Dick Elkin

Author's posts

Volunteer Orientation a Success

Over thirty five people and one turkey attended a volunteer orientation for Solarize Wellfleet at the Mass Bay Wildlife Sanctuary on Wednesday, January 8.   Dick Elkin presented an overview of the program, outilned the outreach efforts and discussed the volunteer positions we needed. Janet Drohan was introduced as the volunteer coordinator.       …

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Does Solar Work in New England?

There is plenty of sunlight to support solar energy. In fact, cooler Northeast temperatures make solar electric cells work more efficiently. Much more important than sunlight intensity are programs to make solar cost effective, which is why cool and cloudy Germany is actually the global leader in solar generated electricity. 

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What size solar system do I need?

The size of your solar electric system depends on how much electricity you use. For maximum payback, you should generate enough electricity over the course of a year to cover the amount that you use in a year. Generally that means looking at your annual electric bill and sizing a system to generate that much …

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Do I need a battery backup system for night time electricity?

No. Your house remains connected to the grid and you draw electricity from the grid when you need it. With net-metering in Massachusetts, the utility (NSTAR) essentially acts as a “virtual battery” for your system. That is, whenever your solar panels don’t produce enough electricity to meet your electrical demand, you can get the rest …

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Are solar panels fragile?

Solar Electric systems are extremely rugged. They have no moving parts to wear out over time. Many solar installations have been producing energy for over thirty years, and all solar panels used by Solarize Wellfleet come with a warranty.  The baseline panels have a ten year product warranty, and the upgrades have a twenty-five year …

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Are the panels recyclable?

Yes.  Solar panels are primarily composed of glass and aluminum, which can be recycled as such.  However, panels may someday also be recycled for reuse as panels. Solar panels have an expected life of 30 years.  So solar panel recycling is in its infancy.  Some research has been done into how panels could be recycled …

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Does my roof need to face south?

An unshaded roof that slopes towards the south will produce the most electricity for a given set of panels.  However, even if your roof is more east or west facing, you can still get strong results.  A west facing roof might produce 82% of what the same array on a south facing roof would produce.  For …

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Do I need a new roof?

The solar panels you put on your roof are should last for 25 years.  You want your roof to outlast your panels, so that you don’t need a new roof during the lifetime of the panels.  In general, this means that your roof should be less than ten years old. That said, the portion of …

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Wellfleet embraces the sun

By Mary Ann Bragg mbragg@capecodonline.com December 26, 2013 WELLFLEET — Wellfleet will be the second town on Cape Cod to join a state program to persuade homeowners to install solar panels to generate electricity. The town energy committee has joined up with the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary for “Solarize Wellfleet,” which formally kicks off Jan. 24. …

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Will I start receiving SREC payments as soon as I generate the electricity?

No. There will be a delay (from six months to over a year) between electricity generation and payment for SRECS. SRECS are “minted” on the fifteenth day of the first month after the quarter in which they are generated. But they cannot be sold at auction for another quarter. So if you finish generating 1 …

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