Solar Southwest Florida

Last Thursday FPL took applications for the remaining 2012 solar rebate funds. As expected, funding ran out quickly… as in under two minutes!

My employer had quite a few rebate applicants lined up for solar electric systems. I decided before the rebate website went live that I wouldn’t post the results or my reaction in a knee-jerk manner. While I was angry and disappointed, I wasn’t surprised. Now that the dust has settled, I can respond effectively.

We did secure rebates for some of our customers, but any process that rewards rebate applicants for being able to type fast is just silly. I have criticized the process and the program before, but now I am more convinced than ever that it needs revamping. Its not good for consumers or contractors, and it fails to effectively reach the stated goal of increasing adoption of distributed solar energy in Florida.

I’ve recommended a lottery approach in the past, but that is hardly fair either. I truly believe that the only way to fix the program is to significantly reduce the rebate amount (per watt), or the maximum rebate per customer.

Florida has a sad history of overly-generous solar rebates with unintended consequences. The press from these botched programs feeds two beliefs that are severely damaging to the industry:

1. Solar electricity is only viable with a state or utility rebate. While free money certainly helps, the unintended consequence is that few people are willing to go solar, or even contemplate an investment in solar if the handout is not available. With prices so much lower than just a year or two ago, this is no longer the case!

2. Rebates are not guaranteed. This is the sad result of the Florida Legislature’s failure to fully fund an incentive program that was passed into law and was clearly intended to be funded. The FPL rebate is “guaranteed” to the extent that you follow through with some basic obligations, and to its credit the company has been lenient and helpful toward rebate applicants and contractors.

I applaud FPL’s willingness to implement a solar incentive program. I wish they would make it so much better by reducing the rebate amount, allowing more consumers to participate, helping contractors develop a sustainable industry, and maximizing the amount of installed distributed solar energy with the limited availability of rebate funding.

As a University of Florida graduate, I usually spend my time gleefully mocking Florida State University. I’m torn on this one.

It seems like a completely silly concept – using Ziploc bags to concentrate solar on a tube to heat liquids. Can this really be efficient? What about storms, vandalism, and other physical/structural perils? And, plastics are not exactly the green product of the century.

However, there may be something to this. Most importantly, the cost of this technology could be very low, benefiting countries and societies that cannot afford the raw materials required for relatively complex solar thermal systems. People have been heating water with darkly colored vessels for millenia. Although science and technology has improved solar thermal heating quite a bit over the last several decades, there isn’t much magic to heating water with the sun. This could be simple and effective enough for some circumstances.

If you want to learn more, here is some more information:

http://www.research.fsu.edu/techtransfer/technologyopportunity/documents/energy/winger2.pdf

FPL has announced that the remaining 2012 solar rebate funding will be released on May 3, 2012 for solar photovoltaic (electric) and solar water heating systems.

If you want any chance of getting in on the best solar rebate in Florida history, you need to act NOW. Call your favorite solar contractor (hopefully Fafco Solar) and they will walk you through the application process. Because the rebates are highly competitive and the amount available will be very limited, it is likely that the funding will run out in the first 10 minutes. The online application process requires advance planning and detailed information about the system you intend to install.

FPL Solar Rebates can cover over 30% of the cost of a solar electric installation up to $20,000 for residential and $50,000 for commercial systems. Paired with a 30% Federal Tax Credit and the lowest component costs in history, the total installed cost of a solar energy system has never been lower.

Look through the MLS and you will find many Southwest Florida homes that have solar energy systems installed, especially solar heated pools. Solar energy is more than a selling point – it’s a feature that adds value to a home. Residential real estate appraisals have not traditionally included solar energy products in the valuation.

It has always been difficult to appraise the value of a solar electric system. The purchase price is not a good indicator because of varying rebates and tax credits. The energy output alone does not take into account all relevant factors. The property appraiser does not include solar energy products in the taxable appraised value. The true value of these systems is somewhat abstract.

A new spreadsheet tool named PV Value™ has been released by Sandia National Laboratories for real estate appraisers, mortgage underwriters, credit analysts, real property assessors, insurance claims adjusters and PV industry sales staff. The model uses future income and expenses to capitalize the current value of a solar electric system. By plugging in facts and assumptions, we can get a reasonable appraisal value.

My initial observations of the tool are positive. It is flexible enough to enter a variety of factors that influence the value of a solar electric installation. Since there are quite a few assumptions are made, it nice that it calculates a low, average, and high appraisal value to provide a reasonable range. In most cases the appraised value exceeds the purchase price for new systems when rebates and tax incentives are taken into account.

I would like to see some additional graphical representations. It would also be helpful to show the future expected value of the system, not just the current appraisal value. A PV system is not necessarily a depreciating asset – it can increase in value for a period of time due to escalating energy rates. Because some systems now come with 25 year warranties on all major components, the expected maintenance costs can be next to nothing. Fortunately the inputs allow for adjustments to the default settings.

If you are a real estate or mortgage professional, I highly recommend that you take a look at this new tool. The solar energy industry needs the real estate industry to be familiar with and accepting of solar energy system appraisals, and this tool should add legitimacy to valuations.

More information is available on the Sandia National Labs page here.

Pentair has released a new solar pool heating controller called the SolarTouch. This great controller fills a gap between a simple analog solar controller and the Pentair SunTouch pool automation system.

A simple analog solar controller uses a dial and an on-off-auto switch to control the operation of a solar pool heating system. The SunTouch is a digital controller that has advance pool heating control for a pool/spa combination and with multiple heating sources (solar and auxiliary heater). It can also control additional relays for features and lighting and has an optional remote control.

The SolarTouch does everything that the analog controller does except it has precise control with a digital readout. It can also control Pentair’s Variable Speed and Variable Flow IntelliPro pumps. That means you can increase the pump speed when solar pool heating is required and drop the speed back down to normal filtration speed when no solar heating is required or available.

Our first SolarTouch controllers will be installed soon and I will report back with the verdict. I am quite certain that this will become our “go-to” controller, particularly because of the attractive price, digital control, and ability to control a variable speed pump.

Here is the marketing information from Pentair and a SolarTouch Brochure:

 

Announcing the new SolarTouch™ swimming pool solar controller, which offers full digital control for the most precise, efficient swimming pool heating possible!

Now pool owners can control their pool temperature with the touch of a button. Just set the digital thermostat and SolarTouch will monitor the temperature of the pool water and solar collectors. SolarTouch also integrates with IntelliFlo® and IntelliPro® Variable Speed Pumps, so customers can enjoy unparalleled efficiency, unbeatable digital precision and ease of use. SolarTouch is the smart, easy, efficient way to go solar.

SolarTouch features include:

• Digital calibration of water and solar temperature sensors allow more precise measuring. Temperature control can be set in one degree increments.
• Digital touch controls eliminate the imprecise settings and moving parts of mechanical dials.
• Customers can set their pool temperature and solar temperature differentials with the touch of a button.
• Solar valve automatically drains the solar collectors when the pump shuts off. Durable PTFE seal is maintenance-free for years of dependable service.
• Savings up to $1,500 on your energy bills when you combine SolarTouch with an IntelliFlo® or IntelliPro® Variable Speed Pump.
• LCD display gives sharp, clear readings of air and solar collector temperatures.
• LED indicator lights confirm that SolarTouch automation is working. Service indicator LED indicates when attention is needed.
• Motorized valve actuator is built to last with sturdy steel gears, a highly efficient low-voltage motor, service switch for flow direction and a weatherproof composite enclosure.
• Includes nocturnal cooling and recirculation freeze protection, with filter-pump timer override. 3-year warranty.

SunPower is just getting ready to ship the first E20 series panels to dealers in about a week. There is a lot of hype around the most efficient and best performing solar module in the industry for residential and commercial applications. The new E20 Series modules are currently rated at 327W and boast a 20.1% efficiency, an improvement from the 19& efficient E19 series.

My first 3D computer model just came out with the new SunPower modules. They look great!

 

 

 

Enphase, the preeminent and predominant manufacturer of microinverters, has gone public. The company began trading under the NASDAQ symbol ‘ENPH’ today. So far it is trading above the offering price of $6 per share in a narrow range just over $7.

Enphase’s microinverters are very popular in Southwest Florida. Fafco Solar has installed thousands of microinverters in systems ranging from 690 watts to over 50 kilowatts. The unique per-module monitoring and shade tolerant design makes Enphase a great choice for many Southwest Florida homes and businesses. Solar panels perform better with Enphase – simple as that!

Congratulations to our friends at Enphase. I wish you the best of luck!

The Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) reported that Florida dropped from #8 in 2010 to #17 in 2011 for the amount of solar electricity capacity installed. In addition, total installations decreased by 60% from 35 megawatts to 14 megawatts.

Why the big decrease? It’s my contention that the FPL rebate program is stifling the market. That’s right – a rebate intended to encourage solar energy installation had the opposite effect!

The interesting thing is that solar prices have never been lower, even without a rebate involved. The perception about solar needing rebates to be successful is an outdated notion. Getting this message out is on the shoulders of the solar industry, but our reliance on rebates over the years has misplaced our focus.

Let’s hope that we can make a better showing in 2012!

I was just notified that some solar photovoltaic (electric) panels were stolen from a doctor’s office in Naples, FL yesterday. NBC 2 News asked me to comment on the story. Although we did not install the panels, I appeared on the evening news giving my take on stolen solar panels.

NBC-2 Story Here

Here is what you need to know:

Homeowners and Business Owners

• Your homeowners insurance normally covers solar panels that are properly permitted and installed on your home or business. They become part of the structure and property, and are every bit as insurable as the air conditioning unit and other parts of your home.
• It isn’t easy to steal solar panels. While basic hand tools or battery operated tools are all that’s required, the panels weigh almost 50 pounds, and maneuvering them on the roof is not for the faint of heart.
• This is the first incident of solar photovoltaic panel theft that I have heard of in Southwest Florida.
• There are theft mitigation options like security bolts and cables, but these are easily thwarted with cutting tools. I would generally not recommend these options unless there is a serious risk of theft due to location or the location is unattended and isolated.
• The solar panels represent a small fraction of the total cost of the system in today’s market. The other components, services, and labor represent a far greater share of the cost.
• In most solar electric systems, a suitable replacement panel must be found. Because the industry changes quickly, this can be a challenge. Not only is the same size solar module important, but the electrical characteristics must match. If you are lucky, the same module is still available. If not, there are options. You will need an experienced solar dealer to help you through the replacement.

Thieves

• You are nuts. You risk electrocution by up to 600V exposed electrical wires on the roof.
• If the electricity does not kill you, the fall probably will.
• The value of a solar panel is about 1/4 what it was just a few years ago. It only represents 25%-33% of the total cost of a solar energy system. It is silly to steal the panels, because without “everything else,” you aren’t going to be able to use it in your home. You can’t steal “everything else.”
• There is essentially no scrap value for the panel.

The risk of solar panel theft is low based on the historical record. If you do experience a loss, call your insurance carrier immediately, then call Fafco Solar to get a replacement quote!

 

NOTE: See UPDATE at the bottom of this post.

Southwest Florida is starting to see all Lamar Advertising’s Billboards getting solar panel upgrades. My frustration level with this project is quite high already, first because I believe it was ill-conceived greenwashing, but also because it was poorly implemented. Here is a picture of a billboard in Fort Myers (which thankfully does not host Fafco Solar’s advertisement). Can you spot anything wrong?

 

Lamar used cookie-cutter prefabricated steel racks on their billboards. It would have been far more efficient to install all of these 12 solar panels on a single rack system, purpose-built for the billboard. But that is not the main problem here.

This system was installed by an electrician, whose name I will not mention. Electricians are authorized by Florida Statute to install solar electric systems. That does not make them experts, and here is a prime example. Still looking for the reason that this was done wrong?

There is only one ideal tilt angle and compass orientation for grid-connected solar photovoltaic systems in Southwest Florida. This tilt angle and orientation will harness the maximum amount of solar energy over the course of a year. Unless there are other cost, aesthetic, or technical reasons for an alternate orientation, solar panels should always be installed in manner that maximizes solar output. All six of the solar arrays are installed with different tilt angles and different compass directions. Although they are generally pointing south, and at a reasonable tilt angle, there is no physical constraint that would cause someone to design the system this way. Plus, it looks terrible.

The optimum tilt and orientation for solar modules can be found using publicly available resources that use a long history of local weather and solar radiation. It’s no secret where to find this information. The National Renewable Energy Labs is the preeminent source used in the U.S. to help solar installers maximize performance under given circumstances.

I would love to give Lamar and the installer the benefit of the doubt, thinking that this would be a test system to see what orientation works out best. After all, each of the six arrays features it’s own microinverter (the now obsolete Enphase D380). It would be easy to monitor each array to determine which produces the most energy over time. However, I can’t imagine this was the intention. I believe it is just a sloppy installation, bordering on complete incompetence.

The lesson: hire a solar professional, preferably someone local.

 

UPDATE February 29, 2012:

I have been having a lively discussion with Lamar’s Director of Sustainability and Product Research both in the comments below and by email. I am happy to report that the solar panels were askew in the picture above at the time of an upgrade to a digital billboard. It certainly makes sense that more solar capacity is present on this billboard than others, as the electrical draw will by significantly greater. I’m not sure how “sustainable” it is to use an electronic billboard, but it does look great and at least it is powered in part by solar energy.

It’s clear to me now that Lamar does take this project very seriously. After all, just having a Director of Sustainability shows significant commitment. We have a legitimate and passionate disagreement about how the money was spent on this project, and that’s fine with me. My position is borne out of financial reason. His position is that I am being short-sighted.

To be clear, I acknowledge that Lamar is vigorously and sincerely trying to encourage people to use solar energy, and that they are dedicated to a prominent sustainability program. I also appreciate the Director of Sustainability’s passion in defending the program.

There’s no perfect way to spend money to encourage people to “go solar.” Case in point is FPL’s $15.5M per year funding of its solar rebate program. Of this money, $5.6M was allocated to residential solar electric projects in the first round of financing for 2011, resulting in 2.8 megawatts of solar electric capacity (estimated based on the $2/w rebate amount). That’s a much better bang-for-the-buck than Lamar got with it’s spending to encourage solar energy. By the way – the funds for the rebate were exhausted in about 15 minutes after the rebate windows was opened. But, there have been negative consequences of the program. Primarily, the funding strategy limits the number of  ”lucky winners” in a very short window and discourages adoption of solar energy by those that cannot access a rebate because of the perception that solar energy needs rebates to be viable.

I have to ask – how much solar capacity has been installed in Florida as a result of the $2.5M of Federal grant money and $10.0M investment made by Lamar? Unfortunately, unlike the FPL rebate program, Lamar’s advertising campaign does not have people banging down the doors of solar dealers in Florida. I should probably be saying “thank you” for the free advertising, but I still contend that it’s solar done wrong.

 

FPL is in full swing installing Smart Meters around Southwest Florida.I had mine installed last week, but the communications network is a work in progress, so there’s no benefit to me yet. Despite all of the complaints and fears about Smart Meters, I believe the benefits will be great, allowing a granular look at your energy consumption down to your hourly usage, all available from FPL’s website. It’s not as good as some of the energy monitors on the market that can give you a per-second look at your consumption, or even monitor individual appliances or circuits, but it will provide significant insight into your electricity usage.

Some claim that the meters are bad for our health, are inaccurate, or disorient bees. Seriously!

I’m not going to make a call whether some of the claims out there are accurate, but I can tell you one thing for certain – understanding your energy consumption by learning when you use energy is key to reducing your utility bills. As my father-in-law says, “just like a business, you can’t manage energy without an accounting system.”

Unfortunately, those with solar electric systems that are under a netmetering agreement will not get the new smart meters. It is unclear whether the meters are bi-directional, or whether FPL or the manufacturer just hasn’t tested the accuracy measuring energy fed back to the grid. I’m trying to get clarification on that matter from FPL and will let you know if I hear back from their netmetering department.

Here’s a video from FPL about the new Smart Meters:

 

I’m at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Broadway Apartments affordable housing project where we have 40 solar water heating systems installed. This is the largest polymer solar collector water heating project in Florida!

Solar water heating will reduce the electric bills for residents of the two-building multi-tenant property.

The goal of the project is to provide affordable housing that features low utility bills in a LEED Platinum facility. The solar water heating systems were one part of the LEED criteria that allowed the Broadway Apartments to achieve Platinum status.

The Southwest Florida Affordable Housing Choice Foundation reports that previous residents are already asking for applications to rent units. The property is deed restricted so rents will remain low for the long-term. The community is actively seeking residents for annual leases available now.

Congratulations to The Foundation, Chris-Tel Construction, and all of the project partners!

 

UPDATE: Here is the Fort Myers News-Press story on the event: http://www.news-press.com/article/20120120/GREEN/301200046/Low-income-housing-in-Fort-Myers-adds-green-efficiency

Fafco Solar has installed lots of Canadian Solar photovoltaic modules, and now the company is improving its already great warranty. New solar panel buyers will get a 10 year workmanship warranty (up from 6) and a 25 year linear power guarantee.

Many module manufacturers offer a 10 year 80% power output guarantee and 25 year 90% guarantee. Canadian Solar was on par with this standard, but the linear warranty guarantees that you will now have at least 97% of rated output after one year, with only 0.7% degradation each year after that. This is a great upgrade that more and more companies are offering as the reliability of photovoltaic modules is proven in the field.

Canadian Solar takes the warranty one step further and has purchased insurance from an AM Best rated insurer to guarantee that the warranty will remain in place even if the company does not.

Since Canadian Solar is currently right in the sweet spot for “dollars-per-watt” efficiency, this new warranty makes the brand a great buy at this time.

 

UPDATE: Paul Coughlin from groSolar sent me this Comparison of top module manufacturer warranties. It highlights Canadian Solar’s pioneering insurance coverage.

http://www.solarsouthwestflorida.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/PV-Module-Warranty-and-Warranty-Insurance-Comparisons-White-Paper-Sept.-2011.pdf

 

I guess I’ll weigh in on the highly publicized FPL rate increase request that would add about $7 to each residential account’s monthly bill starting in 2013.

FPL representatives say that the increase will pay for increased costs of doing business and a new “efficient” natural gas fired plant. The increase amounts to $695 million per year. Expected savings from the new plant – $600 million over it’s LIFETIME!

Does something seem very wrong here?

The problem with a public utility is that they are entitled to make a net profit, but that guaranteed profit is a percentage of costs. Costs increase, profits increase. There is no incentive to keep costs in check when you can go back to your customers and get a government mandated bailout from them!

Unfortunately, this is not a rate hike, so there is nothing you can do to avoid it by reducing usage or producing your own power. They want this amount added to the monthly customer charge, which is a base cost before you even start using power from the utility. This directly impacts solar energy sellers (netmetering customers), as they would likely be forced to pay this additional cost even if they consume no net power from FPL. On the other hand, that could just create more of an incentive to reduce the usage part of your bill with solar energy.

If you haven’t noticed in the header of this blog, there is a new tab to go straight to the current Gulf of Mexico temperature from NOAA from inside SolarSouthwestFlorida.com

Just click on the tab or go here:

http://www.solarsouthwestflorida.com/gulf-of-mexico-temperature-naples-fl/