Solar and storage continue to increase in popularity throughout the country, and why not: pairing a solar battery with a solar panel installation provides an affordable, clean, reliable power supply for your home. At the same time, electric vehicles continue to become more and more mainstream: in 2019, the millionth electric vehicle hit the road in the US, and EVs were even heavily featured in Super Bowl ads.
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Charging 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 news: March 6th, 2020
In this week’s Solar News Roundup, we’re covering two topics in the broader energy industry with ties to solar: electricity generation trends in 2019 and new projections in New England for electric vehicle and electric heating adoption.
Continue readingWhat you need to know about the electric vehicles in Super Bowl ads
If you watched this year’s Super Bowl, you may have noticed a number of different commercials for electric vehicles. Given the cost of each 30-second spot, it’s clear that companies are committed to making electric vehicles mainstream sooner rather than later. We’ll let others comment on the quality of the ad itself (feel free to do so in the comments), focusing instead on what we know about the electric vehicles introduced or teased during this year’s Super Bowl.
Continue readingThe best of EnergySage in 2019
2019 was a big year for the U.S. solar industry: the country surpassed 2 million solar installations early in the year, California celebrated 1 million rooftops with solar this December, and in between the cost of solar reached historic lows. It was a year in which interest in solar–and energy storage–soared nationwide, but especially in wildfire-torn California.
Continue readingHow many panels do you need for your EV?
One of the primary benefits of purchasing an electric vehicle is that it allows you to transition from paying for gasoline to lower-cost electricity. But why not take that one step further and power your car with clean, solar power you produce on your own property? Here’s a quick breakdown to help determine how many solar panels you need to power your electric vehicle (EV) with solar.
Continue readingSolar news: October 4th, 2019
In this week’s Solar News Roundup, LADWP votes to expand a beneficial feed-in tariff program in their service area, and the first 100% electric vehicle “gas” station opens.
Continue readingSolar news: July 12th, 2019
In this week’s Solar News Roundup, EV chargers hit U.S. national parks, and a report says that Florida consumers interconnecting to the grid more than doubled in 2018.
Continue readingBest solar battery chargers: marine, RV and car battery chargers
Among today’s many uses for solar energy, one increasingly popular way to harness sunlight is with battery chargers that can power common home products. Outside of rooftop and utility-scale photovoltaics (PV), battery chargers might be the next best use for solar energy in terms of efficiency and practicality. A small panel can easily be placed next to a window to charge a phone, and a portable charger can be an easy way to power your car’s battery through the sunroof. In this article, we’ll discuss the many ways a solar battery charger can be useful, including how solar works with cars, boats, RVs and small devices.
Continue readingShould you oversize your solar panel system?
If you’re looking into installing solar, one of the biggest questions will be what size your solar panel system should be. It’s common practice to install enough panels to cover as close to 100 percent of your electricity needs as possible, as this is how you’ll maximize your savings. But, is there any benefit to sizing your solar panel system to generate more electricity than you currently need? For most people, the answer is no; but, there are certainly situations in which it’s a good idea to install a larger system than you currently need. Read on to learn why you should and should not oversize your solar panel system.
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