New heights of energy nerdism

My husband told me the other day, he tries to limit the number of times he opens the refrigerator, in an effort to preserve the cold air.  There is a bit of context...a glimpse into my world.

I'm driving an electric car these days, and we REALLY wanted it to be truly powered by the sun.  In 2010, we installed a system with 10 solar panels, that generated about 80% of our electricity.  The electric load in our house, is plugs, lights, fridge, washer and small appliances (toaster, coffee pot) and the electricity needed to power the electronic parts of the stove and dryer.  And now, the car charger.

ImagineEnergy, who did our original system, helped with the upgrade.  We removed the old panels and inverter (and sold them to a friend), and had 30 new panels (more efficient) installed.  The panel technology has improved so much, merely upgrading the 10 existing panels would have given us a nice bump.  The load of the electric car can be hefty and the panel upgrade alone wouldn't generated enough to power the house and the car.

With the 30 panels and new inverter, we also get a fancy web interface through which to monitor our system.  The monitoring system just got turned on in late March, so we don't have a bunch of data yet, and we've not even gone a full billing cycle since installing the new panels.  But we are excited and optimistic!

The monitoring system is by Solar Edge.  I can see, today, we have generated 33.71 kWh, so far. I can see today's weather, along with the forecast. Switching to a different screen, I can see a physical layout of the panels, and which panels have produced how much power today, or this week, or month, or year. And once we have more data, there's a plethora of reports to be run. 

Portland's Home Energy Score requirement is driving more awareness of energy efficiency into the market.  Portland was one of a handful of cities benefiting from an in depth study of the value of solar power in certain markets.  In that 2015 study, solar panels were seen to add a premium of 1.97% - 3.25% (median and mean) to the price of a house.  The sales in that study were from 2012 and 2013.  I'd guess that premium, as a percentage of price, has increased since then.

If you have questions about navigating solar systems (ha ha), I'd be glad to chat.  You can reach me at 503-312-8038 or leslievjones@gmail.com

Tidbits to wrap up the week

The Oregonian ran several articles that caught my eye in the last few days.

A bit of E-News, Environmental, that is. You may have seen the one about high radon levels at Mahonia Hall, the Governor's residence.  I've been nagging about radon for awhile, and Mahonia Hall shows us that even cool old fancy buildings have it.  The folks at Eco-Tech did the testing there.  They are also the folks with Terra, the oil sniffing dog from a previous blog.  Radon is measured by picocuries per liter of air, with the EPA calling for "action" or remediation for any measurement over 4 picocuries per litre of air.  Mahonia Hall measured 6.2 in the billiard room (sounds like we're playing a game of Clue) and 4.8 in a basement storage room.  The short term monitor was used, so I believe next up is the longer, 90 day, test.  Our home test came in at 2.9.


Also in the news this week was the huge solar project Ikea has installed out at their store by the airport.  The project is said to include 2072 solar panels providing an estimated 568,900 kilowatt hours of power per year.  Wow.  In cloudy Oregon.  This will have the effect of reducing approximately 432 tons of carbon dioxide emissions- the equivalent of the exhaust of 77 cars.  Thanks IKEA!

And then a bit of editorializing on the real estate market and such.  The Case-Schiller report was released this week for January 2012, showing declining housing prices in Portland.  This index lags our local RMLS statistics by one month.  And in a changing market one month matters.  Look for Case-Schiller to catch up and show an improving market next month.

 And, it looks as though the Oregon Supreme Court may well hear a case regarding MERS and its relationship to Oregon's non-judicial foreclosure.  In Oregon, lenders can foreclose through an administrative rather than through a court process.  In part, this process is in place as Oregon statutes also require that changes to who owns what loan be recorded in the state, giving a clearer picture of who might actually have a right to foreclose.  MERS is the electronic registration system for mortgages,  that avoided the fees and "hassle" or recording.  There have been a few court cases with disparate rulings, so a Supreme Court opinion would be welcome.  Meanwhile, look for our courts to be crowded by lenders choosing judicial foreclosure to be sure their foreclosures stick.

And lastly, the blue jays have descended on the yard this morning.

Some musings on energy efficieny and savings

Living Social is offering a version of a home energy audit today, performed using infrared imaging.  I've seen presentations on this technology, but haven't had this particular service done on our house.  I was impressed though, by what an experienced technician can learn from information resulting from this imaging.  Differentials in temperature are clues both to heat loss (or gain) spots and moisture intrusion.  Click here to see today's deal.

As to solar energy, The Oregonian ran an article today (front page) on the changes we'll see in large solar energy projects now that the Legislature made some pretty deep cuts in the business energy tax credits.  As an emerging renewable energy source, the market for those large projects has relied heavily on federal and state dollars.  The trick with these subsidies is to phase them out just as market demand for the "goods" is created.  When hybrid vehicles were first around, there were some very nice tax credits to those who purchased.  As the hybrid vehicles became more sought after and folks were willing to pay a premium, the tax credits were phased out, without much ill effect on the market.

Enter the economic woes of the last few years, where state budget issues, not market forces, have dictated the fate of energy tax credits and the like.  The Oregonian article uses the huge solar project in Klamath Falls' ribbon cutting as an example of the type of project that will no longer see the sizable subsidies in place since 2007.

Subsidies for residential solar projects in Oregon are still reasonably generous and vary with the size of the project and local support.  Click here for a link to complete list of subsidies and supports in Oregon.  Navigating these various programs can be a bit intimidating.  Our solar installation, by the folks at Imaginenergy, was quite simple as they coordinated the different programs to help us maximize the available subsidies and incentives.

Just as commercial solar projects have lost the majority of their support, expect the subsidies and incentives for residential projects to wane in the coming years.  These programs have probably played a large role in the marked decrease of the cost of solar panels we have seen in recent years.  Get in on the sweet spot of incentives and lower panel cost while you still can.