Purchasing a solar energy system can be a major decision with daunting research required before making a purchase. Solar cooperatives provide an opportunity for neighbors to become united in making purchase decisions. Learning how to best harness the sun takes time. Solar cooperatives can help put people at ease. However, solar cooperatives are not always the best option, and can …
Electric Cars Run on Natural Gas
I hate to break it to you, but your electric car runs on natural gas – with a little nuclear power mixed in. The dealer didn’t tell you that, did they? We’re being a little facetious here, but it is generally true. When you plug your car in and use utility electricity to charge it, fuel is burned to generate …
Conflating Solar Power and Battery Backup
One of the greatest challenges we face as solar professionals is explaining to people how solar power and battery backup have little to do with one another. How did these concepts come to be intertwined, and why is it so challenging to overcome? When the power goes out, people think that solar panels will keep your house running. Especially here …
Enphase MyEnlighten Updated For Per Module Monitoring
Enphase is the world’s leading microinverter manufacturer, and they have always been at the forefront of solar panel monitoring. One of the most revolutionary benefits of microinverters in solar electricity systems is the ability to monitor each individual panel. Now Enphase is expanding its consumer monitoring offering to include this per-panel monitoring. The ability to monitor the energy production performance …
Solar Panels East and West I-75 in Southwest Florida
Over the last several days I have heard on the radio and TV that inland rain will affect Southwest Florida. Over the last 35 years living here, I have always noticed that afternoon rain comes earlier in the day further inland. Areas east of I-75 seem to get rain earlier and more often. That got me thinking – is solar …
Sonnen Certified Partner for Battery Backup
Florida Solar Design Group is now a Sonnen Certified Partner. We can now sell and install Sonnen’s Lithium Ion battery backup systems in Southwest Florida. Sonnen is a leading manufacturer of battery systems that integrate with solar photovoltaic systems, providing seamless and unlimited battery backup power for emergencies and utility outages. Battery technology has come a long way in the …
Should I Buy Solar Panels From My Builder?
We are seeing more and more home builders offer solar electric panels. For many years home builders have offered upgrades like swimming pools, outdoor living spaces, and improved finishes. And for many years pool builders have offered solar pool heating panels. Recently savvy builders have added solar electric panels to their offerings to meet demands from progressive home buyers. In …
Solar Electricity For Your Home at Babcock Ranch
Babcock Ranch is a solar city. But what does that really mean, and how can you benefit from solar energy at your home? The short answer is that there is a giant solar field near Babcock Ranch that is intended to provide enough electricity for the needs of the community. It is owned and operated by the local utility company, …
Babcock Ranch is Heating Up With Solar
Babcock Ranch is known as the first Solar City for its centralized solar electricity energy source. But did you know that it’s shaping up to be a hotbed for solar pool heating, too? Solar pool heating is over 5 times more efficient than solar electricity at converting the sun’s energy to usable energy. While about 20% of solar energy can …
Pentair Intelliconnect With Solar Pool Heaters
The Pentair Intelliconnect pool automation system was introduced in 2018. We are starting to see it in the wild here in Southwest Florida. This product is intended to fill a small niche market for pool only scenarios (no spa). It’s for pool owners need only control a couple of features and want online control via an app. It covers only …
Be Careful Hiring a Solar Contractor in Florida
At least once a week we get an offer from someone claiming to be a solar contractor who wants to do our installations. They are offering subcontracting services. Some are licensed, some are probably not. One thing is for certain – the answer is NO! Unfortunately, the solar energy industry has become a money-grab for people and companies who are …
Using Drones to Create 3D Solar Panel Layouts
We’re leading the way in the industry with our use of drones in solar contracting and with 3D computer modeling. While our competitors are stuck in the dark ages of creating a chicken scratch drawing of solar panels layouts or flat aerial images at best, we are utilizing sophisticated tools to create rich sales presentations, construction drawings, and marketing collateral. …
Header Brackets – Another Myth Busted
We have published many posts on the myths, inaccuracies, and outright lies that some competitors talk about during sales presentations. When we bust the myth, they tend to move on to another scare tactic. Here one you might hear that has been used extensively recently: “They use a plastic header clamps and ours is metal.” So? Yeah. And? I guess …
Solar Panels on Stone Coated Metal Tile Roofs
Stone coated metal roofs are becoming more and more popular in Florida. They are universally praised as being beautiful, durable, and highly wind resistant. With very long warranties and concerns about hurricane resistance, it is reasonable to expect these roofs to be purchased by more and more homeowners. Installing solar panels on these roofs presents challenges. The only good way to …
Flow Rates and Flow Balancing Explained
Recently one of our competitors has been telling prospective solar pool heating clients that plumbing, valve, and panel header size don’t matter. In fact, they are even saying smaller is better. Does that make sense? It’s just nonsense, and we want to set the record straight. We use all 2 inch PVC pipe, valves, and full 2 inch inside diameter …
Solar Panel Design to Reality – Visualize Projects in 3D
When designing solar panel layouts, we do everything in three dimensions. This helps us and clients visualize the final product much better. It also improves accuracy. This video demonstrates a real project that we laid out in 3D and turned it into a reality at a home in Southwest Florida. We did a “fly-over” animation using our 3D computer model …
Solar Pool Heating for High Rise Condo Pool
Southwest Florida is not exactly Manhattan, but there are lots of beachfront high rise condos with swimming pools. We frequently get calls from owners in the building seeking information on solar pool heating for their condo swimming pool. The client is usually a board member or a concerned unit owner trying to reign in the cost of pool heating with …
Aerial Video of Alva, FL Home Solar Electricity System
Check out this aerial video of a stunning Alva, FL property where we installed solar panels to provide electricity for the home. The system is expected to offset all of the home’s modest electricity use. With 18 solar panels rated at 365 watts each, this 6.57kW system is expected to produce over 10 megawatt-hours of electricity per year. It is …
Enabling Enphase Production Alerts For Your Solar Electricity System Monitoring
If you have a solar electricity system with Enphase microinverters, you probably already know how great the web monitoring portal is. One of the best features is the ability to be notified if your system is not producing the energy expected. This could happen due to a tripped circuit breaker, component failure, shading, or any number of other things. While rare, …