Clean Solar Panels

I sprayed down my solar panels on Sunday morning. My production that day was over 11% higher than previous days. A light layer of dust on the panels seems to be OK, but anything more does definitely affect production.

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Solar Panel System Turned On

I received the notice that my solar panel system was officially turned on June 13 although it was commissioned on June 11. I learned that the installers actually turned the system on when they came back to my house to wrap-up the installation. My system actually started producing on June 1, 2012. Here is a snapshot of my system's production for June:

That is pretty good considering my panels are still dirty from the installation and a summer rain storm that happened the day after they were installed. If I was disappointed with any part of the process, it was that the panels were dirty when they were installed and the installers did not clean them.

I used the Go Solar California incentive calculator to estimate the production of my solar system. That estimate was less than my guaranteed production from Sungevity and my actual production for the month of June is even higher than that. My system actually produced 134kWh more than my guaranteed production! That is enough to make me think that my system will perform better than I expected this year.

Here is the Go Solar California estimate:

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Sungevity Solar Panel Installation - Day 5

Friday, May 25 was the final day of installation for our solar panel system from Sungevity. Brian and Andrew from Kuykendall Solar had to come inside to attach the data cable to my switch, but other than that it was all about getting my panels wired. They got the system installed on time, despite all of the delays in getting materials. It was s very painless installation.

The system was even inspected by the city today and passed. Now all we are waiting for is Southern California Edison to power up the system. I hope they can get it done in less than a month. It would be great to be producing electricity with our solar panels before the heat of summer arrives for good.

A solar lease is a great thing. You don't have to pay any money up front. You only pay once your system starts producing electricity. Get A Free Sungevity Solar iQuote now! It only takes a few minutes.

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Sungevity Solar Panel Installation - Day 4

Day four of our solar panel installation was trouble free. The guys from Kuykendall got all of the panels installed. They didn't have to go into the house at all that day. So far our Sungevity system has been installed ahead of schedule. I just hope Southern California Edison can get it powered up ahead of schedule.

Get A Free Sungevity Solar iQuote now! It only takes a few minutes. You don't have to pay anything up front. You only start paying for electricity once the system starts producing.

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Sungevity Solar Panel Installation - Day 2

Day two of our solar panel installation got off to an early start. Andrew from Kuykendall Solar showed up at 6:45. He had to do some work in the attic, so it made sense for him to start before it got too warm outside. Our shipment from Sungevity did not arrive yesterday, so it was supposed to arrive today. It turns out that it was shipped to Kuykendall's shop about two hours north of my house this afternoon.

It seems like Kuykendall is going to be behind the eight ball to get this installation done by Friday, but Brian has a good attitude. The roof doesn't look much different from yesterday since Andrew did a lot of work installign conduit in the attic.

Get A Free Sungevity Solar iQuote now! It only takes a few minutes.

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Sungevity Solar Panel Installation - Day 1

Brian and Andrew from Kuykendall Solar arrived at my house before eight this morning to begin the installation. The panels and mounting hardware were supposed to arrive today as well. The shipment ended up being delayed until tomorrow, but Brian and Andrew had enough items from previous installations that they were able to get started with cutting tiles and installing flashing on the roof. It was a hot day today, but they persevered until around four in the afternoon.

The shipment is supposed to arrive tomorrow afternoon, so Andrew will get started running conduit in my attic tomorrow morning. From there, he will move into the garage to get ready for the inverter installation. Brian said that the goal is to have my solar system installed by this Friday.

I don't know what caused the delay in materials being delivered, but Brian and Andrew are going to have to work hard to get my system installed in about three days. Here is what my roof looks like this evening.

Get A Free Sungevity Solar iQuote now! It only takes a few minutes.

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Solar Permit Approved

I received an email yesterday from my Sungevity project manager Ian that my permit has been approved and the installation could start as early as Monday. Today he confirmed that the installation will start on Monday, exactly three weeks from the time the permit was submitted to my city. That is fast, considering Sungevity estimated that it would take 4-6 weeks for approval.

I am really getting excited now!

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Plans Submitted for Permits

I was travelling April 13-19. It was just a business trip to Texas, North Carolina and Georgia.

I received an email from my Sungevity Project Manager, Ian, while on April 16. He let me know that the design review of my project was complete and that he would contact me to review the project in the next few days. I let him know I was travelling and asked him to call me the following week.

We finally spoke on April 26. Ian was responsible for most of the delay, but I was not even thinking about it or I would have called or sent him and email. We reviewed the plans and every piece of the system, which took maybe ten minutes at the most. My next communication from Ian was that my plans were complete and ready to be submitted for permits. I received that email on April 27. He let me know that in my town, permits can take four to five weeks. My installer, Kuykendall Solar, was supposed to submit my plans on April 30.

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California Solar Initiative, Confirmed Reservation Notice

I received an email from the California Solar Initiative on April 24 confirming my reservation for rebates. Here is the text of the letter:

Congratulations! This letter confirms that a Reservation has been approved for your proposed Photovoltaic (PV) project under the California Solar Initiative Program.

Details regarding your reservation are listed below:
Application Number: SCE-CSI-#####
Application Type: Residential
Host Customer: My Name
Installation Address:My Address
CEC – AC Rating: 5.471
Design Factor: 99.538%
CSI System Size: 5.446
EPBB/PBI Incentive Rate $350.00 per kW
Reserved Incentive Amount: $1,906.00
Reservation Expiration Date: 4/24/2013

The reserved incentive amount is determined by the proposed system listed in the Reservation Request documentation. Please note that the actual incentive payment may differ from the amount stated in this letter if the installed system changes.

Please complete the installation and submit the Incentive Claim package by 4/24/2013. Permission to Operate must be issued before the Incentive claim is submitted. To ensure timely processing of the Interconnection Application, please submit the NEM application, single line diagram and signed Interconnection Agreement to customer.generation@sce.com immediately after receiving this Reservation Confirmation. With this approach, the PTO should be issued within 2 to 3 weeks of receiving the final inspection card. The application will be CANCELLED if PTO has not been issued and the Incentive Claim package has not been submitted by 4/24/2013. For more information regarding the Interconnection Application process, please visit www.sce.com/nem.

Reservation Expiration Date extensions may be available depending on cause of delay at Southern California Edison's discretion. Please refer to the current California Solar Initiative Handbook for specific requirements and exemptions.

The Incentive Claim Form can now be completed online at: https://sce.powerclerk.com.

Please note the CPUC ordered California Solar Initiative Phase One Modifications effective July 14, 2011. One of these modifications requires all applications over 10 kW to take Performance Monitoring and Reporting Services (PMRS) and report 15-minute interval kWH production data to the Program Administrators. Please refer to Section 5.5.1 of the current California Solar Initiative Handbook for specific requirements and exemptions.

The CSI handbook has been finalized by the California Public Utilities Commission but may be subject to future changes. Obtain the latest version at: http://www.gosolarcalifornia.ca.gov/documents/

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I Just Went Solar...Again

The first time I went solar was when I bought my Prius in 2009. I opted for the model with solar panels on the roof. I just decided to put solar panels on my home. I decided to go with a company named Sungevity. There were four main reasons I went with Sungevity:

1. Every Child Has a Light - This is a program that partners with Empowered by Light to give a solar light kit to a school in need in Zambia for each new residential solar installation in the US. Read more about the program.

2. Responsiveness - Sungevity listened to me and put together a system that takes into account my present and future needs and will provide me with 97% of my electricity. They also answered every one of my questions in a timely manner.

3. Pricing - I compared a few solar companies (I will get into details later) before deciding on Sungevity. Their pricing made sense to me because I will not reach any tier 3 or higher electricity pricing with their system and their lease pricing was aggressive.

4. Potential - I didn't know what to label this item, so I settled on Potential. For every referral that I give Sungevity that turns into a new system, they will give me $500 and the new customer $500. In addition, the new customer gets an iPad to use to monitor their system. That is a win-win situation.

Get A Free Sungevity Solar iQuote now! It only takes a few minutes.

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Selfish Government

Candidates are now declaring their intentions to run for president in 2012. Millions and most likely billions of dollars are spent on elections every four years. It has made me think about the amount of money spent on elections in this country and what that money could be spent on.

I think we have to ask ourselves what makes more sense? We have found out this year that governments can be toppled by Twitter and Facebook. These social media websites are free to use, so why do candidates for the office of president of the most powerful nation in the world not grasp this technology and spend their campaign funds on something that will definately make our country a better place to live?

Many of these politicians who have announced their candidacy have fought against President Obama's healthcare plan and our budget and taxes. Everyone knows that our healthcare system needs reform. Everyone knows that the government has the potential to employ people that will shape the future of our country. We need good, quality teachers to teach our children so they can grow up to be leaders of the world. Budget cuts affect our ability to hire these qualified teachers, forcing our children into overcrowded classrooms that make it difficult to learn.

Our politicians need to stop being selfish. Our politicians need to embrace the technology that is changing the world. For as much as we consider our country the most wealthy, powerful nation in the world, we are still selfish and slow to change. We believe that nobody can tell us what to do. We do things the way they should be done. We cannot look at something that is successful in a third world country and make use of it here. We are better than that. I am tired of this type of thinking and call on our leaders to truly embrace change. I am asking them to stop spending money selfishly and start thinking about the greater good.

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Do I Need an iPad?

On our trip to LA this past weekend, we stopped by an Apple store. Meg and I were standing next to each other playing with iPads while The Queen was watching us. Meg really enjoyed using it and was already thinking about how she could use it if she had one.

I loved the interface and the size. I didn't think that the size was right before I actually got to use one, but now I think it is great. I was just trying to figure out how I could justify the purchase.

Meg was playing with it for a while before asking The Queen how much it cost. She really wanted to get one and told her that she had her own money. When The Queen told her how much it cost she said that she needs to count her change. I did not have the heart to tell her she did not have enough money. Instead I told her that there was no need for her to buy one. I told her that if I buy one, she can rent it from me for fifty dollars an hour. She counter offered one dollar per hour. I countered back with twenty dollars per hour and told her that I could not pay for it at the rate of one dollar per hour. She agreed.

I was not being serious with her, but obviously she was really thinking about it. She valued it enough to agree to pay me twenty dollars per hour for using it. Wow! She really wants an iPad. Now I just need to be able to justify it in my mind.

So far, the three major downfalls in my mind are that it does not play PowerPoint presentations, it does not have any ports other than the standard iPod/iPhone dock connector and that it has to be synced with a computer. I think it should be a stand alone device with the necessary USB, firewire and HDMI ports.

I searched a lot this week to see if there was an easy way to convert a PowerPoint presentation to play on the iPad. My presentation has embedded video, so it is not just a bunch of static slides. This makes it much more difficult to convert. I guess I will just have to keep on searching.

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Am I An Apple Fan Boy?

I bit the bullet and preordered the iPhone 4 yesterday. But let me tell you, it was not easy. I started doing some research on Sunday in anticipation of the preorder date. I did a little more research on Monday evening to try to figure out what time the preorder would start. Nobody knew for sure, but the iPad preorder started at 5:30 AM, so that was what I went with.

I woke up and went for a run in the morning. I got back home at about 5:30 and jumped on a computer. The post it note saying they will back soon was up on the Apple site. I jumped in the shower. While getting ready I jumped back on the computer and saw that the Apple site was back up. It was not working correctly though.

I went to work and kept trying both the Apple and AT&T websites with no luck. I was checking for updates on Google as to the status of preorders. I finally noticed that there was a new Apple Store app that allows you to order hardware so I downloaded it at about 10:00. I tried it and it did not work, but it gave me a number to call at Apple. I called the number and actually got to speak to someone within about five minutes. He told me that the AT&T site was having problems so they could not verify accounts. He took my name and phone number and said he would call me as soon as everything was back up. He never called me back.

I kept trying the AT&T site and was soon able to preorder my iPhone 4. The process was slow, but it did work. At least I hope it worked. I got a confirmation and received a confirmation email message within an hour. I just checked my order and it is being processed.

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What Not to Buy in 2010

I came across an interesting article on Yahoo Finance today. It is titled "10 Things Not to Buy in 2010." Here is the list:

1. DVDs I think it is still safe to buy DVDs, especially Blu-ray. Internet downloads of movies just take too long and if you are looking for a high definition movie it will take even longer.

2. Home Telephone Service This one is a toss-up for me. I don't want to have a home phone, but I don't want salesmen bothering me on my cell phone. I have Google Voice, but have not really used it to its full potential. I actually have not even given out my phone number. It is a nice service because you select which of your phones you want to ring when someone calls the number. I will have to experiment with it in 2010 to see if I can eliminate my home phone.
3. External Hard Drives I strongly disagree with this one. There is still a place for an external hard drive. The online backup services are much more expensive and you are putting your cherished photos and music collection in someone Else's hands.

4. Smartphone Also-Rans Other than the Blackberry and iPhone, none of the other smartphones have really caught on. The Blackberry is still the business phone of choice. The iPhone walks the line between hipsters and wannabe hipsters. I personally really like my iPhone, but it does have limitations and annoyances.

5. Compact Digital Cameras I made the switch several years ago and have not looked back. I think there is still a use for a compact digital camera. The size is ideal and the ease of use is what many people like. A digital SLR is more expensive and is more complicated.

6. Newspaper Subscriptions Newspapers have been dead for several years now. They need to change their business model if they are going to remain viable businesses. Our society wants news now, not in in 12 hours.

7. CDs Song downloads are fast and the quality is good. There is no reason to buy a CD in a store or online when you can get it almost immediately from iTunes.

8. New College Textbooks With ebook readers catching on and Apples tablet about to be released, there is no longer a need for printed textbooks. The transition will take some time, but I see it happening soon. Printed books are bad for the environment and are too expensive. They stretch our education budgets thin.

9. Gas-Guzzling Cars These went out with the 70s. I love my Prius and while I am not looking forward to the projected gas prices in 2010, I am also not afraid of them. My car has enough power, cargo capacity and gets great gas mileage as well. I don't think there should be any new cars sold that don't get at least 30 miles per gallon and have a hybrid drivetrain. We have the technology, we just need the car makers to embrace it.

10. Energy-Inefficient Homes and Appliances Again, we have the technology we just have to use it. Appliances have come a long way. Home building technology has as well, it is just very expensive still. Appliance prices benefit from economies of scale. Home building technology does to a certain extent as well, but prices just aren't falling fast enough for most types of items. A lot of people just don't want to pay the extra money for energy efficient items other than windows, doors and insulation.

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Cell Phone Networks

I was talking to a few coworkers yesterday about cell phone network quality. I told them that I just want to know who has the better network. We know that either AT&T or Verizon is lying on their commercials and this is a disservice to consumers. How can we make an educated decision if we are not getting the truth?

We brainstormed for a bit and someone threw out the idea that there should be a company that offers a phone that switches to the strongest carrier in the area. This is a great idea. I don't know how exactly the financials would work in this deal and how much a plan would have to cost. Maybe this is something that an upstart like Google could accomplish in their war with the iPhone. What better way to kill the iPhone than offer something that Apple cannot offer, the absolute best coverage available.

I don't know if something like this is even possible since each cell phone provider has their own network. I don't know if they would even allow something like this to happen. It is a great idea, but this is something for someone else to figure out.

My idea was that there should just be one cell phone network in the United States. All of the carriers could jointly own the network including maintenance and upgrade costs. The network would have to be substantial to handle all of the cell phone and media traffic. It would need to be on the leading edge technologically. That is what we should have anyway. The networks in other parts of the world are much better than ours.

A nice result of one cell phone network is that there would not need to be as many towers as we have now. If each carrier is installing their own towers there is overlap in areas that does not need to be there. There is environmental clutter that can be avoided. This would be the best all around solution for consumers, but if the cell phone carriers will not go for it I hope someone does come up with a phone that will automatically switch to the strongest network in the area.

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Easy Ways to Give

Who ever said that there is no free lunch was wrong. There are several easy, free ways that we can all give this holiday season. I have tried these and recommend that you do as well.

1. Give blood. With increased travel during the holidays, there will be increased need for donated blood.
2. Free Rice. Play some games and rice will be donated for each question you answer correctly.
3. The Animal Rescue Site. All you have to do is click on a link.
4. The Breast Cancer Site. Again, all you have to do is click on a link.
5. The Hunger Site. Just click on a link again.
6. Welch’s Harvest of Help. Click on the link and Welch's will donate juice through Feeding America. Their goal is 1 million glasses of juice.
7. Leapfish & Make-A-Wish. Tweet the provided message and Leapfish will make a donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
8. Kraft Foods. Send a FREE holiday e-card and Kraft will donate 10 meals to Feeding America.
9. Land O’Lakes – Click where it says “You click, we donate” in the upper right corner of their website and they will donate to fight local hunger.
10. Box Tops. Found on hundreds of products like Cheerios, Chex Mix, Cottonelle, and Kleenex. Clip the Box Top symbol from the package and give it to your child’s school, or a teacher you know. Each Box Top is worth 10¢ for your school. Clipping the Box Top takes just a second and doesn’t cost you anything.

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Time Change

Daylight Savings Time really screws me up for a few weeks after it begins and again when it ends. You would think that when it ends and we fall back one hour it would not affect you very much, but it does. This evening I was really off and I was not the only one. Meg kept saying that it was really one hour later.

It just seems that when it gets dark so early you get tired early. I was watching Monday Night Football and actually fell asleep in the middle of the game. Tina and Meg fell asleep early watching Friends. I am hoping the same thing will not happen tonight as we have some errands to run.

I would be happy if the time never changed. I know that it started as a way to allow farmers better daylight hours for farming and it has also been used to try to conserver energy. I don't think that it is worth the hassle. In this day and age, we have artificial lighting that allows us to work outside even when it is dark. We are also doing a better job of conserving energy, so this time change is no longer necessary. I would like to see the hard facts to learn if it is really necessary.

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Definition of Prius

I was thinking about the word "prius" just yesterday. And when I start thinking about something, I need to hit the internet and find the answers to my questions. I spent a little bit of time doing my research and found what I was looking for, that is if you can believe what you read on wikipedia.

The word "prius" is a Latin word. It is a comparative adjective or adverb with meanings "ahead, in front, leading, prior; before, previously, first." Latin has gender divisions for some plurals. The masculine for prius would be prium, the feminine would be prieau (pronounced Pre-ay). There is a quote on wikipedia from a Toyota spokesperson who stated that "Toyota chose this name because the Prius vehicle is the predecessor of cars to come."

That is all fine, but what is the plural of Prius? I did some more research and found a quote on a Prius owner's forum. The state that they, asked a Toyota executive in charge of the initial Prius rollout how his people refer to more than one Prius. His response was "Prius". Since Toyota built and named the car and they refer to more than one as a "Prius", that must be the plural form of the word. Some people do like to refer to more than one as "Prii" and I even saw an arguement that said that if we say two "geniuses" it would follow that we say two "Priuses'.

I still don't know what I will call more than one Prius, but I do know that I am happy with my purchase so far.

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The Prius Attracts Attention

I pulled into the parking lot to pick Meg up from her after school program yesterday. Most days when I pull in there are at least 2 Prius' in the parking lot and yesterday was no exception. One day last week there were a total of 5 or 6 Prius' in the parking lot. I don't know if there really are more on the road or if I am just more aware of them since I really started looking at buying one.

As I was walking up to the front of the school, a teacher rushed out of the office and asked me how I liked my Prius. I told her I have only owned it since Saturday, but so far I was really impressed with it. She pointed out that she owned the first generation Prius and that she has been very happy with it. She told me that I will love it.

She asked me if Toyota was offering any incentives on them yet. I told her they were not and that I was told it was because inventories of Prius' are too low to offer any incentives. She was dissappointed and told me that she has been waiting for about three months to buy the new 2010 3rd generation Prius. She asked me to let her know if I heard of any incentives.

Yesterday was the first day I drove the car in my daily routine and it already got attention. I was talking to Tina last night about celbrities who drive them and I told her that they drive them because they are hybrids and because they are so recognizable. When people see the celebrity in them they know that they care about what we are doing to the environment. I am the same way. I could have bought a hybrid Accord, Camry or even Malibu but I wanted people to know how I feel about the environment. And my Prius has been a wonderful car so far.

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How Hard is it to Buy Something?

I sure cannot believe that we are still in a recession if I have to judge by the response I am getting to purchasing two items. I am currently starting to shop for a new car and am also exploring my options for a swimming pool. I am really having trouble getting people to respond to my requests.

I used the Toyota website to build my Prius and then searched for a dealer in my area. Once I selected the dealer, my information was sent to them. I have been contacted by them via email, which I prefer, and have responded with questions. My email replies have only been responded to one time, but they keep sending me other emails asking how their service has been. I guess I really need to reply and let them know that it has been two weeks since this started and they actually have the car I am interested in sitting on their lot.

I tried to contact a pool builder that I saw at a home show last year. I could never catch a live person, so I thought maybe they were out of business. I made contact with three other builders with no problems at all. I continued to call the first builder and began leaving messages for them to call me back. I finally received a return call. I got all four builders to come to my house and start the work for estimates. One of them got back to within a few days, one got back to me within a week and one set a follow-up appointment for me at the original appointment, though it was almost two weeks later. The fourth, however, did not get back to me after almost two weeks. I finally called them and they got back to me the next day.

Two builders still owe me drawings. One of them told me they would email me the drawing on Monday and I still have not seen it yet. I am meeting with the fourth builder, who is my leader at this point, tomorrow. They are installing a pool down the street from me, which is how I found them in the first place. I am concerned that they did not get back to me until after I called them back though.

All I can think from these experiences is that either the recession is not as bad as everyone thinks and the car business and pool business are just slammed with customers or they are just two very flaky industries. I am inclined to believe the later at this point, until proven otherwise. I wonder if I would have the same luck trying to give away my money if I just stood on the corner with a sign that read, "I will give you all my money, just ask for it?"

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