Is Cryptocurrency Sustainable?

Key Points:

• Bitcoin uses more energy per year than the whole country of Norway!  
• At it’s highest in November 2021, Bitcoin was worth $1.7 Trillion which was around 35% of the total crypto market. 

  

Back Story:

About a year ago crypocurreny seemed fake to me. It felt like moving digital numbers around and then making up their value.  It felt like a concept more than a solid thing. However in the the same breath people talking about it were calling it the future of finance and investing real amounts money.

Over the the past few months I have been playing with a few digital coins and watching the market go up and down, listening to the language and trying to understand the whole concept.  Most of all since I believe we need to become  a more sustainable society for the good of future generations, I wanted to know… Is Crypto Sustainable?

In this article we will dissect a few important items about crypto:

1. Is it even worth talking about from a money standpoint?
2. How much energy is being used and why? How does that compare?
3. Are there eco-friendly cryptocurrencies?
4. Second Part: Why I chose one over all the others and have actually invested.
5. Second Part: Major questions I still have.

Let’s get started!

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#1 Is Crypto even worth talking about from a money standpoint?

Here are some Global Money Stats to consider:

Value of all Cryptocurrency in the Market:

• November 2021 = $3 Trillion
• March 2022 = $1.7 Trillion – The market can fluctuate a lot but has trended upward over time.
• Bitcoin and Ethereum is around 60% of the total market

Global Equity Trading Worldwide in 2022 = $37 Trillion

Trillions of dollars is no small sum of money and it’s higher than the GDP of many countries, but in terms of taking over the financial system, not so much. It is however having a real impacts and large investment firms are using it in their portfolios, countries are using it as legal tender and large corporations are taking it as payment.

As the digital world gets bigger and bigger with virtual reality, metaverse, NFTs and video games, using digital currency is on the rise and in my opinion worth thinking about.

#2. How much energy is being used and why? How does that compare?

The 2 largest coins Bitcoin and Ethereum make up about 60% of the market. Both of them use a mining method that is very energy intensive. This method is called proof of work and essentially uses computing power to mine coins and record transitions on a ledger aka the blockchain. 

Below are the energy usages, in TWh, of the some of top cryptocurrencies. Remember the first 2 are Bitcoin and Ethereum which are 60% of the market. They also use the most energy being proof of work where the others could be using proof of stake which is a lot less energy intensive. 

www.moneysupermarket.com/gas-and-electricity/features/crypto-energy-consumption/

That is a lot of energy for #1 and #2! 

If the value increases for Bitcoin, more people will mine it, which will mean more competition and an increase in energy used to mine the coin. 

Hard to predict where the price will go, but here is a chart showing increase of energy usage for Bitcoin over the past 10 years. 

www.ccaf.io/cbeci/index

If you combine both the energy usage for Bitcoin and Ethereum it is more energy consumption than the country of Mexico!

There has been predictions that Bitcoin alone could reach over 500 TWh per year which is more than France and possibly Brazil. Just for Bitcoin. However that is an estimate on the high side of the spectrum and would depend on few factors, value of bitcoin being the biggest.

Side note: It has been said that Bitcoin mining produces as much e-waste as the Netherlands. Which would be about 24 kilotons of e-waste each year as the average machine used for mining has a lifespan of about 18 months and are hard to re-purpose. They mention it feels like Bitcoin is like a old truck belching fumes, where there are new, better versions ready to be used. 

On flip side, we need to consider, how much energy does our current monetary system use?

Below is a chart that in my opinion is tough comparison to make between energy used for tradition banking and gold with Crypto but they tried. Also Bitcoin plus Ethereum is the better comparison and that would bring it over 300TWh/yr. Plus the fact that Crypto is not widely accepted as legal tender even though there are work arounds with apps that convert Bitcoin to cash during a transactions at the cash register.

#3. Are there eco-friendly cryptocurrencies?

FYI: Googling “eco-friendly cryptocurrencies” is a trap!

The results will most likely bring you to links where they say a cryptocurrency is “eco” because it takes less energy to mine and create transactions. As you can see this is an important concept as the Crypto community needs to consider and develop better options than the energy intensive “proof of work” concepts of Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Just looking at their energy usage I would not necessarily call Bitcoin and Ethereum eco-friendly, although they possibly use the same amount of energy as our current monetary system, but lack some the functions that a traditional bank would provide. 

I know some people are sitting here reading this and going, but Crypto has benefits that have not even mentioned and through those benefits comes a change in the systems that got us in this ecological mess to begin with.

That may be true, and if we are even going to be able to upack that statement we will first have to understand what crypocurrency actually is and how it actually functions and I will leave that to your personal exploration and interpretation.  Here is a starter link called “What is Cryptocurrency“. Please know I or SEG are not endorsing this information and that Coinbase is a crypto trading website so their view will be on the pro-crypto side. 

As I promised, I’ll leave you with my top pick for an Eco-Friendly Cryptocurrency, and it goes by the name of PowerLedger (POWR) which I will be discussing in Part 2 of this series. 

Thank you for sticking with me on some dense, possibly new ground breaking information. Check in with SEG next month (sign up for our free newsletter at the bottom of this page) as we dive into PowerLedger and how it’s blockchain technology is enabling a part of India to share electricity from home to home while recording the transaction. 

“The future is here, how can we make it more sustainable.” – Our SEG mantra!

 

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The New Frontiers of Solar – CPV Concentrator Photovoltaics

Part of SEG’s “Energy Chats” Series with Joe Nelson

Question by an SEG Customer:

The panels and equipment that you installed in ’17 are working well. My question has to do with photons. Energy produced by the panels converts what wavelengths of the sun’s spectrum to electrical energy? Is it everything except infrared?

Could properly placed reflective mirrors (either silvered or just a highly reflective metal) increase the panels’ production? Would the extra heat produced cause damage?

 

Answer by Joe Nelson (Licensed Electrician) :

 

Let’s talk physics for a moment.

 

Light (energetically) is made up of photons, even light not visible to our eye is still comprised of photons. These photons at the upper and lower level of light (outside our visible range) are typically either moving too quickly or too slowly for efficient conversion into Photovoltaic electricity, therefore most solar panels are designed primarily to use the visible light spectrum most efficiently. Ultraviolet light has too much energy, and its byproduct is heat which lowers the panel’s ability to convert photons to electricity. On the other hand, the infrared end of the spectrum just does not have enough impact to knock loose those pesky electrons on the solar panel.

 

Your logic is sound, in that the two limitations to capturing solar energy are a) intensity of the sun’s energy and b) heat. You are may be familiar with “Concentrated PV,” in this configuration they use lenses to focus the intensity of the sun onto the surface of the solar cell, they then use water to bathe it all in and wash away as much heat as possible wringing the most efficiency out of it as possible. you absolutely could increase the intensity of the sun either with a reflective surface OR a lens, and at that point your production would go “up”, this would be counter balanced by the loss of efficiency as the material heated up and in a roundabout manner the gain would be a wash against the losses.

 

 

This would not “damage” the solar cells (other than the risk of truly overheating them and cooking the material) but it would “shorten their lifespan” by accelerating their deterioration. Therefore, most of the design schemes you see are experimental in nature. When NREL is testing differing types and strategies for modifying these technologies they are seeking to increase efficiencies by fractions of a single digit percent, we have the luxury of designing inside an “achievable goal” in this case the client says, “make my PG&E bill go away”. I know with absolutely certainty there is an increase in efficiency I can gain somewhere! But is that gain and its cost worth the reward realized? Usually, the answer is no.

 

 

To play devil’s advocate, if we took your system off the roof and placed it in the backyard, and were able to wash water across the surface of all the panels like a recycling fountain(with a large enough volume of water to remove the heat and shed it to the ambient environment), and then place either mirrors or Fresnel lenses arranged to increase the intensity on the solar cell’s surface, you would see a gain in collected energy.

 

Editer: Don’t you wish all electricians spoke so sweetly?! Thank you for sharing Joe!

 

Until next time on SEG’s “Energy Chats”

 

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Did you know we get better sun for solar energy than Florida?!

Part of our Solar Foundations Series aka Fun solar facts to know and share from SEG.

Solar irradiance often called solar resource is very important when it comes to planning a solar energy system for your home and business.

Because the Earth is round, the sun strikes the surface at different angles, ranging from 0° (just above the horizon) to 90° (directly overhead). When the sun’s rays are vertical, the Earth’s surface gets all the energy possible. The more slanted the sun’s rays are, the longer they travel through the atmosphere, becoming more scattered and diffuse.

In the summer the United States receives more hours of direct, high angle sunlight than in the winter. The summer days are longer and in places like the Southwest and parts of California very little sunlight is diffused by clouds, fog, pollution and other atmospheric and climate factors. 

If you take a deep look at the map above you will see we have a higher than normal solar resource in the Sierra Foohills even compared to the Sunshine State of Florida. 

When the sunlight is the best for solar energy, on highest and longest days of the summer, we have less, if any cloud cover.  Our dry summers account for that. Where as summers in the East and Midwest still receive rain when do do not. 

Therefore we have excellent solar resource aka solar irradiance in Nevada County and the surrounding area.

Lucky us!

This is what makes our solar proposals such a great deal  with short payback periods compared to other parts of the country. It’s because we get “better” sun!

Who gets the best sun for solar energy world wide?  See below!

Here is a little more food for thought to really see what is happening when it comes to solar irradiance. 

The post What is solar irradiance? Why does in matter in California? appeared first on Sustainable Energy Group.

Part of SEG’s Sustainability in Media Series, where we share good media about sustainable energy and living to help our community learn and thrive during interesting times. 

Before you go straight to the article (link below), here are some points that I feel are re-affirmed by this concise, to-the-point interpretation. 

1. Solar is cheaper than coal (and better for the environment)
2. Regardless of how cheap solar is becoming and how much utility companies are installing, utility companies like PG&E still raise prices yearly by about 5%. With fire risks that is not going to change. Therefore, owning (not leasing) solar for you home is the best way get all the benefits.
3. We only have 1.5 years left of the solar tax credit and it may not get renewed because of these dropping costs.
4. We will need to combine other energy sources and storage (batteries) with solar to help deliver power when we need it most, at night.
5. Solar should not be political, it’s an economical, environmental and simply a morally better energy solution than carbon based fuels.
6. Solar creates local good paying jobs.
7. Solar produces clean energy for at least 25+ years.
8. We must de-carbonize our country and industries as soon as possible. Understanding that burning trees, drilling oil and fracking gas is not the solution.

Check out the Forbes article by Enrique Dans.

www.forbes.com/sites/enriquedans/2020/05/21/what-the-post-pandemic-world-needs-is-a-solar-energy-revolution

Not able to read the full article?

Here are some quotes:

“In reasonably sunny places, it (solar) is by far the cheapest form that we humans have managed to invent for generating electricity.”

At the time, “solar plants routinely win power auctions with bids that reach 4 cents per kilowatt-hour, a price that is no longer cheaper than a coal plant: it’s cheaper than coal itself.”

In conclusion

” Those who … continue to rely on the old way of generating energy using fossil fuels will surely be missing out on the most transformative technology we have seen in a long time.”

Please let us know your thoughts on social media or email us at info@seg.energy.

The post Commentary on why the Post-Pandemic World Needs Is A Solar Energy Revolution appeared first on Sustainable Energy Group.

Research shows that homes with solar sell for more. That is, your home with solar has a higher value than a similar home without solar. They also indicate that homes with solar sell faster than those without.

A 2019 study conducted by Zillow, an online real estate and rental marketplace, compared homes with and without solar-energy systems that were listed for sale and sold between March 1, 2018 and February 28, 2019. Zillow’s study proved that solar increases home value nationwide by an average of 4.1 percent. Granted, owning vs. leasing solar matters, for owning a system outright adds value to homes, while leasing does not.

According to U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkley Laboratory (2015), solar adds more than a $4/watt premium to the purchase price of a home in CA. That means, for an average system size of 5.5 kilowatts, add over $22,000 to the value of your home. It’s important to note, too, that solar is exempt from property tax in CA. Another study by the Berkley Lab found that the sales price of the average home increased $17,000 with solar panels.

Similarly, publications from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory on solar market research and analysis discuss how, across several housing developments, “solar homes appreciated 20% more, and sold 17% faster than the non-solar homes” (Clean Technica).

With the help of an educated realtor it seems apparent through these studies that solar is a safe and lucrative investment for your home or commercial building. The appraised value ultimately comes down to whether an appraiser can utilize values of comparable homes with solar in your area.

Take a moment to also read an example locally (article link) where Sharon Sausedo, of Sausedo Realty, bought a property in Penn Valley that needed extensive work and upgrades before selling. She repaired and remodeled the house, and then put it on the market in late 2018.  Sharon stated that the appraiser indicated that the property would likely not have come in at the offer price without solar.

When all is said and done, solar pays for itself and then some when you sell your property. With incentives, appreciation, and fast return on investment, solar is an increasingly better deal. The fact of the matter is solar increases the value of your property.

Sounds like a win-win to us!

P.S. – Our customers can sleep soundly knowing that we have the best warranties in our industry, guaranteeing the value that solar adds to your property.

Sustainable Energy Group is so confident our solar installations will stand the test of time that we offer a 25-year installation warranty on the workmanship of our installations as well extended warranties for parts and equipment.

The post How Does Solar Impact Home Value? appeared first on Sustainable Energy Group.

Of course you are. We all are. That’s not really what this is about though. It’s about the opportunity to pay less.

Whether you have solar, are planning to go solar, or never plan to go solar, it may be possible to reduce your electricity cost simply by changing your PG&E rate plan. Invest a few minutes of your time to ensure you’re not losing out on possible savings.

Even if you’re not currently on a Time-of-Use plan, know that PG&E will be transitioning all customers to a TOU plan soon.

• All Customers with TOU-A (Time of Use – A) will be transferred to TOU-C in the Summer of 2020. The only way to avoid that is to sign up for TOU-B before May 1st, 2020.
• All customers on the E-1 rate schedule, will be switched to TOU (Time of Use). So, if you’re thinking of getting solar, consider locking in TOU-B rates by May 1st, 2020.

If you are working with us, getting solar or backup power, we can help you understand what is best for you with a site visit or phone call.

This seems complicated, but it will become clearer when you check and review your current PG&E rate plan. Below are instructions on how to navigate your account as well as compare and change rate plans. If you don’t have an online account yet, set one up; the information you’re missing out on could cost you more than you might think! (here is the link to login and on the bottom left, register for a free online PG&E account)

Begin by looking at your “rate schedule” on page 3 of your bill (see red arrow).

Next, explore your options by clicking “compare rate plans” (see red arrow). Once you’re on the comparison page, scroll down to find your rate plan options.

Before you change your plan, there are a few additional considerations. Many plans begin with “E-TOU,” which is an abbreviation for “Electricity-Time Of Use”. With time of use, the price of electricity is based on the time you’re using or generating power (with solar). Each rate plan specifies high-priced “peak” times and lower-priced “off-peak” times.

If you’re an existing solar customer on “E-TOU-A” PG&E is planning to transition you to E-TOU-C on July 1st; or September 30^th, depending on what PG&E documents you’re looking at (they’re not always crystal clear about things). When you’re comparing rate plans, E-TOU-C doesn’t currently show up as that, instead it will say “Time-of-Use (Peak Pricing 4-9 pm Every Day)”. In contrast the E-TOU-B is similar but is called out as such and says “Peak Pricing 4-9 Weekdays”. Note the difference between “Every Day” and “Weekdays”. There’s also a difference in the price you pay during winter and summer as well as peak and off-peak periods. It sounds confusing, I know, but fortunately the comparison page will show you the cost difference between “B” and “C”.

If you’re not a solar customer, but are considering going solar, you should consider E-TOU-B before it closes to new customers on May 1^st, 2020. Once you’re on it, you’ll be able to keep it for at least five years. In PG&E-speak, you’ll be “grandfathered in”.

This is important because E-TOU-B may be more favorable than E-TOU-C once you’ve gone solar. The only way to really know is to have a solar professional use a cost-benefit analysis tool to see how much power you’ve used during different times of day and month in the past, then evaluate solar for you.

Believe it or not, PG&E knows how much electricity you’ve used every fifteen minutes going back years and years! This information, called “interval data”, can be downloaded from your PG&E account. Beware though, it’s a huge amount of data! Fortunately, we can download that huge data file into our advanced analysis tool and it crunches the numbers for us very simply.

Lastly, even if your home isn’t solar and never will be, we encourage you to compare your options, it’s pretty easy and doesn’t take much time.

The post Are you paying PG&E more than you should? appeared first on Sustainable Energy Group.

Adding Battery Storage To An Existing Solar System

As covered in Parts 1 through 3 of this series, there are all kinds of options to serve your backup power needs in the event of a power outage. To the uninitiated, adding battery storage to an existing solar system might seem straightforward – just buy some batteries and plug them in. However, to those of us with experience in this area it’s not at all straightforward in most cases. The answer depends on a whole host of questions over and above those covered in Parts 1-3 of this series, read them here ->

First off your existing solar panels don’t need to be replaced. In most cases your solar grid-tie inverter (GTI), the equipment that converts the DC power from your panels into AC power doesn’t know how to deal with batteries.

There are two basic options – replace your inverter with one that knows how to play nice with batteries or add an extra battery-based inverter (BBI) that does.

By “play nice” we need to keep in mind your solar system will sometimes be capable of making more power than you or your batteries need. If that happens when you’ve lost utility power the solar panels need to turn off. Overcharging batteries can be an explosive experience so, to avoid that, the inverter needs to know to turn them off. If you haven’t lost utility power and your panels are making more power than you’re using, the excess is sent back to the utility for a credit.

The following will be as non-technical as possible while still giving some insight into the two main options, referred to as “DC Coupling” and “AC Coupling”. There are a whole host of compatibility and system design issues beyond the scope of this article that are best left to your solar company.

With DC Coupling, your existing Grid Tie Inverter (GTI) is replaced by a Battery Based Inverter (BBI.) These inverters are used in off-grid as well as grid-tied systems when battery backup is desired. The battery can be charged by your solar energy system, your utility or a generator depending on which is available.

The DC power from your solar panels passes through a “charge controller” on its way to your battery. As the name implies, its role is to control the charging of your batteries. Proper battery charging is important for extending the life of the battery and it’ll stop charging the battery when it’s full as well, preventing them from being overcharged. From the charge controller, the DC power goes to the BBI where it’s converted into AC power for your use in your home or business whether the utility is available or not.

DC Coupling loses less of the energy produced by your panels because the conversion from DC to AC power only happens once.

It also makes sense for people with older “string inverters” that are close to the end of their useful life of 10 to 15 years. A battery-based inverter also allows for a wider range of battery sizes.

If you have a newer system that uses micro-inverters (like Enphase) or a power optimizer-based inverter (like SolarEdge), AC Coupling may make more sense. This is especially true if you have any significant shade moving over your panels, which was probably one of the reasons you went with one of these inverters in the first place.

With AC Coupling you can use your existing inverter and simply add a BBI, as they know how to handle a battery.

The DC power produced by your panels goes to your existing GTI and is converted to AC power as usual. From there, the inverter sends it to your BBI.

During a power outage the BBI stays safely disconnected from the utility to protect repairmen, just as a regular GTI is required to do. The battery inverter converts battery power to AC power for your use.

AC Coupling has some advantages and disadvantages. It can work with a variety of existing inverters and may be the easiest way to retrofit your existing system. In terms of disadvantages, it can be slightly less efficient because power from the GTI is AC, but batteries store DC power. For the battery to charge and discharge, the AC power from your GTI  must be converted to DC for the battery, then back to AC for your use.  This extra step causes more energy to be lost compared to DC Coupling.

There can be some limitations as to how much of your existing system you can use this way too if it’s bigger than the battery inverter and the battery. They typically cost more up front in equipment and labor too.

Retrofitting your existing system can be challenging, but an increasing array of options are coming out from several companies aiming to make the process simpler and more “plug and play”.

In addition to having battery backup for power outages, these systems can also help reduce the price you pay for power. With solar, the price you pay for the power you use, or the credit you earn for the excess power you make, depends on the time of day. When electricity demand is higher in the afternoon and early evening you pay a higher rate than what you do at other times.  If you have a battery on your solar system you can use that power when the rates are high and save money. While that alone doesn’t typically justify adding batteries, it can be an added bonus

While batteries are quickly coming down in price, there are cheaper backup options for short term outages, but it depends on how much you need to back up and for how long. For long term outages generators may be undesirable due to fuel consumption and noise. In such cases a solar system with battery storage, possibly a generator option as well for occasional recharging if solar isn’t enough, can provide a complete solution.

This four-part series has been designed to help you understand your backup options in our Area of Nevada, Placer, El Dorado Counties as well as the surrounding area of Northern California.

I recommend you read the previous three articles on battery storage, generators, power outages with PG & E   prior to making any decisions on how to proceed. In the meantime, please check out these links for important information about how to be prepared in the event of a utility outage in California and Nationwide:

Public Safety Power Shutoff tips – https://prepareforpowerdown.com/

The Safety Action Center contains helpful information about wildfire risks and what you can do before, during and after an emergency to keep your family safe.

https://www.safetyactioncenter.pge.com

SEG has a team of electricians who can install generators and automatic and manual transfer switches and have been doing so for over 15 years. Call us for a consultation on how to build this into your home or business.  We hope this series of articles on backup power during PG&E power outages help you decide what works best for you in your situation. Give us a call today and find out how we can help with energy backups during power outages for Nevada County, Grass Valley, Nevada City, Penn Valley, North San Juan, Auburn and surrounding Placer and El Dorado Counties.

The post Power Outages – Part 4, Adding Battery Storage To An Existing Solar System appeared first on Sustainable Energy Group.

How much would a generator cost? How much would batteries cost? There are plenty of online tools and other resources available to give you relatively quick answers, but are they the right answers? Backup power systems can run from several hundred to tens of thousands of dollars, so it’s crucial to know that your investment will meet your needs.

I subscribe to the adage “you can have it fast, you can have it cheap, you can have it done right – pick two”. Many will tend to gravitate towards “cheap”, although I’m finding “fast” is increasingly popular thanks to PG&E’s periodic announcements. Of course being in a hurry and wanting something cheap can backfire. I’m sure anyone reading this can think of at least one such example in their lives.

Backing up your home or even just a few of your home’s electrical needs doesn’t come cheap, so I can’t emphasize enough that you spend the time to make the right choice instead of spending the money to make the wrong one.

Inevitably “done right” and “affordable” depends on being completely clear about these three things –

What’s your budget? This is where differentiating between “wants” and “needs” comes in and it’s the best place to start. It can take a lot of time to identify and add up all the electric loads in a home, select and price all the components, and design a backup system. It’s a drag when you find out a system is more than you have or want to spend.

What do you want or need to keep running, when PG&E shuts off the power? Very often I’ve found what people want is overridden by what they decide they really need when the cost comes in. So, you can save a lot of time by creating a list of what you absolutely need first, followed by a prioritized list of what you’d like to back up if your budget allows.

How long do you want or need to remain autonomous, and during what time of year? This is most relevant if you’re thinking of battery backup, with or without solar. But it also applies to generators insomuch as some people (or their neighbors) might not want to have a generator roaring away for more than a few hours.

Doing it right can involve a substantial investment of time simply because of the variability associated with the individual electrical items that you’ll be operating during an outage.

Doing it right also depends on what it’s going to take from an installation point of view to power up the items you need to run.

Here are some typical items we’ve had people run without utility power and a brief note about each. There’s quite a bit more to know, but this will give you at least a head start.

• Well pump – how much horsepower is it, and how many hours are you going to run it every day? This horsepower rating can give you a ballpark idea, but measurements are best, both for running watts and “surge watts” as the motors and the controllers used will vary. You may find a website or online forum where someone says, it’s simple, 1 horsepower = 746 watts. There’s actually more to it than that, but I’ll begin by saying “it depends on the pump” and add “that one horsepower pump is more likely running at 2000 watts with a starting surge of 6000 watts”.
• Refrigerator(s) and freezer(s). The amount of power they use varies a LOT with their size and age. I’ve seen sellers of Portable Power Units give overly-generalized information as to how long one of their units will power things. For example, I have a friend who purchased a portable unit that was said to run a refrigerator for 23+ hours, but it will only last for 15.5 hours. How much power your fridge uses relative to how much power a Portable Power Unit can actually deliver are good things to know before you spend several thousand dollars on a unit like the one my friend purchased.

There’s a couple ways to go about figuring out how much power you use.

One way is to use a handy little plug-in unit called a kill-a-watt available for about $25, to measure your fridge or anything with a standard outlet plug. The directions describe how to use it to see how much power your unit uses in a day.

Another way is to estimate your daily power use by knowing the size (cubic feet or dimensions) and the date your fridge was manufactured, which is typically on a label inside. They’ll often have a “FLA” (full load amps) on the label too, which indicates how much power it’ll use when it first turns on (amps times 120 volts = surge power). Like most anything with a motor there’s a brief “surge” in power when it first turns on. The surge power can be important to know as it’s possible it can overload a backup power source if it’s not properly accounted for.

• Water heater. If it’s electric it’s likely rated at 4,500 watts. But even if it’s gas it may not work without power. Most on-demand gas water heaters need fans to operate. If it’s gas and plugs into a wall outlet it’ll need electricity to function.
• Furnaces, heat pumps, and air conditioners. The power usage can vary quite a bit with the type, size and age. Labels are helpful, but measurements are always best.
• Clothes washers and dryers. The power usage can vary quite a bit with the size and age. Because each has a motor, and motors use more power than other things, it’s important to get these right. Electric dryers also have electric heaters in addition to motor power, while a gas dryer will have just the motor power.
• Oven and range-top. Electric stovetops and ovens use a lot of power. All-gas units typically require electricity to run the clock as well as start a burner.
• What other items do you want powered up? For example, what particular lights and plugs should be on the generator? Maybe you need to rely on a CPAP machine, a computer, internet router, cable box, TV, or a garage door opener? Having a complete list is important, as is getting the electrical ratings from the label.

How much you might pay for a battery, generator or both will depend heavily on what you choose to live without during an outage.

It’s not uncommon for someone to start out wanting to back up everything, and that’s sometimes the solution, but the cost of the equipment to serve an entire home may be too high. In this case a portion of the circuits, what we call the “critical load” are moved into a separate subpanel (see picture). Anything with a motor is going to be a big power user, and the less essential it is the more likely you may end up taking it off the list. For example, the clothes dryer might be first to go and be replaced by a clothes line, followed by the furnace or heat pump, especially if the home has a wood stove.

Another really important thing to know is that the circuits you back up are going to be moved to a new “critical load panel”.

If that new panel can be placed right next to your existing panel where your meter is it’s going to be easier (and cheaper) to extend the wiring over to it. But, what if you have circuits off in a different more remote panel somewhere we call a “subpanel”?

Maybe it’s where your well pump circuit breakers are located, and it’s really important that you have water during an outage! If that’s the case, the well pump wiring would need to be extended back to the critical load panel in which case, it’ll be a little more involved. Do you know which breaker switches are associated with particular outlets or light switches? They may not be clearly indicated, but it will be important to know which circuits will be moved over to the critical load panel, so a well-labeled panel is recommended.

Knowledge is power and money doesn’t grow on trees, so I trust this article will be helpful in understanding some of the basics involved in getting yourself a backup power system.

For more on your backup options during a power outage see Part 3, Battery Vs Generator, Advantages & Disadvantages, coming up in our August newsletter. In the meantime, please check out this link for

Public Safety Power Shutoff tips – https://prepareforpowerdown.com/

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Continue to  Part 3 – POWER OUTAGES – Solar with Battery Backup Vs Generator, Advantages & Disadvantages 

For more on your backup options during a power outage, sign up to receive our monthly newsletter.

Power backups using batteries and generators in Northern California are a major issue and topic of conversation our community. PG&E is proposing power outages for Nevada County, Grass Valley, Nevada City, Penn Valley, North San Juan, Auburn and surrounding Placer and El Dorado Counties. Not only will PG&E by shutting down power for maintenance in Northern California, they may also shut down full power lines due to fires and other public safety issues. Stay tuned for more information on power outages in California, Nevada County and Surrounding areas.

The post Power Outages Part 2 : How much do battery backup and generator installations cost? appeared first on Sustainable Energy Group.

Have you ever imagined adding a small dwelling to your property?

One that could be healthy, energy efficient, fire-resistant, and serve your family or community?

Natural building is a healthy construction method that uses durable, minimally processed materials such as hemp, straw, and clay which are renewable resources that can be produced sustainably and sourced locally. Natural building lessens the environmental impact of buildings and assures indoor air quality free of chemicals.

Nevada County recently changed zoning regulations to allow for Accessory Second-Dwelling Units on smaller parcels. Read on to see how natural building methods can be used to construct an Accessory Dwelling Unit.

Fewer restrictions for backyard dwellings!

The biggest change to the regulations in Nevada County is that homeowners, regardless of parcel size, are allowed to build detached dwellings up to 1,200 square feet, as of April 25^th, 2019.

They can alternatively build attached dwellings up to 50% of the existing house size, but not exceed 1,200 square feet.

Other restrictions stayed the same; the dwellings can have a 480 square foot attached garage or car port and a deck that is 10ft deep or less. Enclosed decks need to be 15% or less of the new dwelling square footage.

There are also hidden costs to consider that might not be apparent at first. For example, if the new dwelling has a kitchen, then the owner is required to install a separate septic tank and may need to increase the leach field size or build a new septic system for the dwelling. Other costs include laying water lines, electrical lines and making approved parking. Check with your local planning and environmental health agency to discuss the possibilities.

Backyard dwellings can be a green solution for the planet, community, and family.

These dwellings can improve the social fabric of multi-generational households and help to ease the negative effects of urban sprawl and climate change. This is achieved by utilizing existing infrastructure and creating small, energy efficient housing options in neighborhoods that supply employment, schools, and other services.

Not to mention, second-dwelling units create an opportunity for homeowners to generate income and offset the increased cost of living. Small backyard dwellings can also be used for short term rentals, employee housing, low income housing, or a studio/office space. In some cases, a retired homeowner may choose to move into the new unit and rent out their main home to pay off their mortgage and be in a better position to afford retirement.

In Nevada County, homeowners who deed their new dwelling as a rental for low income occupancy and for 10 years or more qualify for deferred permit fees that don’t need to be paid until just prior to getting their occupancy permit. The fee deferral also applies dwellings that are 800 square feet or less.

Please check with your local city ordinance concerning short term rentals or other restrictions.

The benefits of building for health.

Designing and building a small backyard dwelling can be an opportunity to create a healthy sanctuary on your property. Using a natural building methods, such as straw bale, hempcrete and light stray-clay (LSC), to regulate humidity and temperature inside the home is one of the best ways to insure the health of a building for an occupant.

Natural wall systems regulate temperature and humidity, because they’re very thick and porous.

They consist of materials that are vapor permeable and rot resistant, allowing moisture to be absorbed and released without molding.

Using natural materials that are free of known carcinogens also adds to the indoor air quality of the home. This is especially important when designing a small home where toxins have a greater potential to harm an occupant. The EPA has stated that “indoor air pollution in residences, offices, schools and other buildings is widely recognized as one of the most serious potential environmental risks to human health”.

There are many other design choices that can assist in creating a healthy sanctuary. For instance, natural materials such as lime and clay plasters, earthen floors, and passive solar orientation, all contribute to the intrinsic beauty and health of a small home. To take sustainability one step further, solar panels are a great design option for a backyard dwelling.

Natural materials are also a fire smart solution.

Choosing to build with natural materials like straw bale, light straw-clay, and hempcrete can add to the fire resistance of any size home.

Straw bale buildings are exceptionally resistant to fire and can have up to a 2-hour fire rating according to the California Straw Bale Building Association. LSC, a mixture of straw coated in a clay slip, has up to 4 hours of fire resistance¹. Hempcrete, a mixture of hemp hurd (the inner woody core of the hemp plant) and a lime binder, has fire resistance of at least one hour; the wall framing can be embedded in the center of the walls for greater fire resistance and finishing the wall with lime plasters further increases resistance².

There is also the potential to use woods chips in a similar building method to LSC and hempcrete called chip slip, which are wood chips coated in a clay slip.

By using wood chips, sourced from clearing trees that pose a potential fire danger, a homeowner can clean up their property to meet fire zone setbacks and produce a fire-resistant building material.

Lastly, in the event of a fire, because these building methods don’t use petrochemicals, they don’t release toxic compounds into the air in smoke.  There are many other types of natural building methods that should be considered including cob and rammed earth. There are also specific design considerations for each natural building method to meet your life style and design goals.

The Affordability of Natural Building.

The cost of natural building is hard to calculate, because every site is different. Generally speaking, though, the square foot cost for small spaces is higher, since more of the square footage is kitchen and bathroom, which are proportionally more expensive to build than they would in a larger home that has hallways and multiple bedrooms.

On another note, attached dwelling units cost less than detached ones, because water and septic lines can be shared with the primary house. As far as total natural building costs go, they’re comparable to higher end construction. Although, for the average do-it-yourselfer, there are more opportunities for sweat equity and hosting community workshops that help keep costs down.

Permitting natural buildings in Nevada County.

Straw bale and Light Straw-Clay (LSC) are both in the 2016 California Building Standards Code as prescriptive building methods. The first hempcrete building in Nevada County was permitted in 2013 under the alternative materials or methods of construction with no issues. LSC and hempcrete both lend themselves to an easy transition from conventional building, because they both use standard framing systems, which also leads to an easy estimate in cost from a contractor. For more information on permitting and designing natural homes contact Neil Decker of Starseed Creative, LLC in Nevada City at info@starseedcreative.com.

References:

https://www.greenbuildermedia.com/buildingscience/the-advantages-and-appropriate-use-of-light-straw-clay

1. Light Straw-Clay tests conducted by Joshua Thorton and John Straube found that, based on ASTM standards E 111 and E 84, LSC would very likely meet the conditions required for a fire-resistant period of four hours.

Hempcrete Fire Rating Test:

2. A 2009 test conducted by BRE Global in the UK to meet the BS EN1365-1:199 standard met conditions successfully for 73 minutes of integrity, insulation and load bearing capacity.

*this test was performed without plaster or other finishes so real world testing with plasters or wallboard would increase the fire rating.

A 2015 test in Canada to ASTM E199-14 and CAN/ULC S101-07 standards met conditions successfully for 68 mutes fire resistance rating.

Neil Decker is co-owner of Starseed Creative in Nevada City with Stella Adine Michaels. Neil and Stella design sustainable residential homes for the community and well as teach natural building workshops. Their unique approach to residential design is one that connects the occupant to their environment and ultimately themselves by incorporating natural, healthy materials, and passive systems. Neil and Stella pioneered Hempcete building in Nevada County and their demonstration home was one of the first permitted Hempcrete buildings in California. Neil and Stella have taught natural building workshops in New Zealand, Australia, USA, and Mexico.

The post Natural Backyard Dwellings appeared first on Sustainable Energy Group.

WHAT ARE YOUR OPTIONS?

Ever since PG&E announced they may be shutting off power for two days or more during extreme weather events, we’ve been getting lots of calls and emails asking about batteries and generators.

“How much will it cost to add batteries to my solar system? How much does a generator cost”? These are questions we’re hearing a lot these days. 

The answer to either question is “it depends”, and on a lot more things than you might imagine!

The short answers are –

• The cost to add battery backup to a solar system depends on how much is being backed up, for how long, and whether it’s a brand new or an existing solar system. For instance, adding batteries to a new solar system to power a refrigerator, lights and some outlets for a TV and internet service for four days with no sun could add $12,000 to the total installation cost. Details matter. For just one example, a 1991 20 cubic foot refrigerator/freezer will use six times more electricity than a new Energy Star model so, if that’s what you have, you’ve reduced your days of autonomy in this example from four days to less than two. Adding additional refrigerators or freezers, air conditioning, a well pump, and laundry equipment could increase the cost by $50,000 or more, depending on the type of batteries used.

It takes different, more costly equipment to work with batteries, so it costs less to add battery backup capability to a new solar system than an existing one because you don’t need any new or additional equipment.

• A generator is typically the cheaper option but, like battery backup, the cost depends on what you want running when your power gets shut off. What you’d need might range in price from a few hundred dollars for a small gasoline generator and some extension cords to $20,000 or more for a whole-house propane or natural gas-powered generator. There are also UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) units that can provide immediate power to small critical loads such as computers or life-safety devices.

Don’t fall for quick and easy answers. A knowledgeable expert will take the time to make sure you’re getting what you need, no more, no less.

Extra Resources:  Public Safety Power Shutoff tips – https://prepareforpowerdown.com/

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Continue to Part 2 – Practical Considerations for Power Outages

For more on your backup options during a power outage, sign up to receive our monthly newsletter.

Power backups using batteries and generators in Northern California are a major issue and topic of conversation our community. PG&E is proposing power outages for Nevada County, Grass Valley, Nevada City, Penn Valley, North San Juan, Auburn and surrounding Placer and El Dorado Counties. Not only will PG&E by shutting down power for maintenance in Northern California, they may also shut down full power lines due to fires and other public safety issues. Stay tuned for more information on power outages in California, Nevada County and Surrounding areas.

The post Power Outages – Part 1 : What are you options for backup power? appeared first on Sustainable Energy Group.