Sweepstakes Entry-Home Efficient Ends 8/31

ENTER THE EFFICIENT HOME SWEEPSTAKES

Read the Official Rules | More About the Monitor and the Sweepstakes


Sweepstakes Prize: Blue Line Power Cost monitoring system and WiFi connector

Maybe you've been reading our many posts about the growing trend and benefits of home energy monitoring. Well, now's your chance to take part and track your home's energy usage by entering our sweepstakes for a chance to win a Blue Line monitor and WiFi that can be connected to Microsoft's Hohm online monitoring tool. Of course, in order to use it, you need to have access to your own home energy meter.

Read more about the prize and the sweepstakes here.

Enter today and good luck! You can enter once a day. We'll give away a monitoring system every week and the contest ends August 18 at noon. Be sure to read the official rules.

Good Luck Scotty




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Scott's Contracting
scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.com
scotty@stlouisrenewableenergy.com

2010 Building Products Awards

The 2010 Most Valuable Product Awards31 all-star wares for the home and jobsite.

• By Jennifer Goodman, Victoria Markovitz, and Katy Tomasulo
• Source: BUILDING PRODUCTS Magazine
• Publication date: 2010-08-15

Browse Articles

See all 26 Top-Level Categories

• Appliances (564)
• Cabinets, Closet & Garage Storage (382)
• Countertop Materials (234)
• Decking, Site & Landscaping (394)
• Doors (450)
• Elevators & Lifts (23)
• Faucets (442)
• Fireplaces (158)
• Flooring (360)
• Hardware (177)
• Home Technology (321)
• HVAC (381)
• Insulation & Moisture, Air & Pest Barriers (275)
• Lighting, Wiring Devices & Generators (453)
• Molding, Millwork & Stair Parts (134)
• Paints & Coatings (37)
• Plumbing Fixtures (641)
• Pools, Spas & Saunas (45)
• Roofing (281)
• Siding, Veneers & Exterior Trim (367)
• Software & Services (27)
• Structural Products & Systems (451)
• Tools & Equipment (828)
• Trucks (70)
• Wallboard, Paneling, Tile & Ceilings (272)
• Windows, Skylights & Sunrooms (481)

--
Scott's Contracting
scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.com
scotty@stlouisrenewableenergy.com

Solar Panel Trackers and Mounting Product Links

Solar Panel Trackers

Although solar panel trackers are expensive, (several thousands of dollars) they can produce more power in a day than a fixed array as they "track" the sun's path. Solar trackers are often used in water pumping applications to maximize daily production (30-40% improvement over static solar panel mounting). They are generally custom built and take one to three months to manufacturer. One drawback to trackers is that they are subject to failure, as is any mechanical device, and could possibly get stuck in one position until fixed. Trackers are best suited for a handy individual. Each manufacturer provides a sizing sheet according to the number of modules you have and the configuration. These sizing sheets are often found in the Product Documentation tab of each product's specification page.

Solar Panel Mounting

When it comes to solar panel mounting options, you really have many from which to choose. Plenty of people opt for simple solar panel roof mounts, but if you live in a heavily wooded area or different kind of climate, rest assured you have other options. If you have solar power panels or solar arrays and you want to maximize their efficiency by gathering the most power possible, you'll want to consider a solar tracker. By using a sun solar tracker you'll help your solar panel get the most sun possible throughout the day as it automatically points your solar array to a perpendicular line with the sun. This type of active sun tracker uses a special sensor and is motorized so that you can walk away but your solar panel is adjusting all day long. If you are ready to mount your solar panel, make sure you investigate all of the options available. Set up the appropriate ground mounted solar panel system, roof system or pole mounted system and save money while you generate your own power. Enjoy the freedom of the road and powering your RV with solar panels rather than expensive fossil fuels. 

Click Here to Go to Solar Panel Tracking Web Site

 

Renewable Energy Facts-Aug 2010

By sampurl

Renewable Energy will soon become second nature

Below are some Renewable Energy facts that you might find interesting. We would also like to hear from you if you have additional facts that we have not included. You can submit your entires at the foot of this email. In the meantime, here are the facts you were looking for..

 SOLAR

1. If it could be properly harnessed, enough sunlight falls on the earth in just one hour to meet world energy demands for a whole year
2. Ever the innovator, Albert Einstein won the Nobel Prize in Physics 1921 for his ground-breaking experiments with solar power and photovoltaics
3. A world record was set in 1990 when a solar-powered aircraft flew across the USA in 21 stages, using no fuel at all
4. About half of worldwide production of solar panels is consumed by Japan. Their purpose is mostly for grid connected residential applications
5. The sun is 109 times bigger than the Earth. The sun's radius being 696,000km and the Earth's radius 6, 376km
6. The sun's average surface temperature is 5700 C. The Earth's average temperature is 20 C. And we are worrying about global warming of some 3C!
7. Solar radiation of about 19% is absorbed by the atmosphere, and clouds reflect a further 35% of the total solar energy. Therefore solar energy received a sea level is much less. Its peak power is generally accepted to be 1,020 W/m²
8. Solar cells have about a 15% efficiency rate in converting that energy. Therefore solar panels deliver only 19 to 56 W/m² or 0.45-1.35 kWh/m²/day of that average power. But that does not make solar energy inefficient!
9. The average solar energy falling on Australia is equivalent to about 15.000 (fifteen thousand!) times the nation's present total energy use. At 15% conversion rate that is still more than 2000 times the present need, providing we could capture it all
10. Africa's Sahara desert, assuming 15% efficient solar cells, could generate more than 450 tarawatt (TW) per year. Current annual global energy consumption, including fossil and renewable sources is about 13 TW
11. It only takes 1% of the earth's deserts solar energy to provide more electricity than is currently produced by fossil fuels

WIND

1. The largest wind turbine in the world, located in Hawaii, stands 20 storeys tall and has blades the length of a football pitch
2. One wind turbine can produce enough electricity to power up to 300 homes
3. An average wind speed of just 14mph is needed to convert wind energy into electricity; that shouldn't be too hard to come by most countries!
4. There is evidence that wind energy was used to propel boats along the Nile as early as 5000BC
5. The earliest known windmills were in Persia (Iran) and looked like large paddle wheels
6. In 200BC people in China and the Middle East used windmills to pump water and grind grain
7. The UK is the windiest country in Europe, so much so that they could power the whole country several times over using wind energy
8. Wind is the fastest growing energy source worldwide
9. Below 8-10 mph wind speed, wind turbines do not generate power and have to cut out for safety reasons above 56 mph
10. In 2007 it was estimated that only 1 - 2% of the worlds energy supply comes from a renewable wind energy source
11. In recent years wind energy has provided for over 20% of the power consumption of Denmark, providing energy for a large number of homes and businesses throughout the country each year.
12. As of 2005, wind energy has successfully provided for roughly 1% of the world's energy needs, with the United States being the third largest wind energy producing country in the world and Germany holding steady as the leader in renewable energy sources.
13. Experts estimate that in the United States alone if the 10 windiest states were to fully utilize their available wind sources the energy produced could offset the entire coal-based power production facilities currently being used and replace them entirely.
14. If properly developed, wind power could successfully reduce carbon emissions in the US by at least one third every year and help realize a global carbon dioxide reduction of 4% yearly.
15. When power provides excellent supplement all income as well, as a landowner with a single utility-scale turbine installed on their property could realize financial gains above at least $2000 a year.
16. Developing and maintaining a wind turbine power generator is also an excellent source for jobs and has helped provide income for thousands of families in rural areas that may not necessarily be available otherwise.
17. A basic wind energy generator can be developed at home with basic materials that may be available at your house for a relatively cheap price, allowing for affordable energy production with significantly little cost – something that may not be available in other forms of energy production.
18. It is estimated that if offshore energy farms were to be developed to feed power directly back into local power grids then the entire energy needs of countries such as the United States could easily be covered as offshore wind energy generators can produce energy at roughly 7 times the efficiency of their onshore variants. 
19. In order to replace all energy consumption needs of the world with wind power production approximately 13% of all land will need to be developed for wind energy purposes, assuming the placement of six large wind power generators per square kilometer in any given area 80 meters above sea level in order to maximize wind energy potential. This can of course be lowered if we were to rely upon offshore wind energy production facilities as well as onshore ones. 
20. As further developments in wind energy production continue to drive down the costs necessary to establish wind energy producers and other developments come about, such as the implementation of vertical axis wind turbines over the traditional horizontal axis wind turbines, wind power is becoming increasingly common even in cities where generators can be found on the tops of some skyscrapers and high-rises residential buildings alike.

WATER

1. Water as a renewable energy power source has been grinding grain for over 2000 years.
2. Water is the most commonly used renewable energy resource, providing enough power to meet the needs of 28.3 million people

GEOTHERMAL

1. In the Philippines, geothermal power provides 18% of their energy thanks to the presence of volcanoes.
2. The geothermal energy from the core of the Earth is closer to the surface in some areas than in others. Where hot underground steam or water can be tapped and brought to the surface it can be used to generate electricity
3. Those clever old Romans not only gave us the modern drainage system and many of our roads, they were also among the first to use geothermal energy to heat houses

BIOENERGY

1. 125 years ago biomass was providing up to 90% of our energy needs through the use of wood
2. Liquid biofuels account for around 2% of road transport fuels worldwide but growth rates and future potential are significant
3. Woody biomass includes forest products and short rotation coppice (such as willow which are quick to grow and therefore easy to sustain)
4. Non-woody biomass includes animal waste, industrial and biodegradable municipal products from food processing and high energy crops such as rape, sugar cane and Maize
5. 40,000 head of cattle can produce enough manure feedstock to generate 5 MW of electricity through biogas.
6. Ethanol has a higher octane rating than normal gasoline.
7. Biodiesel can be made with waste oil from restaurant deep fryers.
8. The main byproduct of biodiesel is glycerine which has over 1,500 applications including food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
9. Ethanol has been used as a motor fuel in North America since the early 1900s. Ethanol gas blends were used in several states during the Second World War.

Please submit your own facts so that we can add them to our growing list. The easiest way of doing this is to look below and enter your submission in the 'add your comments' box. Your fact could even be featured across the site in our 'fact of the week' feature! We will credit your name and company if you are successful. Thanks in advance and we look forward to reading your submissions.

--
Scott's Contracting
scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.com
scotty@stlouisrenewableenergy.com

EPA denies climate change challenges

29 July 2010 -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency denied 10 petitions challenging its 2009 determination that climate change is real, is occurring due to emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities and threatens human health and the environment.

EPA said the petitions to reconsider its Endangerment Finding claim that climate science cannot be trusted, and assert a conspiracy that invalidates the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the U.S. National Academy of Sciences,and the U.S. Global Change Research Program. The agency said after months of serious consideration of the petitions and of the state of climate change science, EPA "finds no evidence to support these claims." In contrast, EPA’s review shows that climate science is "credible, compelling and growing stronger."

The basic assertions by the petitioners and EPA responses follow.

Claim: Petitioners say that emails disclosed from the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit provide evidence of a conspiracy to manipulate global temperature data.
Response: EPA reviewed every e-mail and found this was simply a candid discussion of scientists working through issues that arise in compiling and presenting large complex data sets. Four other independent reviews came to similar conclusions.

Claim: Petitioners say that errors in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report call the entire body of work into question.
Response: Of the alleged errors, EPA confirmed two in a 3,000-page report. The first pertains to the rate of Himalayan glacier melt and second to the percentage of the Netherlands below sea level. IPCC issued correction statements for both of these errors. None of the errors undermines the basic facts that the climate is changing in ways that threaten our health and welfare.

Claim: Petitioners say that because certain studies were not included in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, the IPCC itself is biased and cannot be trusted as a source of reliable information.
Response: These claims are incorrect. In fact, the studies in question were included in the IPCC report, which provided a comprehensive and balanced discussion of climate science.

Claim: Petitioners say that new scientific studies refute evidence supporting the Endangerment Finding.
Response: Petitioners misinterpreted the results of these studies. Contrary to their claims, many of the papers they submit as evidence are consistent with EPA’s Finding. Other studies submitted by the petitioners were based on unsound methodologies. Detailed discussion of these issues may be found in volume one of the response to petition documents, on EPA’s website.

3.5 Billion Robbed from Renewable Energy Fund

With the reported 3.5 Billion Dollars taken from the Renewable Energy Fund.  Its obvious that the US Government is not serious about Global Warming and is not interested in helping the Common Man by creating jobs that will actually benefit the USA.  More evidence that Our Elected Politicians Votes are being influenced by the Campaign Contributions of Big Oil and Big Coal. 

Congress passes legislation partly funded by renewable energy loan guarantee program

10 August 2010-- The U.S. House of Representatives on August 10 approved legislation to provide $26 billion to states for Medicaid and emergency aid. President Obama signed the bill the same day.

The legislation will use $1.5 billion in funding from the renewable energy loan guarantee program through the Department of Energy. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) said in letters to the president, the Senate and the House that the $1.5 billion cut, along with a previous $2 billion that was "borrowed" to fund the Cash for Clunkers program, from the almost $6 billion program could send the solar industry into a tailspin and that the funds need to be replaced.

I encourage everyone to contact your Representatives in the House and Senate.  If you need assistance in find your Representative I will lend a hand.  Scotty

--
Scott's Contracting
scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.com
scotty@stlouisrenewableenergy.com

Response to your message to Organizing for America

Dear Friend,

Thank you for contacting Organizing for America, the grassroots movement that's working to help President Obama bring change to America. This movement was built by people like you, and your input will always drive it.

If you're contacting us because you're interested in getting involved with Organizing for America in your community, please visit:

www.BarackObama.com

As a grassroots organization, we value input from Organizing for America supporters like you. If you have feedback to share, please take a moment to fill out a short survey:

http://my.barackobama.com/infosurvey

Due to the extremely large number of email messages we're currently receiving, we may be unable to respond to your message individually, but we do appreciate hearing from you and hope you'll work with us as we build America's future together.

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People like you across the country built the biggest, most comprehensive campaign in American history, but electing President Obama was just the first step. With your support and involvement, we can sustain and grow our grassroots movement to enact the change our country desperately needs.

Thank you,

Organizing for America

--
Scott's Contracting
scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.com
scotty@stlouisrenewableenergy.com