Going Green Together- Solar Updates

Well, this is are first real  situation with the panels. It is with the Squirrels. they decided to build a nest under the solar racks on the Roof. I noticed it about a week ago. We tried to deter them from  continue going up there. One thing we did was put a pest deterrent box in the attic. It seems to work however I still saw them up there. Order a New one just for squirrels, guaranteed to repel them with 5000 Sq ft. We called the solar power folks to come and remove the nest and chest the system.
They removed the nest and found that the squirrels had removed the roofing tiles to the wood. So we are replacing them now. They did chew a few of the wires, they are fixing that.
We need to make sure the critters do not return to the site. So we will be putting a net of some sort around the unit. This is something that that do. you might  consider that when they first put it up. It would a alleviate a lot of headache. He said that they had Raccoons set up nest under there also.
we wouldn't a thought that critters would do that on a slanted rooftop. However now we and you do too.

As for the Power bills, they have continued to decline. Last months was 45.11! Yes that right, from 200.00 to 45. We have continued to see lower bills thought the years.  The learning curve of being more frugal when are energy usage . Cutting back on a mount of things running, making light blub changes,  and turning the temp to a higher number in the summer and a lower number in the winter.
Using our pellet stove more in the winter helps also.

Some time in January we notice that our Heat pump was not working. Had to purchase another one. Went with a more efficient one and we have really notice the difference for the good.  Hopefully we will see the bill go lower.

Overall the choice we made some five years ago are paying off. We are very please with the Solar Company we used and would recommend them to you. Their service is great.

It's been a while-I'm BACK!

Yes I have been caught up in a little Family saga. What's been going on you ask... Well I am trying to size down, Hubby is having Health issues, daughter is now a senior in school, need I say more!

Having a senior is a busy thing. Driving issues, working jobs and school/social events are occupying our time. I am excited for her, We will be looking into colleges pretty soon. We have a Chicago trip plan for April. Then a few more the following months. Her plan is to start out in the local community college and then transfer to a University. Since she is an only child, I think that is a good move. As a parent I have mixed feeling on this. I still see her as my little girl. Laugh every time I see this commercial with the father taking to his daughter as she is off to college in the new car.


Hubby is getting ready for surgery on Tuesday. Then we will have to have another one for the Kidneys. Monday we had 3 doctors appointments back to back. The first one Urology, Kidneys still not making good progress. She stated we will need to schedule surgery, right after the Shoulder one. Next stop the GP, She stated the we need to bridge the Blood thinners to prepare for surgery. That means today we started the Shots. Good thing I have a Nursing background. It helps with giving the shots and recovery. Since this one is a outpatient surgery. Last stop the Cardiologist, Heart looks good, ready to go.

Now we have to have all the test for the surgery. Xrays and blood, we are now in the process of those. Plus he has test ongoing with the urologist. These medical issues are occupying my mind and time greatly.

Now on to my Weight loss process. Doing well, clothes getting bigger and I am feeling pretty good. Starting on Raspberry Ketones to help with my metabolism. Hoping that they will help me pass the Stalemate on the scales. I will surely let you know how they work.

Have been reading up on some Herbals helps and beginning to incorporate them in my daily plan. Hoping they will give me a healthier body.

Now to the Eco part of the blog...

We are looking into replacing the kitchen floor with a new Green floor. I really love the color and texture of it. It has No VOC's and that sounds great to me. At some point In am hoping to have a totally VOC free home. Then just maybe we will retire in a breathe easy home. Need to repaint some rooms, Will start in the kitchen. More on that later. Yes the Spring is just around the corner time for in house projects.

Our Solar power is doing well. This year our Electric Bills have been very low. That is good, giving us more money for the upgrades to ECO friendly things.

Going Green Update.

Here we are another record month. We received our Energy bill and it was 107.00. that is so good, Normally it is over 200.00 for this month. For two years it has been 107! We have had the Solar since November 2009. Our savings have been great. The energy bills have been cut in almost half. We are now getting ready to have a thermal solar system put in. That will start sometime in the Fall. We are looking forward to even more saving.

With the Solar comes REC's. (Renewable Energy Credits). We have a company who we sell our REC's to. With the Check amount it turn out that we really pay very little on our energy. We had a yearly cost of 2850.89 for energy consumption with the solar. Minus the REC's received from the company we ended up for the years' energy, paying 610.89. Not bad. divide that into 12 months and that ends up costing about 51.00 per month.

Our prior Energy bill before solar was 5103.97 yearly! With a pre-solar cost of 425.33 per month. that is an 88 percent savings. Now how great is that! On top of reduce the carbon imprint. So as you can see it was well worth it. Now with the addition of the Thermal Solar we will be able to save even more. On top of that, Maryland has passed the bill to allow selling of the Thermal REC's. Our company will also buy them.

We are still doing well with our bags and recycling. Have notice only one garbage can to be picked up and that isn't even filled.

Still looking for ways to conserve energy in the summer months. I will be blogging about those later on.

So, How are you doing?

Going Green Updates-Our Solar Story.

Here we are in a new year. As many of you know we have a solar system in our home. It was installed in November 2009. We have really reaped the rewards from it. Our lifetime Watts produce to this day are:

Lifetime energy=8,560 kWh (this is from November2009 to Feburary2011)

We have reduced your carbon footprint by: 14,206 pounds of CO₂ (year to date)

Now that is equivalent to:
1. Not driving 14,068 miles in a standard car.
2. Planting 158 seedlings grown for 10 years.

As far as dollar savings. Our electric bill has been almost cut in half. Some Months are under 120.00. We haven't seen that since we moved into this home, which was in the year 1999.

Getting use to using the solar system is teaching us to look at all the electric we use in this household. After about one year, that would be November 2010, we started looking at the usage in the home. Changing out light bulbs and cutting back on the amount we waste. Our bills have been going down even lower.

In the winter there is a draw back. Mr Sun doesn't always want to shine, and the snow can cover the panels and the temps do not let the snow melt as fast. These can cause a lower amount of solar energy to be delivered. Therefore February is our lowest amount produced. February tends to be the snow month for our region. We produce about half the amount as in the summertime. Even with the winter issue, we enjoy the knowledge that we are saving on the environment as well as our pockets.

Overall we are pleased with the solar system in place. That makes us look for more solar options in other lighting out doors. Saving even more on the electric bill and enviroment.

Going Green together- Solar and Green Updates.

It's been A while, time for an update. We are so please with our electric bill. It is still in the low hundreds. Our solar systems is doing well. It has been a little over a year.

We have harvested 7,856 kWh of sun energy.

Reduced emissions equivalent to:

• 13,037 pounds of CO₂
• not driving 12,911 miles in a standard car.
• planting 145 seedlings grown for 10 year

April was our most productive month, with a total of 799.99kWh harvested.
February was the least month, with a production of 266.39kWh

Now with the Holidays here, we have purchased some solar Holiday lights. I really like them. They are bright and just think no extra cost on our bill.
Still learning to be greener in our decisions. So many items to harvest the suns power with. Now if we could just get hold of a Solar powered generator. Anyone know of one?

Going Green together- Solar and Green Updates.

It's been a while since I last updated our Green Journey. we have been doing well on all things. There are a few new green directions we want to go. but for now I will give my Updates.

As far as the solar goes, we are doing great. Here are the stats on our system to date.
Our Solar lifetime energy usage is;
6,989KwH (since we started with solar)

You've reduced your carbon footprint equivalent to:
*11,599 pounds of CO₂
*not driving 11,486 miles in a standard car.
*planting 129 seedlings grown for 10 years.

Our Power bill this month is under 150 dollars. I thought I would look at last years power bill for the same time period. The weather was about the same with a temp degree varying about 2 degrees.

October 2009 we used 2102 KwH with a daily usage of 65,7 KwH. Our bill was 325 dollars. We only used the power company's power source.
October 2010 we used 1010 KwH with a daily usage of 34.8 KwH. Our bill was 148 dollars. We used both our solar system and the power company's source.

This tells me that we have been able to handle about half of our power with our solar system. We have not changed our lifestyle at all. Mostly to see how the Solar system saved on our energy bills. We are coming up on our one year anniversary of the system. We started using it in November of 2009. At the One year mark we will start looking at other ways to conserve our energy. We want to get the bills down even more.

We are pleased so far with our solar system and feel it was a great decision for us.
Now to the Green Bags We are doing well, still a few plastic sneak in there. The family doesn't seem to carry their bags with them. I will have to work on that. We still use paper for some groceries. However I have really cut back on that amount. I think the store are doing better on the green bagging issue. Found that if you ask, sometimes the store does have a cloth option and sometime they do not charge! I like that part.
When we went to the Renaissance festival I did ask for the cloth bags and the merchants had them. I like that also.

I am now working on using products that are greener in packaging. A few things I can refill with product. This is great for not having to throw away Plastic bottles. This is my new Going green adventure.

So, how are you all doing with your Green things? Or are you just not there yet?

Going Green together- Monthly Updates.

Mr sun has been nice to us so far this summer.This stats are:
Our lifetime production (since November16/09) = 4,539 Kilowatt hours
Month production (from June2 -July1) was 798 Kilowatt hours
Our reduced Carbon imprint since the start= 7,533
Emission Reduced Equivalent to:
1.Driving a standard size car 7459 Miles.
2. planting 84 seeding trees.

We did well with the cloth shopping bags. However a few time the Plastic ones snuck by. We recycle them when that happens. Paper bags are used from big grocery days and we do reuse them and recycle them. All the paper bag that are received are recycle paper.

Our Rain barrels are full and being used for Our door Plants, bird baths and topping off fountains when needed.

We decided to only run the pool during the Morning hours when Mr sun is up. that will save on Energy consumption.

Our last energy bill was still under 200.00 and that was great! We will see now the the pool is opened how the bill will be next month.
Still looking into Solar water heating, will keep you informed on that project. We are thinking some time next year. Hopefully by then our state will approve selling RECs(Renewable Energy Credits) in State.

We received our first RECs check last week. It was for 320.00 for approx.two months, November and December 2009. Since the start of the solar Life.

Today is another hot day and Mr Sun will be shinning all day. We are making a difference as a family.

Going Green together- Monthly Updates.

So we are doing well with our solar power. Feeding the grid and using what we need. Our Utility bill was closer to 104.00 this month. That means it is going down. We haven't seen that low of a bill at all the whole time we have lived here. Mr sun is still shining on us. Our lifetime production since we started in November 2009 is 3,669 KwH. Our highest production amount in a day was 36.46 kwh. We are at present time supplying about 1/2 our power by solar.We have reduced the Carbon footprint by 3,086 pounds of CO2. Planted 68 tree seedlings. and saved the air pollution and oil consumption the equivalent of driving a standard car 6,031 miles. Not bad huh?
As for the Green bag issue... doing well on that. A few times we had to take plastic bags, however we are recycling those.
Our Rain Barrels are filled and we are using the water. Our water bill comes in quarterly so I will not be able to tell how much an impact they are for a few months.
The house Green project is coming along great. We are almost done. Our complete date is set for June the 20th. Still Under budget and loving that! Stay tune for the final photos.
We are looking into getting a thermal solar unit for our Hotwater, that should reduce our dependency on the Electric company greatly. Since heating water is a costly item.
Still looking for ways to become more independent and self sufficient by retirement age.

Going Green together- Monthly Updates.

My Rain barrel is full and ready to be used. The solar lights and Bug Zapper are up and running. We have one More Rain Barrel to install this weekend.Doing well on the no plastic bags accepted. Although I need to work on the families role in this endeavor.
Our Solar Panels have been doing their work at keeping the Utilities bills down.
The Stats:
lifetime energy (since November 9,2009) 2,969 kWh

We've reduced emissions equivalent to:
1. Planting 55 seedlings grown for 10 years.
2. Not driving 4,879 miles in a standard car.

We've reduced your carbon footprint equivalent to:
4,927 pounds of CO2

From April7 to May6, 2010 we produce 758 kilowatt hours. that's an increase of 125 KWH more than last month! Mr Sun is getting better at this and We are doing our part.
We are looking into a new solar project for our Water heater. Stay tune.

Wednesday's Words- Reusable bags

I have been on Vacation since Friday. Spending time with my Dad. He lives close to the beach, so we did go down to the beach. My daughter loves to shop at the stores along the boardwalk. Of course I have my reusable bag with me, however we did pick up a few more. Now Hubby thinks I have enough already. One place we stopped actually gave us a reusable bag. That got me thinking, what if all the shops were to do that. You know it really does not cost any more to make. I believe the cost is going down, most bags are only one dollar for consumers. That has to mean that the wholesale cost must be low. What about that store who has been giving them out. Do you think he is having a hard time selling them? Even if he is, by giving them out he has helped the environment.
I thought I would ask a Wednesday question:
Do you have reusable bags and have you ever had a store owner give you one with your purchase?

Solar Monitoring

While on Vacation we are able to check on the solar production at home. SunPower Monitoring system allows us to go to their site and see the stats of our production. We can view it by year, month and day. It allows us to see how the Solar system is doing in real-time.
I like this part of our system because while on vacation we can keep tabs on the amount being feed back into the electrical Grid. So we are actually making money on the home energy while away.
We have harvested 2,170 KwH since November 15th, the first day of the panels hook up'. Now that the summer months are approaching us, the harvesting is get better for the month. Last month the sun harvest was 636 KwH. With the high daily amount being 34.13Kwh. It will be very interesting to see what the summer months will hold. Our unit is a 24 panel unit of the SunPower 225 solar Panels. Each panels has 72 solar cells, That's 1728 solar cells collecting the suns power.
If you are interested in seeing the project here is the link to all the solar posts.

Here are our Green Stats. All the equivalent to:

• Have reduced the carbon footprint by 3,601 pounds of Co2
• Have saved the emission of not driving of a car for 3,566 miles
• Have planted 40 seeding trees.. grown for 10 years

We are making a difference in our planet, helping to reduce the amount of pollution we are putting in the environment. Still working on becoming more self sufficient.
Looking at Geothermal next.

It's In The Bag Monthly Update.#6

We are greening along just fine. Still using our greener bags when we shop. I do still use paper bags at the commissary. It is very hard to use the green cloth bags when we purchase our Monthly groceries. I would go more during the month, but with gas prices it is not economical. However on the local grocery pick up during the month, we use the cloth ones.
I got a new bag that fits in the side pocket of my purse. I used it a lot last month.
I really like it, as you can see it rolls up small making it easy to always with you.


Open..It is large and straps are very comfortable.

So how are you doing?

Envirosax photos Courtesy of Envirosax
Disclaimer:I received no compensation from Envirosax, This is my independent opinion.

We're Going Green Updates

We love Mr Sun.... please shine down on me........
It's has been about three months since we installed the Solar Panels. Now it has been winter, shorter light hours and snow storms. Here are the updates.
Total KwH produced to date; 1181
CO2 saved; 2007 Lbs.
I love that we can monitor it on line.
So we did well.... Our system has reduced emission equivalent to Planting 8 mature trees and driving 935 miles in a standard car.

As for the Cloth bags, we are doing really well. I have a larger bag I carry with some cloth bags folded up inside. I have a bag that is the size of the wallet I carry in my purse. Got that from Santa Last year. Oh to say last year when it was only a month ago, what a riot.
We sold a car, so now we have only two cars. Mine stays parked in the garage most of the time. I do not go to the grocery store as much. My errands are more controlled.
I feel better not wasting time or gas on needless trips. How are you doing?