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Does Solar Really Work In My State?

DOES SOLAR REALLY WORK IN MY STATE? A lot of people think you have to live in a sunny state like California in order for solar panels to work, but nothing could be further from the truth. Solar is starting to take off even in famously overcast places like Portland and Buffalo. Here we reveal why solar works in even the un-sunniest states and hear from the homeowners using it there. SURPRISING STATES WHERE SOLAR IS WORKING SEATTLE, WA In May 2011, the BUFFALO, NY Seattle Seahawks PORTLAND, OR Overcast Portland is actually a Niagara University just announced they're installed a 45-kilowatt installing 2.5 acres of solar panels on their stadium's leading solar city, with three times the number of residential solar installations as most cities. Soon solar system atop the Dwyer Arena, a 2,100- LONG ISLAND, NY "Given how high our home's seat ice hockey rink. event center. Portland will be debuting solar- electric bills were each month powered public charging station before going solar, I expect the payback period on this solar system to be very short." - Raina Russo for electric vehicles. A FOGGY CORNER OF SAN FRANCISCO "We're saving $2,000 dollars in electric bills a year." - Michael Bollinger "We're not paying anything in monthly utility bills." - Robert Boebel PHILADELPHIA, PA "The way I see it, solar is the only home improvement that really pays you back over 10 to 25 years." Dave Shaffer DENVER, CO "Living in snow has not been a problem whatsoever. Our latest electricity bill for March 2011 was $12." - Jim and Sue Okerson A SHADY CORNER OF COLORADO NEW JERSEY "I couldn't be happier. We used to have "My roof has a bit of a shading issue, so l've been particularly happy with the microinverters we installed. They make a huge difference because the panel affected by shade doesn't interfere with how our system runs monster electric bills that topped out at $800 a month. Our first full bill after going solar was a total of $6.88!" ANCHORAGE, AK In June 2011, Alaska's single largest commercial solar instal- lation was completed when 64 Esther Poulsen panels were placed on a large building, sup- plying it with 11,651 kilowatts of overall." - Tim Pickard "We love our ground mount solar system. We talk about it all the time now with owntown friends and such." - Deb Maher energy a year. WHY YOU DON'T THINK SOLAR WORKS Many people believe that solar panels couldn't possibly provide for their everyday electrical needs, particularly if they live in a state where the weather is seasonally cold and cloudy, snowy or overcast. Here's how solar panels overcome (and in some cases even thrive on) less than perfectly sunny conditions. OVERCAST NO SOUTH-FACING ROOF тоО COLD Although the electrical output of solar panels is reduced by cloud cover, panels are designed to collect ambient light and produce electricity on cloudy days. Some mistakenly believe solar panels won't work in cold weather, but solar cells absorb light, not heat, so panels actually work just fine in colder climates. In fact, solar panels Just because a home's roof doesn't directly face south (an optimal direc- tion for sun exposure), doesn't mean solar panels won't be effective. Recent studies suggest that in the right circumstances, panels can face up to 90 degrees east or west of a south-facing position without significant effect on performance. are actually more efficient at cooler temperatures because cool temperatures actually increase the conductivity of the metals. Consider San Francisco homeowner Thomas Beutel who lives in the Outer a Sunset, one of San Francisco's fog- giest neighborhoods. Last year, Thomas received a year-end produc- tion credit of $83 from his utility, PG&E, proving that even in an extremely foggy part of a foggy city,. solar reduced his utility bills to less than zero. In addition, new microinverter tech- nology boosts the efficiency of panels, allowing them to make lots of energy, even in less-than-perfect conditions. WHAT MAKES SOLAR WORK IN EVERY STATE Three little-known facts about solar that will convince the skeptics. SOLAR PANELS ACTUALLY PERFORM BETTER IN COOL VERSUS HOT WEATHER SOLAR PANELS STILL COLLECT ENERGY IN AMBIENT (VERSUS DIRECT) SUNLIGHT SOLAR TECHNOLOGY HAS DEVELOPED TO BOOST EFFICIENCY AND GENERATE MORE POWER IN OVERCAST CLIMATES. Sources: SolarEnergyBuyer · Dantomtom · House-Energy.com - Solar Energy industries Association 1BOG.org GROUP DISCOUNTS ON SOLAR

Does Solar Really Work In My State?

shared by ColumnFive on Aug 31
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A lot of people think you have to live in a sunny state like California in order for solar panels to work, but nothing could be further from the truth. Solar is starting to take off even in famously o...

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