Solar Queen Amy Beaudet was best known to the world as a great educator through her DIY solar power YouTube videos for altE. But those of us who knew her personally knew that her passion for and understanding of solar...
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The post Amy’s 5 Favorite Videos of All Time appeared first on Solar Power News & DIY Solar Tips.
Solar Queen Amy Beaudet educated and inspired millions of viewers in the 11 years she was making YouTube videos. From researching and shooting to editing, publishing, and engaging in the comments, she was a one-woman show and a fountain of...
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The post Amy’s 5 Most Popular Videos of All Time appeared first on Solar Power News & DIY Solar Tips.
Note that unless otherwise noted, this article focuses on solar panels utilizing crystalline silicon (c-Si) cells – by far the most common type of cell currently used in solar panel manufacturing. It’s no surprise that as solar PV has become...
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The post Solar Panel Size: What You Need to Know as Large Solar Panels Go XL appeared first on Solar Power News & DIY Solar Tips.
Solar panels are so durable and work for such a long time that you may never have considered what to do with them when one breaks or the array finally stops producing power. But nothing lasts forever – and if...
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The post Recycling Solar Panels, Batteries & Solar Equipment appeared first on Solar Power News & DIY Solar Tips.
There are two versions of the Federal Solar Tax Credit: the Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit (a personal tax credit) and the Business Energy Investment Tax Credit (corporate tax credit). This article pertains to the residential version. One of the...
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The post How to Claim the Federal Solar Tax Credit – Form 5695 Instructions appeared first on Solar Power News & DIY Solar Tips.
Amy Beaudet, affectionately known as ‘The Solar Queen’ and a pioneer in the field of renewable energy, passed away on Sunday, May 2, 2021 at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. She was 55 years old. Beaudet, a 14-year...
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The post It is with a very heavy heart that we share the news of the passing of our beloved Solar Queen appeared first on Solar Power News & DIY Solar Tips.
bluShift Aerospace launched the Stardust 1.0 prototype sounding rocket from the Loring Commerce Centre in Limestone, Maine, marking Maine’s first commercial rocket launch and the world’s first commercial rocket launch powered by bio-derived fuel. On January 31, 2021, just as...
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The post Solar and Rockets in Maine – A Match Made in the Heavens appeared first on Solar Power News & DIY Solar Tips.
The US Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (commonly known as the Solar ITC) will step down to a new, lower rate on January 1, 2021. After starting out in 2006 as a 30% tax credit, in 2020 we saw the...
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The post The 2021 Federal Solar Tax Credit Step Down appeared first on Solar Power News & DIY Solar Tips.
It’s time. Your RV or boat’s lead acid battery bank had a good run, but just isn’t able to hold a charge anymore – so what should you do? Using desulphators could help squeeze some more life out of it,...
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The post Replace Lead Acid Batteries with Lithium for Marine and RVs – Why & How appeared first on Solar Power News & DIY Solar Tips.
It’s now been a full year since altE acquired Real Goods, the California-based purveyor of solar and off-grid living supplies – and what a year it’s been! 2020 has thrown a lot at us all, and the challenge of integrating...
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The post altE’s Acquisition of Real Goods: 1 Year Later appeared first on Solar Power News & DIY Solar Tips.
NEC 690.12 Rapid Shutdown of PV Systems on Buildings – Part 2 Charge Controllers Rapid Shutdown Recap When last we met, we discussed NEC 690.12 Rapid Shutdown requirements for inverters. For Part 2 of the blog, we are going to...
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The post Rapid Shutdown Blog Part 2; Charge Controllers appeared first on Solar Power News & DIY Solar Tips.
Rapid Shut Down In 2014, the National Electrical Code included a new requirement. 690.12(1) through (5) A short requirement, only six sentences. PV system circuits installed on or in buildings shall include a rapid shutdown function that controls specific conductors...
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The post NEC 690.12 Rapid Shutdown of PV Systems on Buildings – Part 1 Inverters appeared first on Solar Power News & DIY Solar Tips.
What do you get when you cross one partner’s love for coffee and baking, with the other’s can-do attitude and draw to renewable energy? A solar-powered café on wheels. The Dream Years ago, Kathy Reinert pondered how best to channel...
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The post Two Ways To Get Amped, Three Ways To Get Charged appeared first on Solar Power News & DIY Solar Tips.
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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The post Earth Day Turns 50 This Year appeared first on Solar Power News & DIY Solar Tips.
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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The post 6 Thoughts About Social Distancing and Self-Sufficiency from the Off-Grid Living Experts at Real Goods appeared first on Solar Power News & DIY Solar Tips.
Solar installers and vendors gathered from across the world for altE’s 9th annual Solar Conference February 24th through 26th, at the Devens Common Center in Devens, MA. The solar conference was three days of learning, networking, and earning valuable NABCEP...
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The post Looking Back At altE’s 9th Annual Solar Installer Conference appeared first on Solar Power News & DIY Solar Tips.
It’s no secret that the altE Solar Installer Conference is a destination event for, well, solar installers, from around the world. Did you know it’s also a great place to learn the basics of solar? Each year altE hosts two...
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The post Learn the Basics of Solar at altE’s 9th Annual Solar Installer Conference appeared first on Solar Power News & DIY Solar Tips.
The Hudson-Athens Lighthouse in Upstate New York was first commissioned in 1874. It served as a guiding light for ships navigating the busy lanes passing by Hudson and Athens in the late 19th century, helping them avoid the Middle Ground...
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The post Off-Grid Holiday Lights – The Hudson-Athens Lighthouse appeared first on Solar Power News & DIY Solar Tips.
Sunlight doesn’t just power your solar panels – it heats your batteries. With fewer hours of sunlight per day, winter is the time of year when it’s most important to make sure the energy storage component of an off-grid solar system or grid-tie...
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The post How to Keep Solar Batteries Warm in Winter appeared first on Solar Power News & DIY Solar Tips.
October 2019 saw the largest power outage in California’s history. Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) cut power to 700,000 California homes and businesses, and many (including Real Goods) were without grid power for 60 hours or more. While PG&E...
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The post How to Prepare for the Next PG&E Blackout appeared first on Solar Power News & DIY Solar Tips.
