This BBC article discusses how the not only this initiative will provide jobs, but it will provide energy from the sun to power over 70,000 homes WHILE cutting carbon dioxide emissions.

Good news!

If you’re thinking solar, or renewable energy, be sure to give us a call at (239) 574-1500, or visit our Web Site at: www.FafcoSolar.com.

Enjoy!

- Dan

Special Thanks to Jason Szumlanski, our Operations Manager, for this blog post!

Being energy efficient is critical to saving money, but reducing power is only half the battle.  Some changes that may seem energy efficient on the surface may not save any energy at all.

For example, you might ask about replacing an existing 1-1/2 horsepower pool pump with an “energy efficient” 3/4 horsepower pump.  The smaller pump would definitely use less power – in fact, about half the amount of power. Unfortunately, to circulate the same amount of water, you would need to run the smaller pump for more than double the amount of time each day, ultimately using more energy!

A better strategy would be installing a photovoltaic (solar) pool pump that runs using energy from the sun, eliminating the utility electricity consumed by your circulation pump.

Some items are inherently inefficient, and power savings are simply not a viable option.

For example, a curling iron will use essentially the same amount of power to reach the same temperature as any other brand. The only way to reduce energy used in your daily hair care regimen may be to work faster!

Conversely, if you want to watch television, it’s hard to reduce the time it takes to watch American Idol (except with a DVR!)

The best way to reduce your energy use with this appliance is to buy an energy efficient model, which saves energy by using less power.

Some items that can be more efficient by using less power to do the same job are televisions, computers, and air conditioners. Some items that simply need to be used for shorter periods of time are water heaters, hair dryers, and irons.

The bottom line is that saving energy with one appliance may require a different strategy than with another appliance.

Don’t bother shopping for a toaster that uses less power, and you won’t find a light bulb that shines when it is turned off.

Understanding the relationship between power and energy (efficiency and time) is critical to reducing your overall energy use.

- Jason

Special Thanks to Jason Szumlanski, our Operations Manager, for this blog post!

However, these terms represent very different, but related concepts.

Power is the rate at which energy is consumed, expressed in watts or kilowatts.

Energy is the amount of power consumed, expressed in watt-hours or kilowatt-hours (kWh).

To understand energy use, and consequently our utility bills, we must factor in the amount of power devices and appliances use and how long we use them.

Let’s look at the example of a typical light fixture outside your front door with a 60 watt light bulb. Sixty watts is the amount of power the lamp consumes, or the rate at which the lamp uses energy. If you run a 60 watt light bulb from dusk to dawn for 12 hours, you will consume 720 watt-hours of energy (or 0.72 kilowatt-hours).

In Southwest Florida we currently pay around 10 cents per kilowatt-hour, so that light bulb would cost 7.2 cents per night, or $26.28 annually.

If you look at your utility bill, you will see that you are charged for the number of kilowatt-hours (KWH) that you consume.

This is the amount of energy consumed between meter readings. To reduce the energy you use, you must either reduce the amount of power you use, or the amount of time you use that power (or both!)

Energy  =  Power  x Time

Going back to our light bulb example, you could install a light bulb that uses less power, or you could reduce the number of hours it runs. Both courses of action would reduce the energy used and save you money. Here are three different ideas to save energy and money.

1) Replace the bulb with a 13W compact fluorescent with equivalent light output (reduce power).

Energy Saved:                   0.56 kilowatt hours daily, or $20.58 saved annually

2) Put the light on a timer and run for just 6 hours nightly (reduce time).

Energy saved:                  0.36 kilowatt hours daily, or $13.14 saved annually

3) Do both of the above (reduce power and time).

Energy Saved:                   0.64 kilowatt hours daily, or $23.43 saved annually

While power and energy are intimately connected, they are not the same.

Understanding the difference can help you save money!

In my next article, I will take this concept one step further and explain why you think twice when trying to be “energy efficient.”

- Jason

PS – Be sure to check out our information on “TED – The Energy Detective” to monitor your energy usage!

Many are participating in the national Hands Across the Sand event which will be here tomorrow, June 26th at noon.

The regional “UGottaGoGreen.com” web site has a very convenient listing of all of the places you can participate in the event in Southwest Florida (simply visit this page, and scroll down).

If you’d like to learn more about Hands Across the Sand, be sure to visit their web site at www.HandsAcrosstheSand.com.

See you tomorrow at noon!

- Dan

…and I thought based on our previous posts “Buying Eight Track Tapes in an iPad World”, this would be a great follow-up for you to read.

It was created on May 12, 2010 by Janet Larsen for EarthPolicy.org, and it starts:

“The enormously devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is just one reminder that stretching out an addiction to a polluting and planet-warming fossil fuel poses risks to our health, our environment, and our economy. ”

“U.S. oil production peaked in 1970 at 9.6 million barrels per day. Since then production has dropped by almost half and now supplies less than 30 percent of domestic consumption. In 2009, the United States spent nearly $200 billion on oil imports to make up the difference.”

Continue reading this on the EarthPolicy web site…

Buying Eight Track Tapes in an IPad World” is a special blog series written by Melissa Upton, of our team here at Fafco Solar, reviewing four arguments against drilling for oil off of the coast of Florida.

…expensive way to produce energy – investing in clean energy would create four times as many jobs as investing the same amount of money in oil.

We need energy efficiency coupled with new, advanced, sophisticated, clean renewable energy technologies such as solar energy.

What we can do is thank Florida Senators Mel Martinez and Bill Nelson for their continued strong opposition to drilling and spilling oil on America’s best beaches, drilling that would ruin our state’s number one economic resource: our beach sand.

People in other states can help by getting their Senators to take Florida drilling out of the Senate’s energy bill.

Renewable energy technology works extremely well in an iPad world!

- Melissa

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (April 2010) speaks for itself…

Buying Eight Track Tapes in an IPad World” is a special blog series written by Melissa Upton, of our team here at Fafco Solar, reviewing four arguments against drilling for oil off of the coast of Florida.

As of this writing, the spill is increasing in size exponentially and it is sure to be one of the worst environmental disasters in United States history.

The explosion resulted in the tragic loss of life and as the days unfold we will see the true extent of the ravage that oil can wreak on the environment.

- Melissa

The photo above was taken May 4, 2010, and shows the oil blobs and sheen in the waters of Chandeluer Sound, Louisiana. (AP/Eric Gay)

“Buying Eight Track Tapes in an IPad World” is a special blog series written by Melissa Upton, of our team here at Fafco Solar, reviewing four arguments against drilling for oil off of the coast of Florida.

Oil is increasingly plentiful on the upslope of the bell curve, increasingly scarce and expensive on the down slope.

The peak of the curve coincides with the point at which the oil has been 50 percent depleted.

Therefore, oil will not just “run out” immediately but will become increasingly scarce.

This is true whether we’re talking about an individual field, a country, or on the planet as a whole. Many projections of Peak Oil have it within the past five years and once the peak is passed, oil production begins to go down while cost begins to go up.

Currently demand for oil is lowered due to the worldwide economic downturn.

The issue is not one of “running out” but rather not having enough to keep our economy running. An oil based economy such as ours doesn’t need to deplete its entire reserve of oil before it begins to collapse.

A shortfall between demand and supply as little as 10 to 15 percent is enough to detrimentally impact an oil-dependent economy.

- Melissa

“Buying Eight Track Tapes in an IPad World” is a special blog series written by Melissa Upton, of our team here at Fafco Solar, reviewing four arguments against drilling for oil off of the coast of Florida.

Nearly every hurricane in recent memory has caused some type of oil spillage.

Does it make any sense to put rigs near Florida, a major “Hurricane Zone”?
Don’t we have enough to worry about when we get struck by a storm?

Case in point…Hurricane Katrina slammed into Louisiana and Mississippi in 2005, destroying 115 oil platforms, significantly damaging 52 more and setting adrift 19.

More than 7 million gallons of petroleum products spilled, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. When you consider the onshore spills into that estimate, then the combined total spillage is over 9 million gallons, as estimated by the Department of Homeland Security.

According to the oil industry’s own assessment, Hurricane Ivan caused oil pipelines to fail in the mud slide areas off the mouth of the Mississippi River, which would “take a significant effort to locate and repair.” Hurricane Ivan also destroyed a number of production platforms in the U.S. Gulf.

Hurricane Hugo, in 1989 caused damage to a refinery which led to a significant oil spill.

Hurricane Andrew damaged or destroyed nearly 300 manned and unmanned platforms due to the combined effects of wind and waves.

When Hurricane Floyd wreaked havoc on the East Coast from the Carolinas to New York City, the US Coast Guard coordinated responses to the various disasters left in its wake – including an oil spill. The United States Coast Guard is the “first responder” when an oil spill endangers our environment.

Here in Florida, the Coast Guard is busy enough protecting our citizens and visitors from illegal activity. Why should we compromise the safety and security of our own state for the oil industry?

- Melissa

…you might find it interesting as well.

It’s the New York Times Concise History of Major Oil Spills, and includes:

• The most vivid examples of risks in both oil shipping & offshore drilling,
• Photos of the damages spills have caused, and
• Photos of the cleanup efforts of those spills.

What do you think of this?

- Dan