This year the Solar Decathlon comes to the mall in DC.  For those that don’t know, it is where about 20 universities get together and their technical students that are studying Renewable Energy build a house and it must be able to be transported to the mall in DC and constructed and be self-reliant right there on the grass.  There are no power lines

that go to the mall, so, when you see the workings of these houses, you can be assured that they are producing what they are using.  I’m thinking about getting a group together from PA to go on a particular date, so if you are interested please email me and we can start working out the plans.  It goes from October 12 - 20 and is open to the public 11am -3pm on weekdays and 10am - 5pm on weekends.  October 17 is not a good day to go as the houses are closed for evaluation for the whole day.  They are judged on multiple levels and in the end there is 1 winning team.  I didn’t get to go the last time and I am itching to go this year.  It probably won’t happen again for another 2 years, so, let’s see how many would like to make a day of it and see what it will look like to have a modern home that can be completely self-sustaining.  You can check out http://www.solardecathlon.org for more info and you can email me at: stevem@ptd.net or steve@bluemoonenterprises.com to give your feedback. 

Why would I take a loan out and pay even more for my already expensive Renewable Energy System?  Well, you’re going to need energy anyway.  You’ll pay for it monthly for the rest of your life.  In some recent reading and discussions with some folks, it can actually make sense for some to use Solar Funding for their purchase. 

Like renting versus buying a home; You can “rent” power from the grid and never have any equity or you can “Fund” (Mortgage in essence) a Renewable Energy System for your home that will be yours in the end as you pay monthly just as you would for the power from the utility.  It will curtail the need for more Power Plants.  It will give you greater independence.  In the end it will pay for itself and continue to make energy when the payments have stopped.  Some of our customers have considered looking into it even though having the money now to pay for the system.  It is a way to keep their liquidity and have the system become a pay-as-you-go part of the house.

I’m delving into dangerous territory with this one.  One of our most recent customers that came on board uses woodstoves for heating in the winter and mentioned to me that they can take a certain amount of wood from the forest on their property that will naturally renew itself.  Jeremy had mentioned to me that 1/2 to 1 cord of wood can be taken from 1 acre and it will be healthy for the forest.  I have now read that a few places and it makes perfect sense to me anyway.  What I’ve read is that it is actually healthier for the forest because it allows for sun penetration to the forest floor and for new growth to be notched up somewhat. 

I’ve read this is not carbon neutral, but, I have come to the conclusion, at the latitude in which we live and if we want to eat, communicate, wash ourselves and travel to work in order to acquire the money needed to live, we will not be carbon neutral.  The key here is in being energy wise, in conservation of resources, not in the elimination of them.  Today’s very efficient woodstoves also burn so well that CO2 emissions are incredibly low, which by the way, that is what plants breathe.  I applaud those that use woodstoves and believe that, given the proper outlook and sensible usage, are actually bringing balance to our forest lands.  Besides, you’ll more than likely find that 1/2 to 1 cord as deadfall or a tree that should have already fallen.   THANKS FOR THE INSIGHT JEREMY!