Category: Idaho Solar

It was really great to see so many faces new and old at the West Idaho State Fair recently!

The weather was great and brought in lots of sunshine for all of our visitors – giving us a perfect chance to show off our solar hot water solutions! Truth is though, I don’t mind overcast or even slightly cloudy days when I’m out doing trade shows because it gives me a chance to demonstrate the fact that our solar technology works great – even in the shade!

The look on people’s face is great when I take one of our tubes that has been under the shade and ask them to put their finger inside just to test it; they look surprised every time that in fact it’s heating!

The other big surprise of course is the fact of the big savings on energy costs they can expect when switching to solar hvac!
Many people don’t know that Idaho offers low interest loans for families and business to install renewable energy – $15k individual and $100k for businesses.

Do you have questions about implementing solar into your home?
Give us a call for a no obligation consultation by phone – we’d love to hear about your solar needs and help you find a solution that works for your home and your budget!

Solar water heating is still a new concept to many people. Essentially solar water heaters are systems that use energy from the sun to heat water, which is then generally placed into a storage tank for use when it is needed – much like your traditional water heating systems, but without the cost of establishing and maintaining the temperature with electricity or gas.

While some older systems struggled with efficiency in colder months, or under cloudy conditions, our technology does not suffer from these draw backs and can help reduce your overall water heating costs. These systems are not just for warming up the water in your shower however! Solar water heating is great for a number of residential applications like radiant floor heating as well as larger commercial uses like heated water for car washes and dairies.

Sunlight itself, which comprises the majority of the systems power, is completely free so once the initial installation is complete the savings on energy can be seen immediately. In addition solar hot water is a green and renewable method of reducing your carbon footprint without having to overhaul your lifestyle.

Is this kind of thing popular? Yes! And gaining traction! More than 1.5 million homes and businesses currently use solar water heating in the United States, providing a capacity of over 1,000 megawatts of thermal energy. With another 400 megawatts likely to be installed over the next 3-5 years, solar water heating is sure to be in high demand for home builders and businesses alike.

Do you have questions about how our solar hvac solutions can help you?
I would love the opportunity to learn more about your needs and show you how Renewable Energy NW can help!

Solar heating for shop in eastern Idaho.

We recently finished an upgrade project in Eastern Idaho adding 2 additional solar thermal panels to an existing installation.  The upgrade project included moving the one of the existing panels closer together and updating the piping connection.  The system was not performing as the owner had hopped due to a few reasons.

When the contractor installed the radiant floor for the shop no insulation was installed under the floor.  RENW recommends installing 4″ of insulation under the floor to ensure the heating goes into the building instead of trying to heat the ground.   The solar controller was also not programmed for optimal collection and disbursement of the suns radiation.  The system is also using glycol as the heat transfer.  50/50 glycol and water solution collects 30% less energy than 100% water system.

We enjoy developing and assisting customers in delivering affordable solar solutions.

We just completed a really exciting installation in Coeur D’ Alene -Idaho.  This install included a 96 % efficient gas furnace (most efficient model), an 16 SEER Rated Air Conditioner (most efficient model), two 50 gallon hot water heaters, two Mystic Panel solar thermal systems, two controllers and a water to air heat exchanger.    The net cost of all this to the home owner after incentives will be less than $8k AMAZING VALUE!

This install did offer some unique challenges with a very steep roof to mount the solar panels on.    We overcame this challenge and ended up with a great install and another satisfied customer.

If your HVAC system is more than 10 years old or if you are building a home in the Northwest you should contact us to assist on your comfort heat/cool and your sustainable solution for the lowest affordable cost.

 

Renewable Energy Northwest’s solar thermal installations last year:

Earth Day April 22, 2013.  On this day it is a good time to think about what have your done to take better care of the Earth.   I would like to walk through what Renewable Energy NW, LLC (RENW) has accomplished this last year:

Installed 3 dairies with solar thermal applications for heating process water for clean up. 96 Solar Thermal Panels offsetting 192,ooo pounds of carbon pollution or the equivalent of removing 96 – Honda 4 cylinder cars from the road, each year.

Home installations most of which included a 2 panel install heating the hot water and assisting comfort heating.  These solar thermal installations have provided family wage jobs and local spending for an Idaho local business.

2 – Kuna

1 – Meridian

1 – Boise

1 – Weiser

1 – New Plymouth

1 – Notus

1 – Garden Valley

1 – Coeur D Alene

School in Cascade

I want to thank all of my customers for making a choice to save money and do something to make all of our lives more sustainable.

THANKS!