May 19, 2013
Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, aka George Santayana, was an American philosopher, essayist, poet and novelist. One of his most famous quotations was this: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This is one of Editorial Director Frank Andorka’s favorite quotations of all time (as a former history major, this
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Solar thermal systems are a way to satisfy heating needs by capturing the thermal energy of the sun for heating applications such as buildings, hot water or swimming pools. Tremendous amounts of energy currently go in to traditional heating applications that could be satisfied by solar thermal power. In domestic situations, for example, heating water
Barak Jolish, a San Francisco building developer, took five bids for a hydronic heating and hot water system for a 3-story, 19,260-sq.-ft. student housing complex renovation. Jolish pitted conventional natural-gas systems against solar hot water. One type of system came out on top. While the lowest bidder for each technology came to about $200,000, rebates
After 120 years of solar thermal technology and 60 years of PV, Next Generation Energy says it brings the one innovation that changes everything. The company says its SunBandit is a practical and affordable water heating solution. NGE says its smart modules provide a predictable output of electricity to the system independent of external temperature and eliminate the need for fluid circulation
True to the motto “less is more,” German Centrosolar Glas has reduced the minimum thickness of solar glass for photovoltaic solar modules by almost 30%, and at the same mechanical resistance thanks to process optimization. The thin glasses reduce the total weight of the solar modules, which simplifies the assembly and saves transportation and mounting
Faren Dancer, a green builder and activist, has announced his latest and award-winning project – a geothermal-solar electric home that produces enough of its own energy to be considered a zero-carbon residence. This is the first home in Northern New Mexico to utilize geothermal for radiant heating, cooling and hot water. It uses no propane
An increase in the cost of fossil fuels and supporting government policies (as well as enviable weather) has seen Spain and the United States dominate the global solar thermal market, explains a new report by renewable energy experts GBI Research. According to the intelligence firm’s latest research*, in 2011 Spain was the primary stakeholder in
Renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and geothermal typically use four to six times more copper than fossil fuels, according to a new market study. The study, Current and Projected Wind and Solar Renewable Electric Generating Capacity and Resulting Copper Demand, was conducted by BBF Associates & Konrad J.A. Kundig, Ph.D. and commissioned by
Can anyone really get lost anymore, especially if that person owns an iPhone with GPS capability? Yes. Yes, they can. Sadly, I’m living proof. I’m in San Francisco attending Intersolar North America 2012, a three-story show filled with passionate advocates for the solar market. I spent nearly seven hours yesterday meeting with many of them,
Eneref Institute will bring together solar heating and cooling industry stakeholders to draft a solar heating blueprint for the Department of Defense. The industry-funded consortium of standards and best practices is due by the end of 2012 and will contain expertise across all sectors of the solar thermal industry. The first report Eneref provides to
