Solar panels make sense in the long term but the upfront investment can scare away potential customers. With that in mind, Cool Tools investigated if solar panel financing made good economic sense for homeowners. Short story? Yes, you'll save money but the savings...
Builders in Arizona are being encouraged to install solar panels with an incentive program from Arizona Public Service (APS). The program offers to pay builders $3 per watt for solar systems and 75 cents per watt for solar hot water heaters, the same rate the utility...
The economic decline may, at first, seem like a good thing for the environment; a reduction in means would seem to equal less consumption and less demand on the environment. Not so, according to this article from OnEarth. A few years ago, the escalating cost of...
Cool video of the manufacturing of commercial solar panels from Solyndra: Credit: YouTube video
Are you curious to know how much it would cost to install solar panels on your roof? If you are in the San Francisco area, a company called Sungevity can give you a cost estimate by viewing the roof of your home from satellite. All you need to do is enter your address...
Solar power is on the rise! According to the Worldwatch Institute, global production of photovoltaic cells increased 51 percent in 2007 to 3,733 megawatts. Germany leads the charge, producing 1,063 megawatts of solar power cells in 2007. China came in second with 820...
A combination of new technology, financial incentives and growing environmental awareness have lead to an increasing number of wind turbine installations in residential areas, according to this article in the New York Times. With advances in wind power technology, the...
The incandescent light bulb industry would like you to think that using CFLs (compact fluorescent lighting) will lead to widespread mercury contamination in your neighborhood. Thankfully, Popular Mechanics magazine did some hard science and found out how much mercury...
Solar power filling all the world's energy needs in 20 years? It's going to happen, according to the man who predicted the collapse of the Soviet Union and the spread of Internet. Inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil predicts solar technology will advance exponentially...
Now here's a trend that can benefit homes everywhere—Lennar Homes of California is adding solar panels and renewable energy systems as a standard package to 258 new homes starting immediately. The homes will be built in the San Joaquin Valley and will each have a 2.3...
