“We first launched Google PowerMeter as a Google.org project to raise awareness about the importance of giving people access to their energy information. Since our launch, there’s been more attention brought to this issue, and we’re excited that PowerMeter has helped demonstrate the importance of access to energy data. However, our efforts have not scaled as quickly as we would have liked, so we have decided to retire PowerMeter.”

I’m really not sure why they are stopping this great service.. it has definitely increased the awareness level of electricity usage in the home.. at least for me.

I’m pretty sure there are other services that are similar to the Google Powermeter or I hope some new ones may just crop up to take its place.

I’ll have to find one that works with my Envi CurrentCost meter though. (There are standalone, non-Internet based software that keeps track of energy or electricity usage but the Powermeter was great in that you could check your usage anytime, anywhere via their Internet page).

Farewell Powermeter.. you served us well!

I’ve been lurking around looking at solar panels to buy for the past few months… with a limited budget, I can’t really splurge and buy a 2kw array right away (wishful thinking), but I finally got some extra money to buy a few panels.  I am planning to add to these over time, and hopefully grow them into something much more useful.

I did take the plunge and bought two panels last week… finally!   In the process of doing so, I’ve come up with my list of the 5 top things you probably want to know about the solar panels you are buying.. I am sharing these in the hope this helps in your search too!

1. Price

I placed this first I guess because if you’re like me with a limited amount of finances, you want to get the best bang for your watt… at the time of this writing, the cheapest prices i’ve found were about $1.76/watt+shipping at SunElec (see my previous posting on where to buy solar panels for more info) but these were pretty large wattage and size for me (usually 200 watts or so for the best prices).

I did decide on two new 12 volt, 85 watt panels that came out to be $2.21/watt including shipping that I found on Ebay. Not bad really since smaller panels cost a bit more per watt than large ones.

2. Certification

This is an important one if you decide to mount your panels on your house in the future since it seems you really need your panels to be UL certified to be even considered “legal” to install. (I am not totally sure of this last statement but a lot of the forums and talks about DIY solar installation recommend UL certified panels).

A lot of cheaper panels on the market don’t have UL certifications and only come with CEC or ISO or TUV or some other certifications.  I believe those are good to have too but I guess they are not up to par to having UL certification (ISO/TUV are manufacturing standards that have to do with the process of creating the product but don’t really ‘test’ the product itself in demanding ways like UL).  Again, I am not 100% sure about these, feel free to clarify if you know more.

Finally, if you want to get the 30% federal tax credit (and state credits) for your solar installation, you probably would need to have UL certified panels.

3. Voltage (Nominal Voltage)

Somehow, having MPPT charge controllers have made this less of an issue but if you have the normal PWM controllers or just want to charge 12 volt car batteries, this could become important for you.  The important voltage to look at is your Vmp .. or maximum voltage the panel can produce as this will determine if it would work properly with your charge controller. (i.e. Charge controllers have a maximum DC input limit… be sure not to go over this, especially when connecting multiple solar panels together).

I planned to have at least a minimum of 24 volts running through the wiring (to lower cost of wiring compared to 12 volts) so I was either looking for a single panel of 24 volts or 2 panels of 12 volts (which can be placed in series to have the same 24 volts).  I decided to go the second way because it seemed more flexible for me at this time.. For example, I could use a single panel (or 2 panels in parallel) to have 12 volt output, or use them in series for 24 volts.  I could also do some more experiments with the panels and if I somehow damage one *evil smile*, i still have another one as backup.

4. Material Type

Amorphous, Polycrystalline, or monocrystalline?  These are the main types of panels out there today and I won’t go into the details of each as there are a lot more knowledgeable websites on this topic.

Main take on these is that Amorphous is an ‘older’ technology that is less efficient (need more space to have same amount of output power) but does have some advantages in partial sun/shade and is cheaper in cost.  Polycrystalline and monocrystalline are more efficient and newer.. monocrystalline being the more expensive one and probably a tad more efficient (and expensive) due to its structure being more cohesive.

If you have the space on your roof or land and want to save some money, then go amorphous. Otherwise, get the other ones.

5. Connectors/Cables and Mounting

It seems that solar panels, for the most part, have standardized the connectors that stick out of the back of the panels.  I believe the most common one being used now is the MC4 connector which is pretty much rated for outdoor use and is available almost anywhere. I’m not sure why MC4 connectors are a bit on the expensive side though and crimpers are expensive too and cost anywhere from $50 to $150. (If you plan on wiring/crimping yourself). Other connectors are MC3 and Helios.

I did buy one with the MC4 connector to be on the safe side… with about 3 feet of cable for the positive and negative connections.  This is a good thing to be aware of as some panels for sale don’t have this cable but just the junction box so you’ll need to spend a bit more money and time  just to be able to connect your panels together (or to your charge controller).

A quick tip: Buy a male-to-female connector cable at least twice as long as the distance from your panel to your charge controller.  That way, when you want to install them, just cut that cable in half.  Connect the side with the connectors to the panels (positive and negative), then connect the ones without the connectors (from where you made the cut) to your charge controller.  That way, you don’t have to remove the connector(s) from your solar panel and possibly void your warranty.

As for mounting, I believe most panels have mounting holes on their frames but the ones I got had free mounting screws and z-shaped brackets to be able to mount on a flat surface.  Those add up to the cost per panel too.

So, that’s it!  My top five things to check when buying a solar panel. I’m pretty sure there are others that you need to check too and your mileage may vary.  Please feel free to leave any comments or suggestions or other important things that you think I left out (I just hope I don’t smack my head after reading your comment!).

Happy Solar’ing! 

I am a bit disappointed though that there were almost no discounts on solar panels or wind turbines I could find today… I was expecting to get some deals and buy some but seems like solar manufacturers don’t seem to want to use this special, relevant holiday to get customers..

If any of you have ideas on what I missed, please add a comment. Would appreciate any tips or suggestions…

With gadgets that allow you to simply point a solar panel to the sun and plug-in to your nearest electrical outlet in your home to provide extra power, I don’t see why this can’t be mass produced and sold in retail stores as a home appliance that actually saves you money.

Some samples of these gadgets:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/innovation/08/17/plug.in.solar.energy/index.html or http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20013704-54.html (Clarian Technologies “Solar SmartBox” product)

http://www.josh.com/Solar/ (Solar in a box product)

Think about it, if every home (there are about 100 million  in the USA) just had a small 100W solar panel producing power the whole day, how much power can the whole country save?  (100w * 100 million = 10 billion watts or 10 Gigawatts)… How many nuclear plants or coal plants can be taken out of operation just from these savings alone?

What’s nice about this is that it is simply a plug-and-play system.. with no moving parts and should last for at least 25 – 30 years.. it just simply works as long as the sun is shining.  It also doesn’t need a battery bank (unless you want it to act as a power back up system), charge controllers, or other expensive equipment to use… which lowers the cost a lot.

I’m not an engineer and don’t know much about the electronics needed to make these plug-in gadgets but i’m pretty sure if these are mass produced and standardized, these can be easily be sold at a much lower price range.. and if the government pitches in with subsidized panels/gadgets, it can be much much cheaper!  (We can subsidize those digital tv converter boxes so why not subsidize these technologies that actually save money for the end users and make the country more self-sufficient?)

Another positive side effect of this is that it essentially creates a decentralized grid of energy producing nodes (your homes).  If your home produces more electricity than is needed (like during the day when no one is home), then it could theoretically send that electricity back to the power company who then can redistribute that electricity to others who may need it at that time (factories, businesss, and even other homes).  If done right, I believe it can even help in still providing power to the grid in case of emergencies when large power plants suddenly don’t work.  Think of it as the “Internet” of electricty… decentralized nodes providing power to the grid so that even if one part of the grid goes down, the rest of the other nodes still keep working to provide power.

President Obama, with your move for greater American energy self-sufficiency (which I greatly admire by the way), can you and your technical experts please look into this possibility? 

Can a $100 100-watt plug-in solar panel be available in our nearest Wal-Mart soon?

Click here to see what it’s about, and how to download the book

I haven’t read it yet but it’s sure to be an interesting read if you are at all interested in alternative / renewable energy. (You must be if you’re reading this! ).

Enjoy!

It is a bit different from the others in that he actually starts from the very beginning from assembling the frame, soldering the solar cells, connecting them properly, then even adding the sealant (which I thought was cool since I didn’t know how that would be done!). He mentions that the solar panel was about 60 watts (around 18 to 21 volts and 3 to 3 .5 amps).

Here they are!  Enjoy!

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Btw, I am not affiliated in any way with his store but I found it every interesting and useful when I try to make my own solar panels. Now you don’t have to spend much buying all those “How to make your own Solar Panel” products.. a lot of information you need is just out there for free!

If you know of other useful videos/how to instructions for making solar panels, please inform me or leave a comment. Thanks!

This graph shows the electricity usage when I first installed the Current Cost Envi meter (note the always on wattage used is about 200+ watts):

Actual Google PowerMeter when first installed

This graph shows electricity usage after about a month after doing some tweaks.. always on wattage now lowered to about 100 watts or less (see more of what I did after this image):

Actual Google PowerMeter after a month

These graphs show that by just being aware of your electricity usage, you become more energy efficient because you know that every little thing you do around the house can cost you money!

(This actually reminds me of my Civic Hybrid car.. by just regularly looking at the fuel efficiency gauge alone, you can change your driving habits and therefore drive more efficiently.. and thus saving even more money. Sometimes I wish all cars had this gauge in them, not just the hybrid cars.. it would save a lot of money and gas).

Anyway, these are some of the things that I did to save more energy:

1. Used programmable thermostat and lowered desired temperature of the home during weekdays when no one is at home. (We are mostly not at home and kids are at school during weekdays).  You can see the usage spikes during the day be more far apart… that’s essentially the furnace running.
2. Used a cheap electrical outlet timer to turn off Dish network DVR during the day (9:00 AM – 4:30PM)  and in the wee hours of the morning (1:30 AM – 6 AM).  Nobody is using it at that time and we don’t have any programs recording at that time anyway.
3. Take quicker baths, also not turning on the hot water at full blast now (keep water mix warm, not hot). Mention that to your family too especially kids to not waste time in the shower.  The 7-8AM spike upwards is mainly due to the hot water heater working to replenish hot water in the tank.
4. Related to #3, lowered the desired temperature of our hot water heater (check your heater manual for how to do this.. it is usually just a knob to turn).
5. Unplug all unused appliances.. i.e. Computers & Printers, Dehumidifier and air fresheners, chargers (when not being used), etc.
6. Use all CFL bulbs around the house, including outdoors (especially if you leave the lights on the whole night).
7. Turn off all lights when not in use.  i.e. in our kitchen, a single switch turns on 6 different bulbs at one time.  This is the first thing I think to turn off always.
8. Don’t use extra bulbs if you don’t need it.  i.e. Bathroom vanity lights..  our master’s bedroom, for example,  has six(!) bulbs.. I loosened 4 of them and left 2 to turn on..  not really a big difference… we can see just fine still.

Doing all these really helped a lot and you can see it with the “Always on” usage much lower during the day… and you can see it go up when we arrive from work or school which I guess is normal… unless you like candles and bonfires for cooking. (hehe).

Hope this helps you budding energy savers out there!  Good luck.. and if you have other tips and comments, please feel free to add them below…

I was going to put in a detailed description of how to set up the Current Cost Envi in your home but it looks like their website (and other 3rd party sites) have it pretty well described already.  To make things easier though, I’ll include links here to those useful sites… and add my own personal comments on how I did it in my home.

• Current Cost Site – Installation video. Pretty good overview of what you’ll need to do.  Please note the warnings about dealing with dangerous levels of electricity when installing the transmitter/monitor part!  (See more comments below)
• YouTube video by SRE showing main installation steps.
• Another installation video in YouTube but using the TED (The Energy Detective) product. Very similar in terms of steps though.

So, basically, it’s a straightforward installation as long as you are very careful and know what you are doing.  If you have any doubts or concerns about doing this yourself, then get a licensed electrician to do this for you. I did do just that by asking a friend to do this for me even though I pretty much knew what he was going to do.

The funny thing is that it was a good idea to let him do that because I would have removed the wrong screws from my mains panel! (There were two screws in the inner panel and 6 screws in the outer panel… found out that the outer screws were the ones to remove.. If I removed the inner panel screws, I would have removed the panel front from the sides and would probably have loosened some wires that I shouldn’t have).

Installed Current Cost Envi

Once that was done though, it was an easy thing to clamp the two main wires of the Envi to the main lines coming into the house (instructions that come with the Envi do a pretty good job at explaining where to clamp).  Once clamped and the monitor positioned properly so that it doesn’t touch any other components or wires in the panel, we covered the panel again and screwed the screws back in.

I was a bit worried that the monitor and the receiver wouldn’t be able to connect because my mains panel was in the basement and my receiver was in the first floor in the living room but I had no problems whatsoever with the monitoring of the electricity usage.  In a few seconds, I could see right away a nearly real-time view of electricity use of my whole house!

So far, it’s been pretty stable (It has been running for more than a month now) and the data is getting pretty useful to track trends and usage patterns with different time frames (days, weeks, months).

A good tip is really to put your receiver in a place where you can easily see it (your bedroom side table, the living room, the kitchen?)… and, if you plan to use the Google PowerMonitor, you’ll need to place it near your PC or laptop that’s on the whole time.  This is because you’ll need to connect the Envi receiver to your PC (via a USB port) to be able to send usage data to Google’s site.

In my case, I already had a laptop running the whole day connected to my Internet connect for my MagicJack voip phone. (I use this instead of a land line since it costs a lot less). So, all I had to do is plug in the Envi and install the Current Cost monitoring software and that was it!  (More on this in the next post).

As a final comment, some of you may find it funny to keep a laptop on the whole time since that uses up electricity right?  Well, that is true but that is the reason why I use a laptop instead of a full PC… using the Kill-a-watt monitor, my laptop uses only about 15 – 20 watts.  I also close the cover when i’m not in front of it using it use so the wattage is much lower because the LCD screen uses a lot of power (relatively).  Using a PC would probably take 3-4 times that amount of watts.

Hope you find this info useful for your own setups!

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Google PowerMeter Sample (Daily Snapshot)

To open a PowerMeter account, all you need is a normal Google account (i.e. if you have a Google Gmail account, you already have one).  It is a free service so there is no charge to use it.  Just go to the website above and register or login to create your account.

This is really a great idea because once you have an account you can view your usage daily, weekly and monthly online using any computer that has access to the Internet. You can also compare usage (i.e. if you want to compare if your electricity usage went up or down in a given time period).  Google even tells you if you are below or above the previous time period.

Another feature is that it also shows you your “Always On” usage.. it basically means the electricity in your house that is always on the whole day.. like plugged in appliances that still suck in some wattage even when you are not using them.  In other words, it shows the lowest wattage in your home the whole day.  If this is high, then you probably need to look around your house to see what is consuming electricity.

Energy monitoring devices/Power Meters

The other piece to this setup though is how to actually gather the electricity usage from your home.  This is where the power meter devices like the Current Cost Envi and TED 5000 (The Energy Detective) and several others come into play.  These devices essentially come with two parts: a power monitor and a receiver.  You hook up the monitor to your house power mains using clamps (no need to cut wires or rewire anything!).  Once that is placed in, it continuously monitors the electricity passing through those wires and passes it to wirelessly to the receiver which gives you a nice real time view of energy usage.

The next thing to do now is just to connect this receiver to the Internet via your DSL/Internet service provider.  This would vary based on the Power meter you selected (i.e. if you will need a USB port to a PC connected to the Internet, or connect wirelessly to your Internet WiFi router, or some other way).  Once that is set up though, you should see your Google PowerMeter graphs showing data… and it will get more interesting by the day….

The disclaimer…

Now, just to be clear, I am not in any way affiliated with any of the companies that make these products but I did decide on going with the Current Cost Envi model due to its features (can link up with Google PowerMeter, can hook up to PC/Internet via USB, possible to monitor more than one monitor, etc) and price point (Goes for about $129). TED seems like a good product too but the price range ($239+) and what it comes with out of the box didn’t really appeal to me.

I really didn’t want to spend a lot more on this because the main point of my doing this was to save money… and if I can spend less on the initial outlay, the faster my return on investment would be for buying this device.

What’s next…

Thanks for reading my post.. my next post will be on how I set up the Current Cost Envi in my home and how I got it connected to the Google PowerMeter… interesting stuff!

It’s been quite a while since I made a posting mainly due to a major move to a brand new house… which, I am glad to say, has a back that faces due south! *big smile here*.  With a morning room that has a pretty good angle at that! *bigger smile*…

I just wanted to post that I will be adding some more articles in the near future based on my new experiences in this house…

Some plans I have include:

- Figuring out why my Electricity bill is so high compared to my old house! (Our average was about $40 before, now it’s about $120+!!!). Will be getting a power monitor (Current Cost Envi) for this… will blog more about this and how to get this set up…

- Getting my battery bank/inverter set up running in the basement and connecting to the house power lines (if not directly, at least via an extension cord running into the house for now).

- Getting cheap solar panels (maybe those Harbor Freight 45w solar panels?)  to charge my battery bank.. and figuring out a way to get the wires into the basement without damaging the sidings… (anyone know a video or howto on how to do this right?)

… So, I hope this will be one interesting year…. keep in touch and come back often!