Every new house should be net negative energy.
Every old house that can be, should be renovated to add Efficiency and Solar.
R50 to R-100 insulation:
Wood Fiber reinforced Soy based insulating foam slabs.
New Construction: R35 6”x14.25”x96” slabs between studs/joists with a reflective foil on one side.
New and Retrofit: R-50 8”x16”x96” slabs mounted outside exterior walls with 3/8” Plywood on one side
Solar Heat and Hot Water:
2-4 Evacuated Tube or Flat Panel Solar Hot Water Collectors provide 100% of a houses Hot Water for Kitchen/Bath/Laundry
Reduce your spring/summer/fall fuel bill 75%
12-18 Collectors provide 80% of the heat required for home heating for the winter in addition to hot water.
Reduce your winter heating fuel bill 80%
28,000 BTU/day per collector for 20 tube Evacuated Tube Solar Collectors
Evacuated Tube Performance Comparison
Solar Hot Water - Flat Panel vs. Evacuated Tube
Solar Electricity:
# |
Manufacturer |
Model |
Power (STC) |
Price |
Price per Watt |
1. |
Talesun |
TP660P-235 |
235W |
$183.30 |
$0.75 |
2. |
Canadian Solar |
CS6P-235PX |
235W |
$190.35 |
$0.81 |
3. |
Eoplly |
E156P/60-230W |
230W |
$204.70 |
$0.89 |
4. |
Eoplly |
E156P/60-240BB |
240W |
$213.60 |
$0.89 |
5. |
Eoplly |
E156P/72-280W |
280W |
$249.20 |
$0.89 |
6. |
Talesun |
TP660PB-240 |
240W |
$220.80 |
$0.92 |
7. |
Talesun |
TP660PB-245 |
245W |
$225.40 |
$0.92 |
8. |
Suniva |
MPV285 |
285W |
$262.20 |
$0.92 |
9. |
Jinko |
JKM-235P |
235W |
$230.30 |
$0.98 |
10. |
EcoSolargy |
ECO230S156P-60 |
230W |
$227.70 |
$0.99 |
Solar Electric Panel Comparison Table
NREL PVWatts Solar Calculator
EPA Solar Checklist
Generate power at night for baseline loads:
1-5kW LPG/Natural Gas Fuel Cell Generator
BlueGen 1.5kW Natural Gas Fuel Cell Generator
With Solar for heat and hot water, only your stove, dryer and backup water heater will show up on your utility bills. Switch to Propane and eliminate your monthly minimum bill from the Gas Company.
When the technology becomes affordable, add battery storage.
Tesla Powerwall
(wholesale Tesla)
Lifetime 13+ years
Cycles 5,000
Run Time 2.9h
Volts 48V
Amps 40A
Power 2kW
kWh 7.00kWh
Derating 83%
kWh/cycle 5.80kWh
Total kWh 28,980
Total Cost $3,000
$/kWh $0.10
Tesla Powerwall
(retail distributor)
Lifetime 13+ years
Cycles 5,000
Run Time 2.9h
Volts 48V
Amps 40A
Power 2kW
kWh 7.00kWh
Derating 83%
kWh/cycle 5.80kWh
Total kWh 28,980
Total Cost $3,600
$/kWh $0.12
Aquion Energy
Model S20P 6*S20P
Lifetime 13+ years 13+ years
Cycles 5,000 5,000
Run Time 4.4h 4.4h
Volts 48-54V 48-54V
Amps 10A 60A
Power 480W 2.8kW
kWh 2.13kWh 13kWh
Derating 85% 85%
kWh/cycle 1.81kWh 11kWh
Total kWh 9,050 55,000
Total Cost $1,155 $6,930
$/kWh $0.13 $0.13
Aquion Energy
Model M100-L082P
Lifetime 13+ years
Cycles 5,000
Run Time 5.7h
Volts 48-54V
Amps 80A
Power 3.8kW
kWh 25.56kWh
Derating 85%
kWh/cycle 21.73kWh
Total kWh 108,650
Total Cost $15,795
$/kWh $0.15
Iron Edison
NiFe Battery
Model Industrial Series
Lifetime 25+ years
Cycles 10,000 10,000
Run Time 5h 5h
Cell Size 100A-hour 300A-hour
Volts 48V 48V
Amps [max] 20-50A 60-150A
Power 960W-2.4kW 2.9-7.2kW
kWh 4.8kWh 14.4kWh
Derating 80% 80%
kWh/cycle 3.84kWh 11.5kWh
Total kWh 38,400 144,000
Total Cost $3,880 $11,400
$/kWh $0.12 $0.13
Panasonic
NiMH Battery
Model BK-10V1S BK-10V10T
Lifetime 13+ years 13+ years
Cycles 5000 5000
Run Time 5h 5h
Cell Size 90A-hour 360A-hour
Volts 48V 48V
Amps [max] 18-45A 72-180A
Power 864W-2.2kW 3.5-8.6kW
kWh 4.3kWh 17.3kWh
Derating 80% 80%
kWh/cycle 3.5kWh 13.8kWh
Total kWh 17,280 86,400
Total Cost $???? $????
$/kWh $0.?? $0.??
RedFlow
ZnBr Flow Battery
Lifetime 14+ years
Cycles 5,000+ 5,000+
Run Time 2.7h 2.2h
Volts 48-52V 48-52V
Amps [max] 60A 96A
Power 3.0kW 5.0kW
kWh 8.00kWh 10.0kWh
Derating 100% 100%
kWh/cycle 8.00kWh 10.0kWh
Total kWh 40,000 50,000
Total Cost $7,100 $9,600
$/kWh $0.18 $0.19
Harvard University
Alkaline Quinone Flow Battery
Lifetime [replace cell membrane]
Cycles 20,000+
Run Time [tank size/flow rate]
Volts 48V
Amps [max] [cell area]
Power [flow rate @18.8Whr/L]
kWh [tank size 140Gal=10kWh]
Derating 100%
kWh/cycle Unlimited
Total kWh Unlimited
Total Cost Unknown
$/kWh Cost/[tank size]
The most promising technology is the Harvard University Alkaline Quinone Flow Battery. The Flow Battery uses 2,6-DHAQ [DiHydroAnthraQuinone] and Potassium Ferrocyanide, both in a 1 Molar solution of Potassium Hydroxide. This is rhubarb extract, a food additive and wood ash. The tanks can be made of cheap plastic [Polypropylene or High Density Polyethylene]. The tubing is PVC. The pumps are not much bigger than a fish tank pump [1.75L/min for 2kW]. You just need space enough for 2 large water heater sized tanks.
The incremental additional cost for a new house is now less than $15,000.
The retrofit cost for an existing house is less than $20,000.
Your savings are up to $250/month for Electric & Hot Water plus $1500-$2000/year for heating. In the south you can have Solar powered air conditioning which saves the same $1500-$2000/year.
Your payback period can be as short as 5 years. After that you get 20+ years of free energy.