Lithium-ion batteries dominate the energy storage market with their proven technology and continuously falling costs. Lithium-ion isn’t the only storage technology available, however: saltwater batteries are another option that has been around in some form for years now, and have the potential to impact the energy storage landscape in a big way in the coming years.
Continue readingWhy is my solar panel system more expensive than my neighbors?
It probably doesn’t surprise you to learn that the cost of solar varies by state, but what other factors make a solar panel system more or less expensive? If you’re comparing quotes with your neighbors and notice a big difference in cost, it’s probably due to one of five main factors:
Continue readingSolar news: April 3rd, 2020
In this week’s Solar News Roundup, we take a look at how a few solar companies are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Continue readingSaving Energy with EnergySage, part 4: Home appliances
This post is the fourth in our series about how to save on your energy bills even when you’re spending more time at home, as the entire EnergySage team is, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic (here are the first, second, and third.) Continue to check our blog for more ideas for how you can take control of your energy bills in the coming weeks.
Continue readingCharging your Tesla: how many solar panels does it take and how much does it cost?
Following the news of Tesla’s acquisition of U.S. solar installer giant SolarCity, the world has been keeping a close eye on Elon Musk and his two prosperous clean energy ventures. Tesla and SolarCity, electric cars and solar panels – a two-front war waged against grid reliance and energy dependence. In 2019, Musk-owned companies are both expanding and constricting as two of the tech entrepreneur’s five companies are joining forces around one common goal: eliminating your carbon footprint.
Continue readingSolar shopping amid the coronavirus pandemic
With many or all non-essential businesses shuttering around the country in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we at EnergySage wanted to provide an update about how the current social distancing and shelter-in-place guidelines and advisories impact solar. Given that the majority–or entirety–of the solar sales process can occur virtually, and recognizing that the majority of solar installations happen outside of your home–i.e., on your roof–installing solar remains possible and safe at the moment. Here’s what you need to know about shopping for and installing solar amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Continue readingSaving energy with EnergySage, part 3: Understanding your electricity rates
This post is the third in our series about how to save on your energy bills even when you’re spending more time at home, as the entire EnergySage team is, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic (here are the first and second.) Continue to check our blog for more ideas for how you can take control of your energy bills in the coming weeks.
Continue readingWhat is distributed power? The parallels between distributed energy and cell phones
In 1994, only 10% of Americans had a cell phone. And yet, in 15 short years, more Americans had cell phones than landlines. While the rapid adoption of mobile phones can’t be attributed to a single factor, there is one major parallel between the transition from landlines to smart phones and what’s actively happening today in the electricity industry: the transition from a centralized system to a distributed (or decentralized) network.
Continue readingWhy did my cost to go solar increase after a site visit?
Many shoppers, especially those using EnergySage, receive all of their initial solar quotes online before ever having a company visit their property. Occasionally, we hear back from customers about instances where they received an original, online quote for one price and, after a site visit from the installation company, the price increased. What happened?
Continue readingSaving energy with EnergySage, part 2: Consumption monitoring
This post is the second in our series about how to save on your energy bills even when you’re spending more time at home, as the entire EnergySage team is, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Here’s the first.) Continue to check our blog for more ideas for how you can take control of your energy bills in the coming weeks.
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