Vara USA

Joe’s Flow – Energetic Thinking Direct from the Sun’s Reflection, Vol 8

Admin — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 17:50:10 +0000

Okay, so here I am, reclining in my Tesla Model S at the Marlton, New Jersey Supercharger (writing where there is no possibility of hitting my head!) Why am I here charging when I have 11.02kW of home solar and two Tesla wall chargers? Easy one. Tesla pays for my electric!! So when I need 75 kWh after a 150-mile round trip to Cape May I’m not burning my meter for 75 kWh in a single shot. 75 kWh represents my highest ever summer generation for a single day. I use my home charger as a supplement for my day to day local driving, but not for the big charges if I can at all help it.

Well, you may have to do all your charging at home if you own a different brand of EV, or didn’t buy a Tesla before 2017, so how much electricity does an EV consume? If you do the average of 15,000 miles per year, quite a bit! My five years of EV driving have yielded an average of 315 watts per mile; not bad for a large vehicle driven with a heavy foot! That 315 equals approximately 1 kWh every 3 miles. Divide 15K by 3 and you get 5000 kWh.

That is a lot of kilo-fish! (I call ’em fish because I catch them like a fisherman when they willingly jump into my solar nets). Most residential arrays will require a minimum of 4 kw to provide roughly 4500-4800 kWh annually. Two cars will require approximately 8 kw of solar dedicated solely to EV charging if all the charging is done from home.

Thankfully, there are ways to reduce the cost of home EV charging. Through your car’s app, or the app provided by your brand of charger, you can schedule charging to occur during nighttime, off-peak hours, allowing your excess electricity to flow back into the grid during peak hours.

Another way to reduce infrastructure costs is to install an EV charger-ready inverter like the one SolarEdge offers. For a big vehicle, I’d prefer the SE7600W with a J1772 plug. Tesla offers an adapter for this plug, plus it fits most other vehicles for home charging at up to 30 amps. VaraUSA can get that done when paired with your new or existing SolarEdge array. There is also a slightly smaller unit (the SE3800W) which works at 16 amps for smaller sized arrays and EV applications. Yes, size matters. Big EVs use more kWh than smaller ones. The same applies if you’re looking for more generation or faster home charging.

Powering an EV off the grid is better than ever. Gasoline isn’t burned. Hydrocarbons and CO2 are reduced. Feeling good about driving again is possible!

Yes, Vara USAⓇ can help you even when it comes to getting you on the road clean.

So what’s next?

Check back for another blog before the Holidays!!

Joe’s Flow – Energetic Thinking Direct from the Sun’s Reflection, Vol 7

Admin — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 17:56:54 +0000

Gardening is a Constant Battle

Gardening is a constant battle. Pull weeds one day, seems like a whole new bunch grows the next, right? So the other day, whilst puttering away as the proverbial hands-on landscape maintainer I am . . . I’ve done this weed pull once if not a million times, right? But today is different. Working along the side of the home where the mass of my older solar equipment from my first 2 PV installs are mounted (3 inverters, 3 cut off switches, 3 meters and meter boxes and so on), I’m pulling weeds from the plant beds like a madman! While stooped over, my tilted and blood-rushed brain has allowed me to become just a bit disoriented. I’ve lost my mental GPS connection, and as I rise up, you guessed it – BOINK! My head hits hard right into . . . was it a meter? A meter box? A cut off switch? An inverter? Stars and planets? Yikes! Birds & butterflies? Anybody get the license plate?

I’m seeing it all spinning right before me at this moment.

I stumble a step back and look at that mass of wall mounted equipment that was required less than 15 years ago for the older string-style solar PV systems. They are reliable, yes, but every set of panels at any angle together needs an inverter! 3 different roof angles means 3 different inverters! 5 means 5 different exposures? You got it. More inverters or less production. Oh no! All those shut offs and switches and wire conduit runs and the total industrialization of my home’s roof and exterior walls. Most homeowners wanted no part of it. “You’re not turning my beautiful home into a power plant!”

That was then, and I had no choice but to grin and bear it to get where I wanted to be. But wait. Now there’s a new choice on the scene.

Thank heaven for the 2020’s!

How about this instead: 1 properly sized SolarEdge Inverter connected to as few as 5, or as many as 60 panels, all at different angles, roof slopes, sun exposures, etc, but each panel with one simple addition; the oversight of our new hero, the ever helpful, ever reacting, ever adjusting Optimizer

The Optimizer now allows for all this:

Saves wire runs
Preserves the appearance of your home, roof or mount areas
Saves installer time
Makes your system more efficient, more effective, and more reliable
Nets you more production
Makes the system easier to monitor and repair, with less isolation switches
Allows all those panels to be connected to as few as just one inverter up to its maximum design load
Gives each individual panel the best possible chance of generation every single day, no matter how it’s placed in relation to every other panel in the circuit!
Total design and construction freedom to leverage every single inch of your roof space for maximum solar return.

All of these things add up to cost cuts and a faster return on investment. WOW!

In short. Life is better with our giggling buddy the Optimizer. Please take it from me. With a VARASOLAR® system by VaraUSA there’s no head banging required on your part to find out how to do it right. Let us help you find the perfect solution for your home energy needs, because solar PV is what we love to do.

Next up: what kind of PV generation does it take to sun fuel a 2019 TESLA Model S annually?

Joe’s Flow – Energetic Thinking Direct from the Sun’s Reflection, Vol 6.

Admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 17:59:19 +0000

Jooooooe

Well, it wasn’t the first time I heard her call me, so I immediately recognized the tone of distress. Uh oh! I’m in some kinda hot water for sure! I gently replied upstairs to the bathroom,

“What is it sweetie?” (Surely putting the best face on this dire situation. Seat up . . . again?) A shout back.

“There’s NO HOT water for my shower! How can I take a shower without hot waaater?”

“Oh no!” I thought. There’s no worse curse than being in hot water because there is no hot water!

“Let me look into it!” said I, the ever-responsive Dark Knight of Repairs, Restorations and the Ridiculous. The trick is to voice no immediate panic – yes this has happened before. The Ecosmart 27K self-modulating hot water system installed by Vara USA® has turned off before. I’ve been down this road a few times. You see, this eco-beast technology reads grid line fluctuations caused by storms, wind, and line gremlins (bugs, anomalies), and then protects itself by quickly shutting down the tender hardware if required. And we had a whopper of a storm the night before! I went downstairs to my basement, simply powered off the unit, waited a minute or so for a full reboot, and then powered it right back up and adjusted that output water temp to a blazing 135 degrees.

“Try it now sweetie. The pipe feels warmer down here.”

“It’s working! It’s working!! Hot water! Hoo-ray!! My hero!!!”

Sheesh. All that for flipping a switch a few times. (PS – I’ll take it.)

I changed out my methane hot water tank about eight years back. I went full home on-demand electric. I feel flipping switches is easier than, say, relighting a methane pilot. Oh, and there’s no carbon monoxide venting required (who needs that?) Just run that power feed anywhere you need to and hot water is possible, even for a pool! There’s no worry of a methane explosion, say, from a high volume methane on-demand system. And since I collect my own solar energy right on site, I don’t pay very much for electricity to make hot water or use anything else. So I’m the guy who knows just about every bump in this on-demand hot water road. And y’know what? There haven’t been many. The system works great, protects itself, and hasn’t given me one bit of real trouble since installed in 2013.

The only caveat? This system fits best in homes with modern main electric panels of 150 amps or more, and because you really don’t use as much hot water as you think, and the system isn’t running constantly to warm water in a tank, your hot water pipes will cool to ambient home temperatures, and it may take a few minutes, say, in the morning, to get hot water going with low flow shower heads or faucets.

Although it’s max draw is hypothetically 105 amps, this demand is peak rating. The system heats (and powers) only as necessary to attain the correct water temp going out, whether for a shower, load of wash, or even your pool. How sweet is that?

Don’t have that service panel size? Vara USA® can get it installed. Or depending on needs and your home’s solar exposure, which Vara USA® can leverage to your best advantage, Vara USA® can possibly install a thermal water heating system for your pool or home needs. These systems supplement your existing methane or electric heat without interfering with it. In the case of the pool, often the existing filter pump is all that is needed to circulate water through the system to warm it. Water is simply circulated through black mesh sheeting and plastic tubes to pre-warm for your existing set up (if even needed at all), and it will use far less energy to heat water from, say, 85 or 90 degrees to 135, instead of from 45-50 degrees. That is a significant boost to your potential savings everyday from day one!

I’ve been a solar pv convert since 2010, and an EV lessee since January 2016, and I believe electric is our universal friend. It’s good to have a plan when it comes to these upgrades. For instance, if you’d like to power your BEV, in my case a TESLA Model S 100, the kitchen, the home heat pump, the dryer, the hot water, and even more down the road, the base building block starter items are 1) a modern 150-200 amp electric service panel, 2) a solar pv array of at least 10-15k if space permits, and 3) a decent 60 amp sub panel feed to supply power to your BEV plug. Later you may decide on item 4) a battery backup for home life critical systems such as refrigeration, air conditioning, and lighting.

Sound complex?

Then don’t get yourself into hot water! Talk with Vara USA® pros and get a game plan you can work on one step at a time to develop the winning combination you require to knock down energy usage and clean up your energy act all at the same time.

Feel good about using energy again — clean energy you can create right at home.

Next go . . . That unsung black box hero strikes again!

Joe’s Flow – Energetic Thinking Direct from the Sun’s Reflection, Vol 5.

Admin — Mon, 24 May 2021 18:01:40 +0000

Cooking Anyone?

I bet you’re cooking at home lately more than you ever thought you would. You may have developed a few new dishes to deal with the extended closing of your local favorite indoor eateries. That is wonderful. Covering new territory with the mind is always better when it involves eating! Now, while you were cooking, did you turn on that exhaust fan? If you did, you’re probably in the minority. That fan is noisy and it removes the aromas of good food, no doubt, but here’s the grit. Unless you’re cooking with electricity, you should definitely run an exhaust fan while cooking. That so-called clean, ‘natural’ gas, or LPG cook-top or oven has open flame, and aside from being an instant fire hazard to anyone cooking in loose fitting clothing, a flame always implies carbon monoxide (CO). Have you noticed the black film that builds up over time on the bottom of your pots and pans? That is carbon. It is also on a grill that needs cleaning, a direct result of carbon burning. But there’s more insidious stuff going on here than just that. Combustion of methane or LPG fills the indoor air with pollution from toxic airborne synthetic methane by-products and CO. Whether it’s your grill, cook-top, wall oven, range, or even a so-called ventless fireplace or heater, you are breathing levels of CO that are recognized as unsafe.

FACT: Multiple studies have shown indoor air quality falls dramatically while cooking or heating with unvented methane or LPG (source).

FACT: 100% efficient and odorless electric stovetops and ovens will simply have none of that.

One of my favorite jobs Vara USA® has done for me is update my kitchen counter cook-top. Yes, I had Vara USA® remove a perfectly working methane burning cook-top and install a clean, sleek, radiant cook-top. A new feed was run from the main electric panel to support the update, and the methane pipe was turned off and capped. Why buy methane when I can make my own homegrown electric with Vara USA® installing a VARASOLAR system? Yes, there were some growing pains. An open flame does heat a bit faster, but faster isn’t always better with food, right? My pots and pans are much cleaner, and as I cook, the only odor I detect is the food itself. I run the exhaust fan when I feel I’d like to, not because my gas cook-top requires it just to breathe fresh air in my own home! The radiant cook-top is a breeze to clean, and although it does require some care to avoid cracking, over eight years, my top has survived the worst of it and still looks and works great.

Vara USA® has made this update a plus, plus, plus situation. I use the clean electricity I produce to cook, and while I’ll likely never be an Emeril Lagasse, my food and cooking experiences are better overall. I feel great I no longer use nasty methane in this process and have reduced my financial support of the fossil fuel industry. Natural gas providers promote their product as cheap, but check your bill and you’ll likely find two thirds of every bill is delivery line fees; pipe fees, service charges, etc. I drove demand for my own Vara USA® installed solar generating plant which in turn gave me the foundation to request for additional PV capacity with my utility. Even my girlfriend, who had been resistant to the cook-top change finally admitted that she actually prefers the electric cook-top now. She is cooking more challenging meals than ever and wonders when I can get the wall oven changed over as well!

Next up: I’m not alone! ‘Cause we all get in hot water more often than we think, solar can help with that hot water experience in more ways than one, and in turn, get you off or reduce your methane or LPG use there as well!

Joe’s Flow – Energetic Thinking Direct from the Sun’s Reflection, Vol 4.

Admin — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 18:03:29 +0000

Woe Is The Aging Process

Woe is the aging process! It creeps up on us very gently every day. If we’re lucky, we don’t lose it all at once. I don’t think it’s something a ‘one-a-day’ can mend. Well, it’s simply inevitable.

The numbers keep going upward. In the old days, analogue car odometers only went up to 99,999 miles, so when a car turned 100 thousand miles the odometer turned to 00000.0. And at that brief moment, if we were lucky enough to catch it, we sometimes pulled over just to get a Kodak or Polaroid photo for a keepsake. It was like getting a new ride without the new car payment. Yip-ee! Well almost.

Much like the ticking away of that car odometer, Solar/PV ownership operates on a slow and steady principle, and somehow I turned 100 and totally missed it! The numbers add up. System 1 has produced 72,211 kWh, System 2 = 18,066, and System 3 = 13,487. My roughly 5.29kW PV has grown to a little over 11.01kW over the past ten years, generating a whopping 103,764 kWh, for a grand total of 103.76 MWh life-time-to-date site generation. Heck, I didn’t just miss 100! I missed 101 and 102, and barely even caught 103! Can 104 be that far in the rear view? Well, I certainly hope so!

Where does all that electricity go?

Well, aside from every power outlet in the house, the EV battery, and then onto the grid, mostly in MY pocket. Really, ALL in my back pocket. Since I own my solar I didn’t have to pay the utility for 103,764 kWh of power, nor delivery of that energy. At my rough rate of $ 0.18 cents per kWh that is a whopping $18,677.50 of electricity cost avoided. Adjusted for pre-tax income at 22% it adds up to $22.786.57 (ever further skyward if you find yourself in the 30-38% income earning tax brackets). That is tax-free income I didn’t have to work to earn.

Ownership of a VARA SOLAR PV system definitely works for me!

Kermit the Frog said, “It ain’t easy being green!” but with VARA SOLAR it is! And with the Federal government still offering 26% towards your solar PV installation/ownership, you only pay 74% of the initial investment, but you own 100% of the revenue! In addition, some states still offer local incentives like energy credits to sell on the open market. For example, in New Jersey, a 10kW system generates about $250 per month in Solar Renewable Energy Credits for fifteen years.

Just like me, perhaps someday with a bit of long-term, “steady Eddie” patience, you too can turn 100, and feel fantastic about it! Heck, maybe you can even stop for a moment, break out your Kodak or Polaroid (fine, smartphone) and preserve the accomplishment. Your grandkids will probably find it quaint.

The best time to start is right now, because just like your electric meter, it keeps on adding up those numbers whether you like it or not. My advice? Get Solar PV and push it back your way!

Next month: why you absolutely have to get rid of your methane kitchen cooktop.

Joe’s Flow – Energetic Thinking Direct from the Sun’s Reflection, Vol 3.

Admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 18:05:14 +0000

The Grid as a 2-Way Street; A Tale of 3 Coasts

Nationwide, it’s been a rough month for the grid. The weather, the humans, even the groundhog took no pity and conspired against us all, but somehow, again, the humans have survived. It’s warmed up a bit, but yet here I sit, somewhat frozen in stark-eyed sticker shock as I lay gaze upon my newly minted $160 February 2021 power bill. Now I know some folks in Texas have bills 80 times that. YES! I wrote 80 times that!! $16,000 plus dollars!!! How will they pay that? I’m not exactly sure. But while I scramble for a paltry $160, a bill that is still 35 times my usual $5 monthly electric fee, the non-solar owner in the wrong place can get hammered for costs nearly TWICE that “measly” 35 times increase. (True, as a solar pv owner/generator in the PSE&G service area of NJ, I usually get a $5 monthly electric bill. I OWN my solar pv, the ONLY way to fly, and VaraUSA gets you there as well!)

On the East Coast my panels were covered with snow and ice many days in February. My worst production month ever since I’ve been energy attention bound and began tracking in 2010. The clouds and snow events were unrelenting. The cold drove my electric space heater use skyward. Our electric consumption ate through most of my energy credit bank in January. There was nothing left in the energy stash jar, and all my snow and ice bound system could muster was about 450 hard-earned kWh for the entire month; less than half its normal monthly average.

And yet, with all that working against us, we were still a 72 or 73 daytime comfortable in our home, hot water heated gloriously by endless tankless electric, cooking clean with stove-top radiant heat, hang-drying clothes in the warmed basement. Even charging the Tesla when needed (although I do make trips to the local supercharger when the battery fill-up needs over 40 kWh in a single shot). Much of this relative comfort is a direct result of using the grid as a 2-way street. We don’t just take power . . . we MAKE power. This has given us, (and anyone else smart enough to get it) a nearly equal footing to big power plants (usually dirty), and as such we are creators of our own clean power, not just consumers. As energy producers we are permitted to bank our extra clean power with our electric company, which is so happy to take it on the cheap when they need it, and we barter power back from them when we need it; a fair transfer of “power” for both of us. We reduce costs from building dirty plants, taking dirty plants off the grid temporarily, or even forever, in no short terms, helping with buffering and stabilizing the grid and it’s costs for all.

Will it save us from a South Coast Texas-sized grid failure? Aside from the off grid survivalist diehards, the answer is definitely a No. But conclusively, it makes the grid stronger. Each of us kicking back when we can. Taking only when we need electricity beyond our own production.

More for all is better for all I think. Use less or make more. Words to live by.

Start small here at VaraUSA. Whether you are on the west or east coast, consider a solar pool heater. Jeff is installing these electric and methane consumption reducers right now in the San Francisco area, and can schedule a spring/summer install on the east coast! A DIY-er can get a solar starter kit, or simply buy a few LED low watt bulb replacements. An advanced energy activist can work up the energy tree, picking higher fruit, like dumping nasty methane appliances (and their indoor pollution). One by one with VaraUSA, I’ve eliminated nearly all of those nasty methane home appliances. You might even consider an electric vehicle/solar pv system with a fast charger integrated right in. You can still take advantage of the 26% federal incentive, along with federal and state incentives to buy an EV!

Until next go. Don’t wait for a minute — Power Forward!

Joe’s Flow – Energetic Thinking Direct from the Sun’s Reflection, Vol 2.

Admin — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 18:07:23 +0000

Last month I wrote about how I updated, or “tuned up,” my refrigerator/freezer interior lighting. I then tuned up my microwave lighting too (which was nothing at all compared to my battle with the fridge). After two successes there I decided to tune up myself with a vaccination for Shingles.

You might ask yourself, “Well . . . what does this have to do with Solar PV or energy?

Ok, here it is then, my impatient readers! Bear with me. Say your solar PV system has 75,000 kWh’s on it. Or 100,000. Does it need a tune-up? Or maybe you have just installed a new solar PV system. Could that already be in need of a tune-up too?

The simple truth is, without system monitoring, who knows?!

So the answer from me is a resounding, “YES! YES! YES!”

You say that monitoring is just too expensive, and that you can check your system production meter every day for yourself to see if your system, a living photovoltaic system that replicates plant photosynthesis through the grace of modern technology, works right? You can look at the panels daily and inspect them for damage, say, from an errant neighbor kid’s baseball, a falling limb, or even just a plain old aging defect? Oh boy! Kid yourself, but please don’t kid me!!

Beneath every big black show-stealing solar panel, today’s modern PV systems have a little unsung hero, overshadowed by those panels, the seldom-complaining but nonetheless speaking (civilly and never over one another!) “brains” of the operation. By name, these miracle boxes, called Optimizers or Micro Inverters depending on approach, make big decisions for the showy but already quite busy panels. Like . . . when to generate. How much to generate. When to shut down the entire process, on and on.

But even these miracle boxes can get tired and quit. The inverter can’t even tell when there is an issue most times because it’s quite busy too. An otherwise perfectly looking panel, or 2 or 5 or 9, may not be functioning properly or at all. Even the optimizer sometimes will grow tired and fail.

What is the answer?

GET YOUR SOLAR PV SYSTEM a tune up! But how?

Set up System Monitoring now! A direct connection so all those civilly speaking, brainy kids can phone home to their “mothership” each production day. They love to talk! Why not allow them to speak for the system, to their mother, and most importantly, YOU, through a professionally supplied and installed monitoring portal?

Don’t lose production (and revenue!) because you just didn’t know! VaraUSA can help you pick the correct monitoring system for your PV setup. VaraUSA welcomes you as family. Ask questions and don’t be afraid. Be informed! We want your system to work just like it should. To return every kilowatt hour possible. To even speak! We are all family here, and in my opinion, nothing is worse than a family that doesn’t communicate. Please allow all those respectful, brainy children to call home everyday . . . to share exactly what is going on in their day. Can you imagine that? Kids that call home? That is exactly just the kind of tune-up that pays back every kilowatt hour.

Next month: The Beauty of Optimizers for Beginners (or even so called experts!)

Joe’s Flow – Energetic Thinking Direct from the Sun’s Reflection, Vol 1.

Admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 18:10:16 +0000

It was undeniably a foregone conclusion. Years of picking the low-hanging “energy fruit” led me higher and higher into the consumption tree. An earlier attempt against the beast had me foiled by a lack of time…ambition…enthusiasm. Even with the odds against me then, I had mounted a most noble attempt. Again, the low hanging fruit had been picked. I was back for the final kill…deep into the bowels of the demon’s belly…climbing high into the reaches of the tree…

[If you don’t clearly understand me, I invite you to please read my future Vara USA posts for a better understanding of the issues driving my energy-minded brain!]

The door was opened…shelves were removed…the potatoes were one way…the apples the other. A lost burger king ketchup pack was found. Not opened! Thank heavens! I pulled at the cover, yet could not release the prize from within the demon’s belly. I twisted and out popped the shelf holder, the rack falling to the floor. I screamed, madness and rage! How could they ever call this energy beast an energy star product with incandescent lights? Why was this one dam bulb buried so deep inside? Why had the cover not popped off simply and easily like the other three?? Who designed this??? I yelled. I screamed!! Madness had pushed me to attempt communication with…an appliance! There was no reply from the demon other than stark silence, but that silence spoke all I needed to hear: You want that bulb changed to an LED? Why? Who does that? The bulbs are only lit for a few seconds for crying out loud!! Why change those bulbs out to save 180 watts for a scant few seconds each time?

And then I realized it. It shook me to the core as I trembled. Years of working along with Vara USA had pushed me to the limits of energy sanity!!! Here I was, half into the demon refrigerator’s bowels, yelling and screaming…entangled in disheveled shelving and plastic trays, all for one stinking hidden bulb; a 36-watt savings! Attempting communication with a damn machine — artificial intelligence has nothing on me bud! So five energy-consuming 40-watt bulbs were slayed by Joe Energy Buster. How did this happen? What had ten or so years of energy generating and saving upgrades with Vara gotten me? Had I gone so far to attack my refrigerator as an energy beast to be slayed for a mere 180-watt savings??

Yes!

And I was proud. Every watt saved is a watt used elsewhere. Every watt generated is one I don’t have to buy!

How sweet it is! Thanks Vara!

And then I noticed the light bulbs in the microwave…

Stayed tuned for my next post; a humorous but considerate insight into just how important communication between solar harvesting appliances has become, as I explore the latest nuances of solar PV field-to-base communications, even if my refrigerator won’t speak to me for now.