Residential Solar

Last Year for Full 30% Solar Federal Tax Credit

Posted on
by Lauren Dansey

This is the last year for the 30% Federal Tax Credit for solar.

The 30% Federal Tax Credit for solar installations has been a great incentive for people to add solar power to their homes or businesses. But as they say, all good things must come to an end. This is the last year that the full 30% tax credit will be available when you add solar to your home. The tax credit decreases to 26% in 2020, then goes down to 22% in 2021. Starting in 2022, the federal tax credit disappears for residential solar.

If you were considering adding solar power to your home, now is the time to do it, while you can still take advantage of the 30% tax credit. There is an IRS safe harbor in place, and as long as you have a signed contract with a solar installer and a 5% down payment in place by December 31st of this year, you then have until January 1, 2024 to complete the solar installation and put it into service.

Solar Industry: California Makes Historic Decision to Incorporate Solar On All New Homes

Posted on
by Lauren Dansey

Source:  Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)

Wednesday, May 09 2018

Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) welcomed California’s approval of a new policy that will require virtually all new homes in the state to incorporate solar panels starting in 2020. The California Energy Commission voted today to adopt the policy as part of the state’s Building Energy Efficiency Standards after working with SEIA, its member solar companies, and other stakeholders for more than two years to develop the technical requirements.

Following is a statement from Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA’s president and CEO:

“This is an undeniably historic decision for the state and the U.S. California has long been our nation’s biggest solar champion, and its mass adoption of solar has generated huge economic and environmental benefits, including bringing tens of billions of dollars of investment into the state. Now, California is taking bold leadership again, recognizing that solar should be as commonplace as the front door that welcomes you home.

“SEIA appreciates the Commission’s efforts to help California take steps toward meeting its Zero Net Energy goals by integrating renewable energy with energy efficiency. The combination of rooftop solar and the option to add energy storage systems as an efficiency compliance credit provides builders with an attractive, cost-effective option to fully electrify homes.

“Other states may not be ready for this step yet, but this is a precedent-setting policy — one that will bring enormous benefits and cost savings to consumers. It is my hope and belief that when other states, many of which are developing rapidly growing solar markets of their own, see the benefits of this policy, they will develop similarly aggressive policies.”

About California:

California is the nation’s leading solar market, with more than 21 gigawatts of solar installed — five times more than any other state and nearly 40 percent of the total solar installed in the U.S. The solar industry has created $43 billion of investment in California’s economy and employs more than 86,000 Californians, a number that will grow under this new policy.

Solar Pool Heating – Swimming in March with No Heating Bill

Posted on
by Altra Web Team

by Lauren Dansey

We couldn’t be more pleased with our solar pool heating system.  We have been swimming since late March, and the pool has been 85 to 90 degrees without turning on the gas heater.  But there are some good reasons why we’ve been able to maintain that temperature.

The solar pool heating system heats up the pool during the day, but that heat will be lost at night if you don’t use a pool cover.  As you can see from the picture, we cut the bubble cover we got when we built the pool to fit the pool almost exactly.  We also bought a pool cover reel to make it easy to put the cover on and off.  Without the reel, I think the cover would be too difficult to deal with.  Now, it’s one man (or woman) job to put the cover on or off.

We usually end up swimming on the weekends, and just leave the cover on during the week.  The pool will usually maintain its temperature over the weekend without the cover.  We’ve actually wanted to cool the pool down a little on some of our warmer weekends, and that happens at night without the cover.

For more information about solar pool heating, call us at 805-497-9808, or fill out the contact form on our website.

Solar Heating for the Pool – Working Great

Posted on
by Altra Web Team

by Lauren Dansey

The final installation for our two solar pool heating systems was completed last week, and we couldn’t be happier with the performance.  We installed two systems, a rooftop system (the dark panels below the solar electrical panels on our roof), and an in-deck solar heating system (underneath the concrete around the pool.)  The system begins to pump warm water into the pool as early as 8am, and continues until late in the afternoon. (We do have an ideal south-facing roof.)  We set the desired temperature, and a separate pump operates whenever the water in the solar panels is hotter than the pool temperature.  It shuts off when the desired temperature is reached.  The system pumps out an amazing amount of hot water — the kids are getting exercise by positioning themselves where the water comes into the pool and swimming against the current.

The in-deck pool heating system has an added advantage, also.  The concrete around the pool used to be too hot to walk on during hot afternoons, but now with the cooler water circulating underneath it, the concrete is much cooler.  The heat is carried to the pool.

The goal is to not use the pool heater at all.  We’re going to be careful to use a pool cover at night when the weather gets colder, and between that and the solar heating systems, we’ll see how warm we can keep the pool.

For more information about solar pool heating, call us at 805-497-9808, or fill out the contact sheet on our website.

Solar Heating for the Pool – Concrete is poured and pool is finished.

Posted on
by Altra Web Team

 

by Lauren Dansey

As the next step in our in-deck solar pool heating adventure, concrete was poured over the solar heating tubes.  When the concrete was poured, workers made sure that the tubes were approximately 2″ below the concrete surface.  This maximizes the heat that is transferred to the tubes, without the possibility of the tubes showing in the concrete.

To the right is the finished pool and deck.  The concrete gets very hot in the direct sun, so we’re looking forward to turning on the solar.  We can’t turn the heat or solar heating on until a  month has passed so the pool surface can cure, but the temperature without heating is a very comfortable 85 degrees.  The rooftop pool solar and in-deck solar heating will allow us to extend our swim season year-round, without increasing our utility bill.  I’ll bring you an update when the solar is turned on and let you know how it affects our heating bill.

To the left you can see the rooftop solar pool heating panels on the roof, below the solar electrical (PV) panels.  We used ten 4 ft. by 8 ft. Heliocol panels.  They are shorter than the normal Heliocol panels, designed for roofs that don’t have room for the larger panels.  Solar pool heating is the most cost-effective use of solar in your home, with a return on investment of just 2-4 years.  We’re looking forward to swimming into the fall.