March 18, 2024
Battery Fires: Why Are UL5940A and UL5940 Important? Batteries are a critical component of our move to a clean energy economy. Typically called Energy Storage Systems (or ESS) or BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems), such systems are used to store solar power produced during the day so that it can be used overnight or on… Read the entire post »
June 19, 2023
How much has the new fire code reduced the size of the solar arrays you’ve deployed or are deploying? We are collecting data from you to document the impact of the fire code on the deployment of solar panels on roofs and will use this data to work with the Department of Fire Services (DFS) and… Read the entire post »
August 19, 2022
If you have any interest in clean energy or solar panel incentives, you probably know by now that the Federal Government has passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA is a $369 billion investment for climate justice and clean energy making it one of the most significant climate bills in history. And for us… Read the entire post »
April 25, 2022
If you live in Massachusetts in NationalGrid or Unitil territory and have considered going solar, or went solar anytime since roughly 2016, you likely were told about the 10 kW AC Limit. And if you live in Eversource territory, you will soon know all about it too. What is the 10 kW AC limit? Basically,… Read the entire post »
December 8, 2021
On November 12, 2021, the U.S. Congress passed a key part of President Biden’s agenda (and solar policy): a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. It contains plans to invest $550 billion in American infrastructure over the course of five years. On the same day, Biden announced that the first version of the Build Back Better… Read the entire post »
May 11, 2021
Solar power generation is growing in popularity since the presidential election. And President Biden has indicated that he will be tightening U.S. emission standards to meet global environmental goals. In response, several major automobile companies have moved forward their manufacturing deadlines for electric vehicles (EVs). So today we will explore the role of solar electricity… Read the entire post »
October 29, 2019
As I have often mentioned, the solar installation process can at times be fairly maddening (see The Five Stages of a Solar Installation, Parts 1, 2, and 3). That’s partially because it is more of a major construction project than initially meets the eye, but mostly because there are so many players involved in the… Read the entire post »
April 3, 2019
Lots of people have talked about how we as a species tend to treat really big – but slow – change with lethargy. Basically, we’ll spot the lion that leaps out at us and act quickly, but if the lion is silently tracking us for several days we may be none the wiser. Or the… Read the entire post »
February 21, 2019
We can all rest a bit easier now that the Polar Vortex has come and gone. The cold was not only deadly, but it most certainly left in its wake frozen pipes, spiking heating bills, and other issues for homes, properties, and sadly several unfortunate people that died in the cold. For most of you,… Read the entire post »
July 16, 2018
I admit I get a little up in arms when fossil-fuel industry lobbyists and utilities disguised as non-profit organizations spout unsubstantiated, anti-solar propaganda that confuses and misleads people. So when an Opinion piece called Hey solar industry, why the subsidy? appeared in New Hampshire Business Review, I felt compelled to respond. I appreciate that the magazine’s… Read the entire post »
I started writing The Energy Miser in 2011 because I like to analyze energy issues and pontificate about my findings. Got a topic you want me to cover? Let me know.
