Archive for December, 2009

San Francisco Sustainable Financing To Launch In Early 2010

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

ect 016San Francisco is joining the list of municipalities offering a PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) financing program.   The new initiative will be called San Francisco Sustainable Financing, or SF Squared (SF2) and will allow both residential and commercial building owners to finance solar water heating systems on their property taxes over a 20 year period. The financing program is expected to launch in early 2010.

SunWater Solar is pleased to see the SF2 program move forward.  The financing package will help more business and home owners install solar water heating systems to reduce greenhouse gasses and cut down on energy bills.

Solar Water Heating To Be Funded Through Oakland Property Tax Bills

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

Oakland, CA is joining other municipalities to offer financing for solar water heating projects through property tax bills.   This financing will be available for both commercial and residential installations and will allow property owners to pay for the solar water heating system over a 20 or 30 year period avoiding the upfront cost of the system installation.

Renewable Funding will be administering the program under the California First program which is one of many PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) funding programs the company is offering.

Multifamily Affordable Housing, Title 24, and Solar Water Heating

Monday, December 14th, 2009

IMG_7316Solar Water Heating is expected to play a larger role in helping buildings exceed California’s Title 24 regulations in 2010.  SunWater Solar is assisting developers exceed Title 24 standards by installing solar hot water systems on multifamily affordable housing projects around the Bay Area, including developments in Palo Alto for Bridge Housing and San Leandro for Eden Housing.

Title 24, the energy efficiency standards that were adopted by the state of California in 1978 for residential and nonresidential buildings, is being updated and new Title 24 regulations will be implemented on January 1, 2010.  Many of the energy efficiency measures that helped building owners exceed the Title 24 code in the past will now become standard.

Many property developers, especially in multifamily developments, rely on incentives provided by programs such as the CMFNH and to qualify these buildings must exceed the Title 24 standards by at least 15%.  Green Point Rated buildings also require Title 24 to be exceeded by 15%.  Solar water heating will be key for many of these developments to exceed Title 24 beginning in 2010 and SunWater solar will continue playing an active role in installing these solar water heating systems.

Solar Water Heating For Hotels

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

There are a growing number of hotels across the US that are going green and doing their part to reduce their carbon footprint.  One of the best ways for hotels and other places of lodging to go green is by using the renewable energy of the sun to heat their water.   Because hotels typically use a  large amount of hot water, solar water heating systems are a perfect match for their needs and the number of hotels moving to solar water heating systems is growing everyday all across the country.

SunWater Solar specializes in commercial solar water heating systems and can work with hotels, motels, and inns across California to go solar to heat their water.   As energy prices increase,  rebates and tax credits grow more common, and financing programs come on line, we expect to see many more hotel guests enjoying hot water provided by the sun.

Solar Water Heating and Life Cycle Costing

Friday, December 4th, 2009

Hayes 1When considering the purchase of a solar water heating system, it is important to consider Life Cycle Costing as opposed to just the simple payback of a system.   Solar water heating systems are designed to last for many years and if you just look at the time it takes to recover your initial investment through your energy savings you miss out on the long term financial benefits of the system.

It is true that a solar water heating system will cost more than a traditional water heating system when it is first purchased.   But have you considered the cost of the energy that will go into operating the traditional hot water heating system over its operating years?  If you take that cost into account plus the inflation of energy prices, a traditional water heating system looks very costly compared to a solar water heating system that will pay for itself and bring you energy savings for years to come.

Bob Ramlow, a noted expert on solar water heating, gives an excellent summary of life cycle costing as well as his take on how you can go solar for free hot water.   And don’t forget that a homes value increases by $20 for every $1 reduction in annual utility bills according to The Appraisal Journal.  So a solar hot water system that saves $200 per year would add $4,000 to the value of the home.

So instead of paying the utility company for the energy to heat your water, why not invest that same money in a solar water heating system from SunWater Solar that can bring you excellent financial returns? And you can feel good about your investment because you are cutting down your carbon footprint and doing your part to save the environment.