jets feel like the same temperature as the pool water.” There is a common misconception that the water returned to the pool should be and needs to be significantly warmer than the pool water. The fact is, solar pool heating works on a high-volume, low temperature rise principal. The temperature differential can vary significantly. As long as the water returned to the pool is warmer than the pool, you pool is being heated. Do you think you can perceive the difference between 80 and 81°F water by holding your hand underwater? The water may not spend enough time on the roof to rise in temperature significantly, and that is okay! Over time, the pool will warm up. Keep in mind that a cover will help retain much of this heat gained during the day, and the cumulative effect over days will make your pool much more comfortable.
3. Temperatures and weather patterns vary from year to year. Seasonal residents may remember swimming on Christmas one year, while the next year may be unbearably cold.

Our service department is observing covered solar pool heated pools this time of year in the 80-84°F temperature range. Depending on the size of your system, size of your pool, orientation, micro-climates, shading, and many other factors, your system’s performance may vary.

Don’t hesitate to call your dealer if you think something is wrong, but consider whether your system is working properly or not using the information above!

If your pool is not reaching temperature levels described above, there may be something you can do:

1. If you do not have an automatic controller, Make sure that your pump is running or your solar is on only when the sun is out and the roof temperature is likely higher than your pool temperature. Otherwise, you may be cooling your pool! A solar pool heating controller will automate your pool heater and ensure you are not unintentionally cooling your pool.
2. Your system may be undersized to reach your heating expectations. Adding panels will increase performance. You can also use panels with a higher BTU rating.
3. There may be shading on the panels from trees that have grown.
4. If you are seeing NO heating above the Gulf temperature, there may be a legitimate problem with your system. Give your dealer a call!

Traveling around Fort Myers, I often find the questions about solar electric systems very basic. I created this graphic to demonstrate in a simple way how solar electricity works.

Click the image to enlarge.

Sometimes I forget that everyone doesn’t know this stuff!

The basic premise with a utility-interactive solar electric system is that you purchase electricity from the utility company when you need it, and you send electricity back when you don’t. Whenever your home is using less electricity than the solar panels are producing, you send electricity back to the grid for your neighbors to use!

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Just like electrical power is allowed on a boat dock, you can install solar panels on a boat dock. The electrical power would be returned to the home using buried conduit and tied into your existing electrical distribution system. The main consideration is the structural engineering of the system. The key question is whether wind uplift from the solar panels will exceed the capability of the boat dock roof and underlying structure.

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Solar Panels on a Boat Dock on Fort Myers Beach

Given that most boat docks in Southwest Florida are in the coastal region where the design wind speed for structures is relatively high at 130-150 mph. Modern covered boat docks are built to withstand these high wind speeds as required by the Florida Building Code. Generally speaking, if your covered boat dock was build to code recently, we will probably be able to install solar panels on top.

One idea for people building new covered boat docks would be to forego the roof altogether and design the solar panels as a trellis structure over the boat. The solar panels could be mounted to steel or aluminum I-Beams or directly to extruded rails designed for solar panel attachment. It’s always easier to start from scratch than to retrofit an existing covered dock.

If we can contact the builder of your existing dock, we can probably obtain the original engineering documentation and determine whether solar panels can be mounted on top. A site visit is required to look at the condition and construction of the dock. In most cases, it is not only possible, but a great idea to install solar panels on a boat dock!

A plumber recently came out to my home to fix a drain problem, and when I told him I was in the solar business he responded by saying that he “does not believe in solar.” He went on to say that he is developing a perpetual motion machine that works. His lawyer must be Johnnie Cochran, because he just beat the laws of physics!

He didn’t successfully fix my plumbing issue, either. No surprise…

The world is full of snake oil salesmen that claim to have the answers to all of our energy woes. There is the guy that is doubling his fuel mileage by injecting hydrogen made from water into his car engine. Then there is the company that sells a wind generator the size of a ceiling fan that produces enough energy for your house with less than 5 mph wind speed. Usually these kind of devices look like a PVC pipe bomb made in someone’s garage, and it’s easy to peg as junk. Sometimes it’s peddled at green fairs, and sometimes it’s right there in your mailbox on a glossy mailer. Don’t fall for it!

It came to my attention that there is a “renewable energy” company in Southwest Florida trying to sell a device that magically makes your home use less energy. They don’t actually call it magic – they try to pass it off as scientific fact. It looks like a well made device outwardly. They have testimonials on their website. They have a great explanation of how it works that would surely convince any non-engineer consumer.

They are selling what is called a Power Factor Correction device. If you want to get into the math or get the technical details on why it is a hoax, go ahead and Google it. I’ll just put it into simple terms: it does not work!

Look Closely: It says Watthour Meter. Utility meters measure real power (watts), not apparent power (volt-amps).

Ok, I guess I have to back that up with something… Your utility meter measures the real power consumed by your home (in kilowatts). There is something called apparent power, (measured in volt-amps). Apparent power is greater than real power in a typical home. The ratio is called the power factor.

The seller of this device would have you believe that your utility meter measures the apparent power, so you need a “power factor correction device” to save big money. Truthfully, the utility does need to produce and deliver the apparent power to your home, but you are only charged for the real power!

Want another opinion? Here is a well written Wikipedia entry.

Why is the utility company willing to give you this “free” energy? Well, the power factor in homes is relatively high – above 0.90 or 90%. It is also relatively uniform amongst residential customers, so it is simply built into the residential rate. Effectively you are paying for apparent power, but you don’t have a choice – your usage is measured in real power consumed, and no device attached to your main breaker panel is going to change that.

Example of a Power Factor Correction Device That Does Not Work

Power factor is an issue in industrial settings where the utility company charges (penalizes) users for having a low power factor. Large motors are the main contributors to low power factors because some of the power used simply maintains the electromagnetic field in the motor, and it produces no real work. Some industrial customers may benefit from power factor correction. Small motors like your pool pump and refrigerator compressor also have power factors less than 1.0, but the impact to the utility company is miniscule.

Southwest Florida does have some reputable and responsible solar dealers. I think that some of the snake oil salespeople out there truly believe in what they are saying. They just don’t have the technical understanding of what they are selling, or just look the other way when their product claims are refuted. The best way to experience renewable energy is to use the tried and true products that are available. There is no magic in solar water/pool heating. Black panels make water hot. Everyone knows that. Solar electric modules produce electricity. You can measure it. The results are real. Solar tubular skylights bring light into dark spaces. There is no room for argument.