Solar Saves Lives: Backing Up Home Medical Equipment with Solar + Storage

Among the many uses of solar and battery storage, perhaps the least known, but maybe one of the most significant, is its implementation in backing up home medical equipment. There are a number of medical conditions that require equipment or climate control to be powered constantly or there may be fatal consequences. In these cases, solar + battery storage can literally be a lifesaver, because if blackouts do occur, the solar +  battery backup will be there to keep equipment running and the A/C on. Let’s take a look at the implications of solar + storage in powering home medical equipment, as well as some of the ways it has been implemented to help people with various medical conditions. How Does Solar + Battery Backup Work? The way solar battery backup works is quite simple. During the day, when the solar is producing more power than the home is using, the extra power is sent to the solar battery. The battery then stores as much extra power as it can (based on capacity) for use later when the sun goes down and the solar is not producing. If for whatever reason, power from the grid shuts off, the power stored in the battery will be used by the home. The more battery capacity the home has, the longer it can be powered by the solar battery. This setup can help prevent power outages in homes, even when there are widespread blackouts in the area. Why Backup Power Is Important Unfortunately for homeowners and renters in the San Diego area, rolling blackouts are going to become more common in the future, especially in the outlying areas of San Diego County. With the increasing number of wind-fueled fires in California in the last few years, (53,083 in 2018 alone) the utilities have come under the gun for being the cause of many of the fires. Pacific Gas and Electric in the bay area, for example, has declared bankruptcy as a result of lawsuits that found that they were responsible for the Carr Fire in Paradise, CA last year. To protect themselves, PG&E along with SCE and SDG&E have announced that they will increasingly be using rolling blackouts during times of high fire danger (high-wind events in the coming years. Since PG&E cut off power to 60,000 homes and SDG&E cut off power to 30,000 homes last year, there is no reason to doubt that they will be actively implementing blackouts again this year. So while many homeowners can handle 24 hours without power as simply an inconvenience, that is certainly not the case for many people who have medical conditions. Certain medical conditions like require machines that absolutely have to keep running in order to keep the patient alive. In such cases, even 30 minutes of downtime can be a life-threatening situation. That’s why, for people with these conditions, backup power is not an option; it is a necessity. So if you’re a Californian and you have such a condition, the news of these rolling blackouts by the utilities can be disturbing news. It makes power backup solutions even more important, and makes this even more critical of a time to find a solution.Medical Equipment that Requires Constant Power There are many medical conditions that require a constant source of power to fuel either their medical equipment, or to keep their climate controlled. Here is a list of the types of home medical equipment that require constant power to keep patients alive and healthy: Administration equipment - devices used to administer medication via tablets, liquids or aerosols.  Respiratory equipment - devices that are used to treat respiratory conditions by providing airflow. Example: CPAP machines for patients with Sleep Apnea. Those with Sleep Apnea can experience fatal consequences if their CPAP machine doesn’t keep their breathing regular and consistent. Climate Control - There are a number of diseases that can cause thermoregulatory disorders - basically an inability to control internal body temperature. Nervous system damage is often a cause of these, as well as diseases like Fibromyalgia and Multiple Sclerosis. Patients with these types of diseases have to have a well-controlled environment, as in a constant flow of A/C in the Summer, otherwise it can exacerbate their symptoms, and can even be fatal. Assistive Technology - devices used to enhance mobility, sight, hearing, etc. Durable Medical Equipment - devices used to move patients with limited mobility including lifts, beds, conveyors, elevators, etc. Meters and Monitors - any device that helps determine patients health or helps management of medication.  Voiding Equipment - Any equipment that helps the patient void bodily fluids.  Telehealth Equipment - Any equipment that gathers data from monitoring equipment and delivers it to another location for analysis. So as you can see, there are a number of categories of home medical equipment that absolutely require a constant flow of power in order to keep the patient healthy, whether it’s by administering medication, controlling the environment, or by delivering information to medical professionals. Even 30 minutes of downtime of any of these devices could have dangerous and even consequences, which is why having a secondary source of power is extremely important.  Increasing Numbers of Medical Devices at Home It’s no mystery that medical costs have increased dramatically over the past few years. As an indicator, in 2017 health care costs in the US were at $3.5 trillion, equaling 17.9% of GDP. Compare that to 1960, when health care costs were at $27.2 billion, or 5% of GDP. So Americans are spending more on healthcare, and it’s taking a toll on our wallets.  These cost increases have lead to more and more patients opting out of hospital care for in-home care. That has lead to an increase in implementation of in-home medical devices, and has expanded the range of devices being used in the home. Between 1995 and 2004, the number of Americans receiving in-home Medicare increased from 1.64 million to 8.3 million, and has been increasing dramatically ever since. From this we can infer that the number of medical equipment devices in the home has gone up along with those numbers.California is getting older. Not the state itself, but the demographics of its residents. The last of the Baby Boomer generation is now entering the senior age bracket, and, seeing as how they make up a large percentage of the population, seniors will be the fastest growing age group in the state in coming years. State projections estimate that by 2030, over 9 million Californians will be over the age of 65, and that within a decade over 20% of the states population will be seniors.  This substantial increase in the senior population means there will be a similar growth of in-home medical devices. If you combine that number with the ever-rising healthcare costs, the increasing blackouts due to increasing fires, and skyrocketing utility costs, you can see that this challenge is not going away. That’s why solar + storage will increasingly be the answer to this dilemma, providing one less age-related problem to worry about. Solar + battery storage is not just the safest and most dependable way to provide backup power, but is also the affordable and predictable way to keep costs under control. So, if you or a family member uses home medical equipment that has to be powered at all times, you should consider going solar and utilizing battery storage to make sure your equipment doesn’t go down during blackouts, or doesn’t make your power bills skyrocket. If you have solar + battery storage, you can be sure that your equipment will never be without power, so you can rest easy, even in times of high fire danger. Contact us today to get your free quote on solar + battery storage. and breathe easy.  

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20 Years of altE Store – Part II

Startup Memories   Last week I sat down with Sascha Deri, CEO of altE, to learn more about the company’s formative years. I asked if he started any companies before altE, and his answer surprised me. First there’s the people....
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20 Years of altE Store – Part I

From Antarctica to Zimbabwe (and most places in between)   Join the altE Store team on a trip down memory lane, as we celebrate 20 years of Making Renewable Do-able!   Back In The Day altE began in Maine in...
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Acting Now to Capture Renewable Energy Incentives That Expire Soon

California has always been on the forefront of sustainability in the US. Its policies have been written and changed to reflect that aim, providing financial incentives to consumers who buy electric cars and install solar, and consumers have followed suit. These incentives have been effective, by providing both financial and sustainability benefits, but what homeowners should know is that many of them are going away this year, so to get on sustainability train, and the money-saving train, homeowners should take advantage of the federal and state electric vehicle and solar incentives this year to take advantage of the financial benefits. Let’s take a look at those incentives and their expiration dates, so you can know why 2019 is the best year ever to buy an electric car and install solar.California Electric Car Incentives in 2019 As far as electric vehicles go, more than half of the nation’s electric vehicles reside in California. The adoption has been impressive: there was an 81% increase in registration of new electric vehicles in the state between 2017 and 2018. While this is still a good distance away from the state’s near-term goal of 1 million electric cars on the road by 2023, clearly the $854 million in rebates given out by the state since 2010 have had some significant effects. So what kind of incentives have sparked this adoption? Obviously, having an electric car has its embedded financial benefit: by charging your electric car at home, you no longer have to pay for gas. But what incentives have the government provided? The Federal EV Tax Credit The IRS is currently providing tax credits of $2,500 to $7,500 for new electric vehicles purchased in the United States. The way that it works is interesting, as the credit varies based on model of electric vehicle and how many units have sold. Most models start at a $7,500 credit, but then, when that particular model reaches 200,000 sales, it begins to phase out. The phase out is as follows: $7,500 for the first and second quarters after the model reaches 200,000 sales, which is considered a grace period. Then, after the grace period, it goes down to $3,750 for the next two quarters, then to $1,875 for the next two quarters, then it is phased out forever. List of EV Models that have Fading Tax Credits There are a number of electric vehicle models that have already hit the 200,000 limit and have phasing credits that expire in 2019. Here is a full list of the models, and their phaseout periodsSo if you’re looking to get one of the very popular Chevy EV’s this year is the last year you can get the substantial 50% or 25% rebate. The California Vehicle Rebate Project The California Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP) is a California electric vehicle incentive that provides up to $7,000 for the lease or purchase of new zero-emissions vehicles are that are eligible. If the applicant is from a low to medium income household, they qualify for higher rebates. Fuel cell electric vehicles get the highest rebates, and plug-in hybrid electrics get the lower-tier rebates. The CVRP ‘Rebate Now’ Program in San Diego If you’re a San Diego resident, the CVRP rebate has just become even more attractive. The Rebate Now program, which is available only in San Diego as a pilot program, allows residents to get preapproved for the rebate before even going to a car dealership. Even better, San Diego residents can use that preapproved rebate as a down payment for the EV, so they can go and pick up the electric vehicle by using only the rebate money. It’s an amazing program that all San Diego residents should look in to. So as you can see, between Federal, State, and local programs, getting an Electric vehicle has never been cheaper, and for some models, like the Chevy Bolt and Volt, which are extremely popular models, they will never be as cheap as they are now. The Electric Car and Solar Combination By now you’ve probably heard about the trend of electric vehicle owners going solar, and vice versa. There’s good reason, it really is a match made in heaven. With the combination of the two, you can use your solar to power your electric vehicle, which makes it so you don’t have to pay for gas, or the electricity needed to power the car. So you will literally be powering your car with clean, free energy from the Sun. It is the ultimate level of self sustainability, as well as money saving: a point at which where you no longer will be paying for power, or gas. As you can imagine, with rising gas and electricity prices, the compounding savings can be impressive. Those savings alone are substantial. Even without solar, switching from a gas to electric vehicle lowers your cost-per-mile from $.25/mile to about $.05/mile -- even buying that electricity from SDG&E -- and no money spent on tune-ups or oil changes; all you need to buy is tires every so often. If you also have solar, the cost drops to half that much ($.025/mile), unless your panels are paid off and then your cost-per-mile is zero!Solar Installation Incentives in 2019 Much like buying an electric car, there are incentives for going solar, both Federal and local. Unlike the Federal EV Tax Credits though, the Federal Solar Tax Credit, which is an income Tax Credit of 30% is going away for everyone after 2019. It phases out to 26% in 2020, 22% in 2021, and in 2022, goes away forever for residential installations, but stays at 10% for commercial installations indefinitely. So for homeowners who want to install the cheapest solar possible, 2019 is the last year they can get the full tax credit. So you see, there are some significant Renewable Energy Tax Credits that are expiring this year. This is the last year you’ll be able to get the substantial 30% Federal Solar Tax Credit as well as the Tax Credit on select electric vehicles like the popular Chevy Bolt, so if you should take advantage of those so you’re not leaving money on the table. You’ll not only be decreasing your carbon footprint, but you will be saving money by powering your home and your car with the Sun. Contact us today to get your free quote!  

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