We’re Essential: Solar Installation Officially OK’ed by California Energy Commission

It’s a good day for California solar installers and homeowners in the state looking to go solar. That's because two days ago, the California Energy Commission (CEC) put out an official statement clarifying that, under the statewide orders in response to COVID-19, solar installers are considered essential electricity industry workers. That means that we are officially authorized to install, which means we can fulfill our contracts and keep our employees on the payroll.  Under Gavin Newsome’s Executive order to combat COVID-19, the California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) State Public Health Officer has ordered that everyone stay at home with the exception of anyone who works at what is considered an “essential” job. Essential jobs, as defined by the CDPH, are any that are required in order to maintain the operations of critical infrastructure sectors. The full list of essential jobs can be found here, but some examples of these critical sectors include energy, food and agriculture, information technology, and transportation systems. It was unclear as to whether solar installers were included under energy, until April 27 when the CEC made its clarification. The official list of essential workers in the energy industry includes any workers who are needed to maintain or ensure the transmission of power to homes and businesses. This includes workers that are required for power generation, or workers like electricians that are required for maintaining existing electrical systems or building new ones at construction sites. Fortunately, since installing solar and battery storage can contribute to the resilience of energy infrastructure in the state, solar installers fall under this “essential” label, as they are important for ensuring an uninterrupted power supply to homes and businesses. Since solar can help contribute to more stable energy infrastructure, and is therefore considered essential, it means that the state is officially encouraging local agencies to permit the construction of solar systems on homes and businesses. This includes both solar and battery systems, on both new and existing structures. What does this mean for you? It means that if you’re a homeowner, you can officially get a solar system permitted and installed, and in fact, it’s encouraged. So if you’ve been holding off because you thought that maybe solar installation wasn’t considered “essential”, you officially have the green light. Not only will you have a consistent source of energy, you will be saving money in these times of financial uncertainty for many families. What does it mean for us? It means that we are permitted to operate at full capacity, which means that we are able to market, sell, design, and install solar and battery storage systems on both homes and businesses. That means that our employees, including the installers, designers, energy consultants, marketing staff, and everyone in between, are able to get back to work. This means paychecks in their hands, and food on the table for their families, which we can all be grateful for. So we are obviously very excited about this clarification by the CEC and the fact that we are considered essential. The entire staff at Stellar Solar is thankful to be back to work, and are enthusiastic to help homeowners save money on their power bills by switching to solar. So if you’re a San Diego homeowner who is ready to make the switch, give us a call today. You’ll be saving money, fighting climate change, and helping a business that provides hundreds of jobs to San Diego residents who are being impacted by this crisis just like you.

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Earth Day Turns 50 This Year

Earth Day will be celebrated for the 50th time this year, with the theme “taking action on climate change“. We plan to celebrate by doing what we do every day – working to give everyone the opportunity to use clean,...
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Tesla Powerwall + SunPower Panels: a Match Made in Solar Heaven

Solar + battery storage systems are all the rage these days. Due to the power outages last year that really affected the state of California, and in particular homes in the rural areas, many homeowners have been looking into solar +  battery storage to serve as backup power for when future rolling blackouts occur. So for those homeowners that are looking into the solar + battery storage, they should know that the Tesla Powerwall + SunPower panels is the most powerful combination out there. Let’s take a look at both products and their features to see why the Tesla Powerwall + SunPower panels is a match made in solar heaven. First, let’s talk about SunPower and their new A-Series of solar panels. The A-Series panels, which are 400 watts, are the most efficient panels commercially available. Higher efficiency means they produce more power in a smaller space, which ultimately means more savings for the homeowner. The output of SunPower panels, plus their unmatched durability and low production degradation rate, means that over the lifetime of the solar panel they are going to produce 60% more energy compared to a conventional panel. That means that homeowners are going to save a lot more on their power bills over the lifetime of the system, especially as electric rates go up over time. When it comes to the installation, the A-series boasts fewer points of failure -- a simplified design that can be installed much more quickly and a smaller chance of things going wrong during installation. The A-series panels also have a lifetime warranty of 25 years which is an industry-leading warranty. Many panels are only guaranteed for 10 years and therefore, A-series panels are guaranteed to produce more power over a longer lifetime, compared to  conventional panels. So clearly, SunPower panels are the superior solar panels and a great product overall. But What about the Tesla Powerwall? As far as solar batteryes go, Tesla Powerwalls are by far the most popular. It is partly due to the prestigious Tesla brand, but it’s also because of their superior quality. Let’s look at the reasons why the Tesla Powerwall is the most popular solar battery on the market.The Tesla Powerwall is the solar battery we are recommending at the moment for several reasons: Cost. Believe it or not, even though the Tesla name is so well known thanks to the Tesla electric vehicle which is a premium and somewhat expensive automobile, compared to all the other energy storage devices and batteries that are currently on the market, the Tesla Powerwall is really very cost-competitive. Another reason why it's a great product is it has a built in inverter and the battery management system is also built-in. When you go with some other systems that we've looked at, those are all separate components that have to be purchased and installed separately but with the Tesla Powerwall, all those components are combined and integrated as a single unit.  Battery Management System. The battery management system of the Tesla Powerwall is very important because the battery is constantly being filled up and then depleted and when you're hooking the SunPower panels to it, we want to make sure of that. We are using  solar energy to fill the battery up and then running the home off of the battery and so there's a lot of flow in and out and that has to be managed seamlessly. Modular Gateway. Another reason why Tesla Powerwall is a great component is because they have what's called a modular gateway. The reason a “gateway” is needed for emergency power is that the backup battery and the utility can’t both be supplying power to the main circuit breaker box – otherwise (in the case of a blackout), the power from your battery could flow out onto the grid and into your neighbor’s house, quickly depleting your battery. Instead, there needs to be a secondary, parallel service panel for the home, powered by the battery and separate from your main (utility-powered) service panel. In the case of the blackout, house power switches from the main panel to the backup, parallel panel, powered by the battery. This automatic switch and the backup panel is called the “gateway.” Integrated System. In some systems, all these components have to be installed and connected separately but with the Tesla Powerwall, the gateway is a compatible module meant to connect easily to the Powerwall itself. That means it's a much easier installation and we can get a permit for it very quickly. All these components are meant to go together, which is a really really big plus if you want emergency backup power while you're doing the solar and the batteries. Easily Programmable. Last but not least, one of the reasons we think that the Tesla Powerwall is one of the best products to use with SunPower panels is because it's so easy to program. It's really customer friendly because its plug-and-play user interface is really simple to use.   Why is that important? Well a lot of the reason that people get batteries right now is not just the emergency backup capability but also to be able to power your home with the battery when the utilities price is very high! From 4p.m. to 9 p.m. in the summer, the cost of electricity from SDGE is almost twice as much as it is during the middle of the day and what a lot of our customers are doing is programming the batteries so that from 4 to 9 p.m. in the summer, you're running all of your power off the solar-powered battery. Then during the daytime, the battery fills up with solar power and then from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. it discharges So that programming is something that you can do on your battery or we can help you with it but it's really very easy and the Tesla Powerwall makes it easy and convenient even with a phone app to do that programming and that's just not true of a lot of other batteries on the market today. So, Tesla Powerwall + SunPower panels: a great combination, match made in heaven, and very easy for us to work up a quote for you. So, if  you live in San Diego or Orange County and you're interested in the batteries either for emergency backup or to further cut the cost of your utility power - contact us today, and we’d be very happy to put that quote together for you.

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6 Thoughts About Social Distancing and Self-Sufficiency from the Off-Grid Living Experts at Real Goods

The 2020 coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has – to put it mildly – created a lot of uncertainty for people all around the world. By now, hopefully you are doing your part to practice the self-quarantining or “social distancing” behaviors recommended...
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