Florida Solar Design Group (FSDG) is pleased to announce that we are offering free solar panel evaluations for real estate professionals and their clients in Southwest Florida. Whether you are representing a home buyer or home seller, one thing that most home inspectors do not or cannot evaluate is the condition, function, and lifespan of a solar energy system. Many …
Estero, FL Home Photovoltaic System Installation
This is an April 2015 solar photovoltaic (electric) systems installation at a home in Estero, FL. It consists of 25 solar modules at 280W each. The solar modules are from Hyundai (the Heavy Indistries division of the car manufacturing conglomerate). The system uses microinverters from Enphase in this grid-interactive home power source.
Solar Pool Panel and Solar Electric Panel Designs, Fort Myers, FL 33919
Solar Energy System Design by Florida Solar Design Group LOCATION Fort Myers, FL 33919 PRODUCT(S) Solar Pool Heating Panels, Solar Photovoltaic System BRANDS FAFCO Sunsaver™, Hyundai Solar Modules NOTES This Fort Myers, FL homeowner wanted to look at options for both solar pool heating and solar electricity. Unfortunately, the only suitable roof was the southeast, and it was not large …
The Best Time of Year For Solar Power in Florida
We were contacted recently by a client that wanted to get a system installed fast to take advantage of the best time of year for solar power — summer. Unfortunately, he just missed it, as April happens to be the best month in Southwest Florida for solar energy production! That’s not to say that summer isn’t great for solar energy …
Solar Pool Heating Panels in Naples, FL 34119
Solar Energy System Design by Florida Solar Design Group LOCATION Naples, FL 34119 PRODUCT(S) Solar Pool Heating Panels9 BRANDS FAFCO Sunsaver™ NOTES This Naples, FL home has an ideal southeast facing roof right above the pool equipment. This roof was selected because the roof over the pool was northeast facing, and the front of the house was not suitable with …
Two-speed Pool Pumps vs. Variable Speed Pool Pumps
Right before I published this article I was contacted by a nice lady in Georgia who felt her pool service company was steering her wrong with a decision to replace her ailing single-speed pump. There is a lot of misinformation out there regarding two-speed pool pump and variable speed pumps, and many dealers are not up to speed (no pun …
Boca Grande, FL Solar Photovoltaic System Design
Solar Energy System Design by Florida Solar Design Group LOCATION Boca Grande, FL 33921 PRODUCT(S) Solar Electric (Photovoltaic) System BRANDS Hyundai, Enphase NOTES This Boca Grande, FL has a sun deck on the south side, taking up valuable roof real estate for photovoltaic panels. Since east and west roofs are still productive, we showed a total of 30 solar modules …
Pool Plumbing with Solar Pool Heating
The image below shows a typical Florida swimming pool plumbing setup for a pool/spa combination with solar pool heat and a backup electric heat pump. To learn what all of the components are in a pool plumbing system, keep reading! The image below was taken from above on the roof of a Bonita Springs, FL home. It shows all of …
Bubbles in Pool – Solar Pool Heater Startup
There are several reasons you might experience bubbles in your pool with a solar pool heating system. This video focuses on the large bubbles you see when your pool pump and/or solar pool heater first start up. Large bubbles for a few minutes after starting your solar pool heater are completely normal and expected. In fact, if you do not …
A Closer Look at How Solar Pool Heating Plumbing Works
You may have already seen our explanation of how a solar pool heating system works. This is a closer look at the plumbing involved in a solar pool heating system. Solar pool heaters use your existing pump and pool plumbing with an added valve manifold to bypass the solar panels when not in use. Below is a graphic that explains …
Solar Panels for Pool Lifestyle
With the thousands of solar panel layouts and designs I have done, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that solar pool heating is about pool lifestyle. I was getting a bit bored with the stale old solar panel renderings that I crank out on a daily basis, and decided to explore the idea again of adding pool screened …
Invest in Solar Power to Hedge Against Inflation
In addition to providing a solid return on investment relative to other investments of similar term and risk, solar electric power is a great hedge against inflation for homeowners and businesses. If you expect continued inflation (most people do), a solar electric system can lock in your price for electricity for a long time. Most people in Florida buy solar energy …
Cape Coral, FL Solar Pool Heater Design
Solar Energy System Design by Florida Solar Design Group LOCATION Cape Coral, FL 33914 PRODUCT(S) Solar Pool Heating BRANDS FAFCO Sunsaver™ NOTES This home in Cape Coral, FL has as pretty straightforward design, but the pool is deceptively large at 400 square feet. To get maximum performance we decided to optimize the system with the majority of panels on the southwest …
Cape Coral, FL Photovoltaic System Installation
This photovoltaic system in Cape Coral, FL consists of 24 solar modules at 270W each for a total rating of 6.48kW. To date, the owner is net-zero, actually banking a little excess energy so far. The owner plans to get a solar water heating system later this year to complete his solar energy goals. As a solar Here is the …
Bonita Springs, FL PV (Photovoltaic) System Installation
Here is a great looking new system consisting of 28 Hyundai 280W solar panels with Enphase microinverters. It’s mounted on a Unirac SolarMount rail system.
Bonita Springs, FL Solar Pool Heater Design
Solar Energy System Design by Florida Solar Design Group LOCATION Bonita Springs, FL 34134 PRODUCT(S) Solar Pool Heating BRANDS FAFCO Sunsaver™ NOTES This home in Bonita Springs, FL has a large pool that required using two roofs for solar pool heating panels. The home has ideal orientation with no shading, but the roofs were relatively small compared to the pool. A …
What is a Microinverter?
For many years, the workhorse of the solar energy industry was the “big box on the wall,” as new clients often call it. The big box is an inverter, or in a battery backup situation, an inverter/charger. These beastly eyesore in garages or on exterior walls were both the engines that converted DC electricity to AC and the brains of …
Solar Pool Heater System Design in Cape Coral, 33991
Solar Energy System Design by Florida Solar Design Group LOCATION Cape Coral, FL 33991 PRODUCT(S) Solar Pool Heating BRANDS FAFCO Sunsaver™ NOTES This home in Cape Coral, FL has a small pool at just 268 sq ft of surface area. As a result, we can get away with a smaller solar pool heating system, especially because it is on the south roof …
Solar Pool Heater Design in Cape Coral, 33914
Solar Energy System Design by Florida Solar Design Group LOCATION Cape Coral, FL 33914 PRODUCT(S) Solar Pool Heating BRANDS FAFCO Sunsaver™ NOTES This home in Cape Coral, FL has a large pool, so we wanted to maximize the southwest roof with solar pool heating panels to achieve the maximum coverage. Since solar pool heaters are sized based on pool surface area, …