Tuesday, February 17, 2009

namaste solar

Namaste Solar and REC Solar?

http://www.solardave.com/index.php/namaste-solar-and-rec-solar/
SolarDave: Looks like you have been working with both Namaste Solar and REC Solar have you had good experience with both companies?

Mary Coonce: I have had good experience with both companies - I really have - they are a little different mindset, but as far as installation and follow up customer service they have both been great.

Video Tags:Namaste, REC, Solar

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Title:REC Solar Description:http://www.solardave.com/anc/request.cfm?cid=REC-SolarTitle:Jacob Averbuck/ REC Solar Description:Jacob Averbuck explaining the key elements to working with REC Solar Co. As well, why he works in the solar field.Title:Solar Site Evaluation From REC Solar Description:http://www.solardave.com/index.php/solar-site-evaluation-from-rec-solar-video/<br />Cary Hayes from REC Solar came over to SolarDave's world headquarters to do a preliminary site evaluation (free) to see if my place is a good candidate for solar power.<br /><br />After looking it over Cary thought my house would work well for solar at around a 3 kilo watt system. I was kinda hoping for a 4kw system by adding solar panel awnings between the two windows on my south side of the house (I removed that part of the video) but Cary was concerned about the engineering to prevent those awning panels from being blown off the side of the house.<br /><br />So if you are interested in seeing what one of these free solar site evaluations is all about, or you want to see how your house solar position might compares to mine - check out this video.Title:What To Look For In A Solar Contractor Description:http://www.solardave.com/index.php/what-to-look-for-in-a-solar-contractor-video/<br /><br />SolarDave: What should I look for in a solar contractor?<br /><br />(Note that Cary is with REC Solar so his answer is going to be bias but he does bring up good points).<br /><br />Cary Hayes: Great question Dave...<br /><br />1) Experience. There are a 100 plus solar companies right now in Colorado. A lot of them are young upstart companies.<br /><br />2) Warranty....Choose a contractor that will provide a warranty for at least 5 years, ideally 10. Remember that the warranty is only as good as the company, so judge whether the company will be able to withstand a downturn in the market.<br /><br />SolarDave: How does the high winds in Colorado work with the warranty? (Act of God)<br /><br />Cary: We engineer systems for 120 mile an hour winds, especially in Boulder and up and down the front range, hurricane force winds a couple times a year so we make extra accommodations for increased wind loads, longer lag blots in to the rafters, structure engineering as required depending on the roof pitch and all that, that is certainly a factor for the warranty stuff that is covered.<br /><br />Along the lines of warranty are setting aside revenue in to a warranty fund (something smaller companies do not do). So you are setting aside funds for warranty work for the future.<br /><br />3) Subcontracting...Do they sub-contract electrical or other work? Choose a contractor that does not sub-contract. Sub contacting can lead to quality issues.<br /><br />4) Price...It is hard to get a true apples to apples comparison because companies use different products at didn't efficiencies. Research and understand what you are buying. Often times the lowest price is not the best call, sometimes it is, sometimes it is not.<br /><br />5) Certification...Do they have NABCEP certified electricians on staff? Do they have master-electricians on staff? Choose a contractor with someone who is NABCEP certified, and has a master electrician.<br /><br />6) Payment terms...Choose a contractor with favorable payment terms. You shouldn't be paying for a large portion up front. REC Solar asks for $1,000 up front.Title:Confusion with all the Green Building Ratings Description:http://www.solardave.com/index.php/confusion-with-all-the-green-standards-out-there/<br />SolarDave: Seems like there are a ton of standards out there from the City of Boulder Green Points, LEED points, HERS ratings - do your clients get as confused at I do with all these standards, do they even know about them or even care?<br /><br />Mary Coonce: You most of them that come in are aware of energy efficiencies and want them on their home - I don't know if they understand them completely but they know we match the green points and go above.<br /><br />I have had people really investigate the standards, there are a lot things you can do on a practical basis with the green points rating and the HERS programs and that kind of thing that are very energy efficient very natural that they used to do automatically like how the house would face, south facing north facing, window placement - one of the easiest things to do is cross ventilation. We have a lot of windows in our houses so that is not a problem but a lot of subdivisions like Rock Creek or DR Horton or that kind of thing is just as few windows as possible. A lot of the homes were not built to be naturally efficient.<br /><br />Getting back to your question Green Points, LEED points, HERS ratings - It is very confusing. It would be great if there was one standardized list. Every municipality has their own rules and guidelines it would be great if everybody had something a little more consistent.<br /><br />It does cost more money to build in an energy efficient way especially to the level that the city of Boulder wants.<br /><br />LEED certification is new to residential - they were mainly commercial for a while so now there is going to be an adjustment. I think Elisabeth Shutaka the one that led the green points program did a lot of research with the LEEDs program so I think there is a lot of overlap.<br /><br />But one sure way to know if you houses is energy efficient is to get a blower door test done - you seal up the whole house, you have a fan basically that blows air through and they can tell where there is leakage. That is not going to tell you what the solar efficiency is going to do. That is a test you are going to have to do a test on every house to ensure that they are energy tight.
Yahoo news related to namaste solar

Obama signs $787 billion stimulus bill in Denver museum (The Washington DC Examiner)
President Barack Obama, right, and Vice President Joe Biden tour the roof of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science with Blake Jones, left, CEO and President of Namaste Solar, to view the solar panel installation in Denver on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2009 before the signing of a $787 billion economic stimulus bill.

Obama, Biden At Stimulus Signing/Hippie Be-In: "Namaste" [Stimulus] (Gawker)
newVideoPlayer("/BidenNamaste2.flv", 506, 423,""); Obama chose the perfect face for his "signing the stimulus" party: a blonde, clean-cut young yuppie fellow who owns a small business. A small hippie...

Installer receives dream invitation (Rocky Mountain News via Yahoo! News)
Matthew Caryofilles got a phone call last week asking if he'd be available today for "a great opportunity" at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, where his company helped install hundreds of solar panels last year.

Google news related to namaste solar

Obama Signs Stimulus Packed With Clean Energy Provisions - New York Times  He was also introduced by Blake Jones, head of Namaste Solar Electric, a Colorado company that installed solar panels on governor’s mansion there. ...

Solar CEO to join president in Denver - Examiner.com  Joining them on the tour will be Namaste Solar CEO Blake Jones. Who? Blake Jones! The former Haliburton employee is one of three founders of Namaste Solar, ...

Obama signs massive stimulus - Long Beach Press-Telegram  ... Museum of Nature and Science with Blake Jones, left, CEO and President of Namaste Solar, to view the solar panel installation in Denver on Tuesday, Feb. ...

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