Wind VERSUS Solar - Which Is the Better Investment? -
Written and Published By: Julianne Silletti from Raytricity
What to Look For in a Solar Panel -
Written and Published By: Julianne Silletti from Raytricity
Are Solar Powered Cars the Future? -
Written and Published By: Julianne Silletti from Raytricity
Why Solar Won't Become Obsolete -
Written and Published By: Julianne Silletti from Raytricity
This is absolutely pathetic.
Heartland’s other signs feature Osama Bin Laden and Charles Manson.
Hey Heartland: not only do many average people ‘believe’ in global warming, but so do 97% of climate scientists.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SOLAR IN NEW JERSEY
By: Julianne Silletti
The issue with New Jersey and the idea of solar energy is solely based on the utility companies needs for solar. How it works is this according to SREC Trade dot com:
In SREC states, the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) requires electricity suppliers to secure a portion of their electricity from solar generators. The SREC program provides a means for Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) to be created for every megawatt-hour of solar electricity created.
When the utility company’s demand is met for the electricity needed from solar generators, the SREC’s worth drop in price (supply and demand). Obviously when the demand for something is greater, the price that people will pay for it will also be greater. If we look at the months for the year 2012 in New Jersey, February’s SREC market price was $205, for March is was $145, and for the month of April they are listed for $135. Not very high in comparison to the $600-$700 the utility companies were paying July of 2010 through June 2011.
On DSIREUSA dot org, you can find the energy year and the “solar carve-out” listed in a table format. For the year 2011, the electric companies needed to gain 306 gigawatt-hours. If an average home produces 7 megawatt-hours per year, which means 43,714 homes needed to go solar to meet the utility company’s demand for solar energy.
To break this down even further for you:
What does this mean for solar?
This means that the demand for solar will not, by any means, become obsolete. The fact of the matter is utility companies are always going to have to buy SRECs. They must buy SRECs that are generated from renewable energy to avoid the costly fine that they would have to pay if they didn’t purchase these credits. The current cost of the fine for the state of New Jersey is $650. The fine is mainly set in place to offset the dirty electricity that these utility companies are selling to each individual state. It’s all based on a supply and demand scale; utility companies need solar energy to avoid this fine – they put a price on each generated SREC – therefore homes and businesses invest in solar installations.
Interested in investing in Solar Energy?
Raytricity is a solar energy company located right here in Central New Jersey with our home office located in Princeton, NJ. Here at Raytricity, we are dedicated to providing you with high quality solar products. Every installation is performed by our certified expert installers for your home and business solar installations. Our commitment is to make every part of your journey with us simple, easy, and enjoyable from start to finish. To request your FREE quote, please visit us as www.raytricity.com or give a call at 609-454-5444. We will be happy to assist you with any solar questions you might have!
I’m finally getting used to going through all four seasons in one day
Via someecards
By: Julianne Silletti
I put together 10 activities for Earth Day. Things you can do to make a difference not only for our planet, but in your community too! These are things that you can keep up with after as well, not just on Earth Day!
1.) Feed the birds!
If you have children, use part of the day to take your empty soda bottles (or find some pine cones) to create a recycled bird feeder. Place in your garden or hang it from a tree and check back to see who’s been eating from it!
2.) Make a plan to recycle (if you don’t have one already)
If you already do, check with your school/kids school or place of work to see what their recycling plan is. If theirs isn’t maximized, create a BETTER plan with them to promote more recycling.
Did you know: Americans use 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour?
Did you know: If all of our newspapers were recycled, we could save about 250 million trees each year! If every American recycled just one-tenth of their newspapers, we could save about 25 million trees each year?
Fact: Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours. In spite of this, Americans throw away enough aluminum to rebuild our entire commercial fleet of airplanes every three months!
Did you know: A typical family consumes 182 gallons of soda, 29 gallons of juice, 104 gallons of milk, and 26 gallons of bottled water a year. That’s a lot of containers that can all be recycled!!!
It might seem like a small way to participate, but recycling your items properly helps the planet tremendously!
3.) Find an Earth Day event in your area!
Research your state and local area for organizations and events that are supporting Earth Day. Many places in my very own state are hosting local gatherings for all to join.
IN NEW JERSEY:
Party for the Planet
Jenkinson’s Aquarium
Sunday, April 22, 2012
1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Atlantic County Utilities Authority - Earth Day Festival
Sunday, April 22, 2012
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The theme of the festival continues to be a “Sustainable Future”. Come join the celebration and enjoy a day full of non-stop family activities including: stage entertainment, interactive educational displays and activities, workshops, petting zoo, hayride tours of the Environmental Park to the top of the landfill and shuttled tours of the ACUA Wastewater, Wind and Solar Farm in Atlantic City. The festival even includes a 5K race at 9 am and 1 mile fun run beginning at 8:30 a.m.
These are just to name a few!
4.) Check under your sink!
Many people don’t realize that the everyday household cleaners are not environmentally friendly or healthy to breathe in. This website: http://www.epa.gov/dfe/pubs/projects/formulat/formpart.htm has a list of GREEN products for the home.
From EPA.GOV : When you use a cleaning product, it is released into the environment-inside your home and down the drain to the outdoors. Adults come in contact with cleaning products on a regular basis, as do children who are often the most exposed when they crawl on the floor. Some consumers may prefer cleaning products that, for example, are inherently safer or do not irritate sensitive skin. Others may prefer products that break down quickly and do not harm fish or are safer for use around family pets. The DFE logo is an easy way to know you are choosing a product that is as safe as possible for people and the environment.
5.) Swap your transportation!
Make a trip with your bicycle, or take a walk, instead of using your car. While it might not be realistic to walk to work, try exchanging a car ride for a walk or bike a few errands.
6.) Plant a Tree
While this is probably the MOST unoriginal one, planting a tree is probably the best. Every tree planted helps reduce greenhouse emissions, cleans air pollution, secures the soil around it to prevent erosion, and provides a home for a lot of biodiversity.
7.) Cook a meal dedicated to Earth Day!
Use locally produced veggies and meats. Not only are they healthier, they actually have less of an impact on the planet.
8.) Pick up litter around the neighborhood
Try to gather a few of your neighbors, or try to get the entire neighborhood, to walk around and pick up any trash on the ground. Anything around sewers and drainage basins should be picked up because it leads to water systems and oceans. Litter is unsafe for wildlife and the ecosystem as well, so you’ll be helping out tremendously.
9.) Read about the current issues on the planet
While most of us are probably familiar with the current issues impacting out planet, take the time and brush up on some new facts and information. Take the new things you’ve learned and share it with someone; your kids, significant other, neighbor… ANYONE! Information spreads like wildfire. The more people you share with the better.
10.) Take all of the things you’ve just read and continue to use them.
Earth Day is a day for awareness, but that awareness doesn’t have to become forgotten about on Monday morning. Everything above you can use, in some way, daily. You can share it, reblog it, post it to facebook and twitter, and make it apart of your everyday lifestyle.
What will you be doing to help our planet?
Share with us!
Earth Day - April 22, 2012
By: Julianne Silletti @ Raytricity
I recently came across an article with a post about a solar powered generator. The first thing that popped into my head was Hurricane Irene last year. I remember the power in my house being out for a total of 3 days and only being able to run the refrigerator, our salt water fish tank, sump pump in the basement, and the microwave (occasionally). The gas run generator wasn’t big enough to power everything we needed and obviously we needed to run out and grab a few gallons of gas every 8 hours. So when I read about this SOLAR generator, I couldn’t help but think about WHAT IF WE HAD THAT? Most of the neighborhood I live in owns a generator so you can only imagine the awesome (sarcastic) buzzing the neighborhood had a night… and this was for 3 days straight!
Intrigued, I did a little research on this solar generator and came to find that Home Depot actually sells one. From what I understand (between customer reviews and such) they’re good for running a small amount of household things (televisions, lights, and small electronics) during short power outages.
Several of the reviews bashed the generator and said that the cost of it was already expensive enough - $1399 for the 1800watt system - and it didn’t even come with the batteries or necessary bolts needed to attach those batteries (some people suggested using marine or golf cart batteries which could run anywhere between $75 and $200 a piece).
While the generator isn’t meant to “live” off of. It’s something to consider for hurricane season or if your home is prone to power outages. Keeping the refrigerator running is pretty important and having the option of plugging in a light or two when the sun goes down could be beneficial also.
Gas or diesel run generators still are running, well, on gas and diesel. We obviously know the harmful effects of burning gasoline has on our planet. So by taking out your old generator and using something that’s 100% environmentally friendly, you would be reducing your own carbon footprint! Granted, generators tend to be used for power outages only, but I’m sure somewhere there is one being used on a daily basis.
The quicker we change our BAD habits and turn them into GOOD habits, the benefits will be noticed sooner. You don’t have to be an environmentalist or a tree hugger to change your impact on the environment. Small changes can ultimately become BIG ones.