Brief Updates

• NStar & National Grid Electric Customers: NStar & NGrid, along with WMECO and Cape Light, are paying $50 for that old refridgerator or freezer you have in your basement. As you can Imagine, old fridges use lots of electricity. Learn more here.
• The new energy conservation provisions of the state building codes take effect July 1st. It's called the Stretch Energy Code. It will make things "interesting" for builders and building inspectors but should be great for homeowners. In those towns that have adopted the Stretch Code, Builders must think about "cost of ownership," not just "cost of construction."
• I'll be teaching a class on how Solar Electric works and Solar Financing in Natick on July 15th. If you are interested or know someone who is, send them here. You'll also learn about solar thermal systems from my friend Peter Slota (Central New England Solar Store) and Jack Bingham will cover solar heating and cooling.
• I'll be performing in the River's Edge Players' (Hudson, MA) upcoming  presentation of "Urinetown" - Yes, I know, it's a strange name for a show. But it is a very funny comedy about water shortage in a (hopefully) alternative future. Performance dates are August 13 and 14. Get ticket information here.

Outstanding New Business Award

We are pleased to announce that the Assabet Valley Chamber of Commerce has named New England Breeze as the 2010 Outstanding New Business. We are proud to live and work among our neighbors and clients in the greater Hudson area. The Chamber hosted an award ceremony Tuesday June 22, 2010 at Harvest Café. Along with the Outstanding New Business Award, they also awarded the Maynard Leadership award to Selectperson Sally Bubier, Entrepreneurship Award to Don Garcia, the Regional community leadership award to Jan Patterson, and the Renovation Award to Paquette Family Dental Group.

Pictured (left to right): Dr. Roger Paquette of Paquette Family Dental, Jan Patterson of the Arts Alliance, Sally Bubier, Maynard Selectperson, Mark Durrenberger of New England Breeze, Don Garcia of Boyd Coatings.

Recent Installations - Holden and Jefferson

We have been busy in Holden Municiple Light Territory!  New England Breeze has installed 75% of all of solar electric systems in HMLD territory. The Holden Municipal Light Department has shown great enthusiasm for learning about solar potential for their customers. We hope other municipal utility companies are inspired by their leadership. (Click on the pictures to see larger versions in another window.)

5.04 kW Array in Jefferson	5.04 kW Array in Jefferson	1.9 kW Array in Holden

System Anniversaries - Lots of 'em

Two Years

Celebrating their second year of operation are Three systems in Northborough and one in Sudbury.  Happy anniversary to the 3.96kW Church array , 2.16kW Intrieri array (not pictured) and the 4.32kW Fishbein array. Our first pole-top array (5.04kW) in Sudbury also just passed its second year of operation. (Click on the images to see larger versions in another window.)

Northborough	Northborough	Sudbury

One Year

We have seven systems celebrating their first year of operation: Happy anniversary to sibling 1.9 kW sytems (put up by sisters) at the Dyer and Hall households in Auburn.   Happy anniversary to the Bhides for their 3.6 kW system in Hubbardston, Hat tip to the Augustine/Praetorius Residence in Maynard and their 4 kW array. Congrats to Peter and Anne for their 3.8 kW system in Hudson.  The Matos family is running near grid neutral with their 4.75 kW array in Cherry Valley (not pictured), and the Boover family is doing their part with their 2 kW array in Worcester. (Click on the pictures to see larger versions in another window.)

Auburn	Auburn	Hubbardston
Maynard	Hudson	Worcester

Thanks for using New England Breeze and don't forget, your systems still have 25 to 50 years of useful life, and past performance IS and indicator of future results!

The Mark of a Quality Installation - Inverters

Last month I wrote about the importance of buying solar panels from an established manufacturer. This time I will touch on how to select an inverter. The inverter is the unsung hero of the installation. While the panels show off on the roof and get all the attention, the inverter sits quietly near your electrical panel converting DC electricity from the solar array to AC power for your home.

Like solar panels, inverters come with warranties as well. Look for a 10 year warranty from the inverter manufacturers.  While a 10 year warranty is less than the warranty for solar panels (20 to 25 years) it's still longer than you'll get on ANY other electronic device (Imagine an iPod with a 10 year warranty :-) So why don't inverters have a 25 year warranty? Inverters, have sensitive electronics that adjust to solar conditions and maximize the energy output of your array.  Unfortuntatley some of the components in inverters wear out over time.

The good news is that an inverter is about 10% of the total system cost, and inverters are becoming more efficient. So when it is time to replace an inverter that is no longer fuctioning at its peak, it won't be expensive and it will perform better than the one you took out.

Popular solar inverter manufacturers include Solectria Renewables, SMA, PV Powered, Fronius, and Xantrex (Now Schnider Electric). For "Off Grid" and Battery systems, the most well known brand is Outback Power.

In more than fifty solar installations, we've used Solectria inverters on all but three projects. This means we have a great relationship with Solectria and since they are based in Lawrence, Massachusetts we get great support. Plus it is comforting to know we are supporting another local business.

Other benefits to using Solectria inverters? Commonwealth Solar II Rebate recipients receive an additional $0.10 per Watt on their grant and Solectria offers on-line monitoring (www.SolrenView.com) (Which we include in all of our installations.)