beausoleil

San Francisco Solar Map

The City of San Francisco has a goal of 10,000 solar photovoltaic installations by 2010.  To track these installations and to give businesses, nonprofits and homeowners a place to see what has already been installed in their neighborhood, they have developed a website called the  San Francisco Solar Map.  Here you can get an idea of the size and annual savings of systems in your own microclimate.  To also help you determine if going solar might be right for your property, the website includes an interactive tab "What can solar do for you" that will give you a quick analysis of potential savings based on your address and roof size.  Links to local solar installers, tax credits and the fabulously generous  San Francisco Solar Initiative, which currently gives immediate credits of  $2000-10,000 for installing a system, can be found on their site. 

The solar map has just been updated for the first time in over 6 months (sadly budget cuts have affected their ability to keep up to date more regularly with new installations).  Our own installation is finally listed on the map, which helps bring the total to 1311 documented installations - a good start, but still very short of the 10,000 goal.  We know that not all systems are on the map as we have one neighbor in Westwood Park not listed.  We encourage you to contact the organization if you don't find your installation listed, and if you haven't yet considered solar for your property, contact any local installer for a free site specific estimate.  They will look at your PG&E bills and your roof layout and give you a much more accurate assessment for no charge.  The credits are great right now, but with the budget cuts our governments are facing, there is no guarantee of how long they might be available.

Green Point Rated

I just spent most of last week at Build It Green's training for Green Point Raters.  If you don't know about this program yet, you soon will!  Many municipalities in California are adopting their standards and rating system for new homes and major remodels.  Not to be confused with LEED, which rates commercial buildings as well as new residences, Build It Green's program is purely for the residential construction industry, both single and multi-family.  While there is a lot of overlap with LEED for Homes, they provide a lower threshold or entry point for new residences, as well as an existing home rating system that includes partial remodels and additions.

The program seems very straightforward with many cities adopting a standard of 50 required points for certification. These points are allocated among the five categories of Community, Energy, Indoor Air Quality/Health, Resources and Water. A minimum of 30 points must be garnered in the energy category by surpassing state Title 24 requirements by 15%, which is relatively easy to achieve, and which will save money and CO2 from day one.

The guidelines are flexible, giving the homeowner, contractor or developer many options to achieve the required points.  The result is a better product, a home that is good for the family and better for the Earth.  According to recent studies in Seattle where the green rating is part of the MLS advertisement, it is also good for the pocketbook, as Green Rated homes in that area have been documented to sell for 5-10% more and 24% faster, even in today's depressed market.

Rating a home may add a few thousand dollars to the construction cost, but the site verification process helps ensure that the green features are indeed installed, and the testing ensures that HVAC is properly sized, the insulation and ductwork are all properly installed and sealed, avoiding the energy losses typical even in many new homes.

One paper test, one plan check test and one field inspection test were required as part of our training last week.  I'll let you know when the results come in!

May Solar Update

Thank you to everyone who attended our solar party last month.  We had over 30 people in attendance throughout the course of the day, including reporters from the local Ingleside Light paper.  We'll let you know when the story is published!  For those of you who couldn't be there, let us know and we can set up a private tour, or organize a second party if there is enough interest.

Thank you again to Solar City for their presentation on solar photovoltaic systems and for the refreshments.  Thank you to Building Solutions for information about home energy testing and solar water heating.  I learned that SolarCity is the only company around providing lease options instead of a pure purchase for solar panels.  This program is what made solar finally possibly for us as our upfront costs were only $29.  Their program is apparently widely popular as they now have an 8 month waiting list for leased systems (direct purchases can be processed and installed much faster).  All the more reason to look into solar soon and get on the list!  Just announced this week is a partnership with US Bank that creates a tax equity fund that should hopefully speed up leases.  Check out the press release.

On a personal note, our PG&E electric bill last month was $12.03, down from $99 the year before.  Our total savings to date $615.03 and 3453 pounds of CO2 offset!