Category: Idaho Solar

I just completed my first install in Idaho on a “net zero” home.  I am very excited to participate in this project.  Imagine no utility bills on your home “FOREVER”, kind of nice though.  This home accomplishes that goal.  It is a beautiful functional home that used passive solar for some of the winter heating.  The home is insulated very well R50 in the ceilings and R30+ in the walls.

We installed a Mystic unit on s standing seam roof.  The system has a solar storage tank and is also using our solar controller to increase the efficiency of the system.

I hope that we are able to assist on many more of these homes in the coming years.  I am use to dealing with and personally enjoying free hot water but, I am envious of no utility bills.  Maybe on my next home!

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!

We just completed a GREAT install in Nampa, ID where we installed a 2 Mystic panel system on the roof of a custom home in Nampa.    We penetrated the roof and ran the water lines in the chase areas of the second floor back to the garage.  We mounted the solar storage tank above the pressure tank for the well.  The customers are very satisfied with the clean look and performance of the system.  There are no connections from the roof to the solar storage tank in the garage.  The external lines are insulated to ~R19 levels.  The expected payback for this system should be less than 2 years.

We installed 2 controllers for the job. 1) Solar Controller to turn on the circulation pump when the panel is warmer than the solar water.  2) Heating control loop starts the circulation pump when the HEAT is called for and when we have 120 degree water in the solar storage tank.