Invest In SolarCraft Solarcraft Services is THE trusted name in solar pool heating in the North Bay. We have installed thousands of solar pool heating systems for over 22 years, making it the North Bay’s leader in solar pool heating. SolarCraft offers a complete range of solar pool services for residential and commercial swimming pools, as well as domestic water heating system design and installation. The company is the distributor of FAFCO solar products, the largest manufacturer of solar heat exchangers in the world. An Intelligent Investment The average cost to build a pool today is about $45,000.00. With electricity, chemicals, and other maintenance expenses, you will find that your pool will cost between $100 and $200 per month before any expense to heat it. You probably made the investment in your new pool, or a house with a pool, because you like swimming and relaxing in a backyard environment that includes a warm inviting pool. Without some form of supplemental heat, you will find that there are not many days throughout the season that your pool will be a comfortable temperature, and consequently will not be used by your friends and family. SolarCraft to the Rescue Solar heating your pool enables you to swim in a heated pool from April through September and sometimes into October. The average cost of heating a pool with natural gas can cost $300 - $600 dollars per month depending on where in the Bay Area you are located. Propane users can expect to pay about 20% more for the same heat. That usually means that your investment in a solar pool heating system can be recouped within 2-3 years, and the systems usually last 20 – 25 years. All of our pool heating panels include a full 12 – 15 year manufacturer’s warranty.

Energy derived from the Sun's radiation. The amount of energy falling on just 1 sq km/0.3861 sq mi is about 4,000 megawatts, enough to heat and light a small town. In one second the Sun gives off 13 million times more energy than all the electricity used in the USA in one year. Solar heaters have industrial or domestic uses. They usually consist of a black (heat-absorbing) panel containing pipes through which air or water, heated by the Sun, is circulated, either by thermal convection or by a pump.

Solar energy has long been hailed as the power source of the future. Even before humans envisioned harnessing the sun's rays to store heat for warming houses at night or producing electricity--in fact, even before humans existed--the sun powered our world. Until this century, however, its great potential has remained untapped by humans.
Only one two-billionth of the sun's energy output reaches the earth. That seemingly small amount, however, would supply all the world's energy needs--if it could only be harnessed efficiently.

Solar radiation, outdoor illuminance and sky luminance data are important for accurate cooling load determinations and daylighting evaluations. Systematic data measurements are regarded as the most effective and accurate method of setting up reliable databases. This paper describes solar data measurements made at the City University of Hong Kong and reports some of the general findings. The daily and hourly average values of solar radiation and daylight illuminance are computed and presented using graphical methods. Sky luminance distributions for different typical sky conditions ...

Renewable energy has users smiling

By Brad Foss

ASSOCIATED PRESS

For people such as Ronald Cascio, who fuels his pickup with a soybean oil derivative, and J.D. Doliner, whose home is partly solar powered, the high price of energy isn't a worry.

That doesn't mean their renewable energy preferences come cheap. In fact, it requires an extra financial commitment to wean one's home or vehicle off fossil fuels.

Nonetheless, a growing number of Americans are embracing cleaner technologies and more energy-efficient lifestyles. It makes them feel good and, depending on how high prices rise for traditional energy sources, they say renewables might even make economic sense over the long haul.

"Some people spend their money on jet-skis and boats," explained Cascio, who lives in Berlin, Md. "So, say we spend another $1,000 a year on fuel than we have to, what's the big deal? We feel good about it. You can't put a price on that."

Cascio regularly spends about $3.35 a gallon for pure biodiesel, chemically altered soybean oil that is fully compatible with the standard diesel engine in his 1989 Ford truck. But because diesel vehicles are nearly a third more efficient than those that run on gasoline, Cascio said his choice of fuel isn't looking so bad right now that gasoline averages more than $2.20 a gallon nationwide.

In the case of Doliner, who lives in Arlington, Va., it may take more than three decades for the $18,000 solar panel system she and her husband installed to pay for itself. But the former venture capitalist said the investment is worth it merely for the "psychic income" she enjoys.

The Doliners recently renovated their home to be about 50 percent more energy efficient, but they still get about two-thirds of their electricity from the grid and rely on natural gas for home heating and to back up their solar water heater.

"But we are having an impact on the number of power plants that are built," Doliner said.

That's right, said Paul Torcellini, who researches residential and commercial building designs for the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Reducing the country's dependence on fossil fuels requires two behavioral changes: adopting renewables and boosting energy efficiency, he said.

"It is much cheaper to save energy than it is to make it, by at least a factor of two to one," Torcellini said. Anyone considering solar panels should buy the most energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs and make sure their walls and windows are properly insulated, he said.

Those interested in biodiesel simply need a diesel-engine vehicle. To show its support of the technology, DaimlerChrysler ships its new Jeep Liberty off the assembly line fueled with B5, which contains 5 percent biodiesel. The most common grade of biodiesel at the pump, B20, is 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent regular diesel.

The amount of biodiesel sold in the United States has grown from 500,000 gallons in 1999 to roughly 30 million gallons in 2004, said Jenna Higgins, a spokeswoman for the National Biodiesel Board. By comparison, the United States burns more than 100 billion gallons of gasoline each year and 4 billion gallons of ethanol, a fuel additive derived from corn.

The Solar Energy Industry Association estimates there are enough photovoltaic panels installed in the United States to power about 286,000 homes, up from 60,000 homes in 2000. A considerably smaller group of enthusiasts -- perhaps 20,000 homeowners nationwide -- have erected wind turbines on their property, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

Wider acceptance of alternative energy by consumers will require a significant expansion of what is now only a limited patchwork of government refunds and tax incentives.

"If the government subsidized renewable energy the way it does oil and gas, it would be mainstream in no time," said Mark Prebilic of Poolesville, Md. He received a $2,000 refund from the state government and a $2,000 tax credit from the federal government when he installed solar panels in 2001, which now provide about a third of his home's power needs. Prebilic says he expects to make back the $13,000 investment he made in a little more than 20 years.

Relatively generous government incentives, and ample sunshine, in California has led to the construction of entire neighborhoods with homes that harness the sun's energy, said Rhone Resch, executive director of the Solar Energy Industry Association in Washington. In Sacramento, Premier Homes sold 95 homes during the past year in the $250,000 to $450,000 range that were equipped with solar panels for electricity.

Indeed, Americans tanking up with biofuel or installing solar panels are hardly back-to-the-land types denying themselves modern amenities and living off the grid. Doliner's 1,500-square-foot suburban home is "green," with roof shingles made from recycled tires, carpet made from corn starch and insulation that is partly soy-based.

"Our house isn't made of twigs and granola," she said.