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Another residential array that fits nicely into this suburban Columbus neighborhood.
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Another residential array that fits nicely into this suburban Columbus neighborhood.
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Solar power is happening all over Ohio, even in the small Southeastern Ohio town of Malta. Here is a larger 11.5 kW array.
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Solar power is happening all over Ohio, even in the small Southeastern Ohio town of Malta. Here is a larger 11.5 kW array.
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This system needed to fit on a smaller roof in a tight spot, an urban neighborhood with houses set close together.
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This system needed to fit on a smaller roof in a tight spot, an urban neighborhood with houses set close together.
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This 1.6 kW ground mounted solar array in Flushing, Ohio is equipped with a battery back up to provide power in black outs.
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This 1.6 kW ground mounted solar array in Flushing, Ohio is equipped with a battery back up to provide power in black outs.
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Third Sun Solar is proud to be part of a larger movement which is striving to redefine success in business so all companies compete to not only be the best in the world, but best for the world. Healthy profits donโt mean much without a healthy planet, and we run our business with that in mind. Thatโs why weโre proud to lead our fellow B Corps in working to improve the quality of life for our community as a 2015 Best for Environment honoree.
How are we Best for the Environment? We earned an environmental impact score in the top 10% of all Certified B Corporations on the B Impact Assessment, a comprehensive assessment of a company’s impact on workers, the community and the environment. That means every day, along with our fellow honorees, we help create a healthier planet by taking the lead in advancing renewable energy usage, reducing carbon footprints, and cutting our resource use and waste stream.
A B Corp since 2012, weโre leading a global movement to redefine success in business so one day all companies compete to be not only the best in the world, but best for the world. We join over 1,200 other companies committed to using business as a force for good. Check them all out at bcorporation.net.
Taking people and planet as seriously as our profits is at the heart of our companyโs mission. Thatโs why we have done things like:
installed solar on our own offices to produce almost 70% of our companyโs electricity through clean power;
conducted a waste audit to see how we could cut down on our waste products even further;
encouraged and assisted other businesses to take action to become B Corporations;
sell a clean energy product every day with the mission to accelerate the shift to clean energy.
We couldnโt do all this without the support of our customers, our employees and our community. These are people like you who believe in our missionโpeople who prove that doing good is also good for business. Thank you helping us to succeed where it truly matters. We are proud to be Best for the Environment.
Please check out our fellow honoreesโalong with those who are Best for the World, Best for Workers and Best for Communities,โand help us spread the word. And contact us if you want to learn more about how your business or your employer can become a B Corp.
Third Sun Solar to Speak at Forum Designed to Explore Solar’s Future in Ohio
Third Sun Solar president, Geoff Greenfield, at the Athens Public Library. (Photo courtesy of The Athens News)
Athens, OH– Third Sun Solarโs president and co-founder, Geoff Greenfield, will be speaking at this yearโs final Ohio Conservation Forum, this Friday, December 19th.
The forum will explore Ohioโs current energy situation with a look back at the history and impact of solar in the state, as well as discussing what the future holds for renewable energy in Ohio. The forum will feature a panel of solar professionals, including Greenfield, as well as a guest from Green Energy Ohio, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting environmentally and economically sustainable energy policies and practices in Ohio.
The event will take place at 1 p.m on December 19th at 1404 Goodale Boulevard, in Columbus. Those who are interested in attending are asked to RSVP to [email protected].
This symposium is a part of the Ohio Conservation Forums, an event put on by the Ohio League of Conservation Voters. The forums seek to stimulate education and discussion by joining experts with concerned citizens to discuss environmental and sustainability topics pertinent to the future of our state and its people.
The evolution in light bulbs has accelerated in the last couple of decades. It used to be that our only choice at home was the good โole incandescent bulb. We did have some experience with the buzzing and flickering fluorescent lighting at work or in commercial spaces. Those negative experiences with fluorescents made it harder to transition to compact fluorescents (CFLs) when those started to hit the market in the 1990s. Also the price was much higher than incandescent, which became a bit of a barrier to switching over. Even thought CFLs are 90% more efficient and proven to save electricity and money, the switch was not easy.
Fast forward to today, and we have seen the adoption of CFLs become more and more widespread. The technology has improved, and manufacturers took feedback about the quality of the light to heart, making improvements in warmth of the light and reductions in flickering and warm up times. The price has come down considerably as consumer demand has picked up and manufacturers have achieved higher production scale. They can now easily be found at pretty much any store that sells light bulbs and the public has verifiable proof that they do save money and time. But the downside of fluorescents is that they contain toxic chemicals that pollute our environment when not disposed of properly, and if they break in the home can expose us to small amounts of toxins.
Now along comes the next technology improvement, LED lighting. This new lighting is more expensive than what we have had, but again much more efficient. And it does not have the downside of toxic elements. Comparatively, LEDs have a brighter light (higher lumens) than CFLs, they have a power factor of .9 meaning most of the power is converted into light (CFLs convert more of that power into heat) and they consume 30% less power than CFLs.
Check out this handy chart to see the savings and benefits of LEDs over CFLs and over incandescent. Then head to your local hardware store and begin the process of replacing your most commonly used lighting with LEDs and then sit back and enjoy the money saving, super efficient and longer lasting light in your own home!
Thanks to National Builder Supply for the graphic.
This is US Army Reserve Drill Sergeant, Mat O’Brien.
When he is not serving his country in uniform, he is serving the environment by ensuring solar installations go smoothly and safely as Third Sun Solar’s Material Handling Specialist.
Mat’s presence is sorely missed while he fulfills a month-long assignment as the Drill Sergeant with the 1st platoon Echo Company 3rd Battalion 60th infantry regiment at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, but we are very proud of him for his service to our country and extend our congratulations and gratitude to him and his platoon who will graduate on September 25th.
Mat in his other role as Dad. Apparently, a baby that cute can melt even the toughest of Drill Sergeants
Thank you for your service, Mat, and thank you to all of the other men and women out there- and their families- who make many sacrifices to serve our country.
This beautiful 7.92kW system recently went live in Athens, Ohio.
In addition to hedging against future rate increases and lowering the homeowners’ utility bills, these 33 panels will offset approximately 15,944 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions over the next 25 years.
Now that is what we call a good neighbor.
Contact us today by filling out an inquiry form on our homepage, or call 877-OWN-SOLAR to see what solar can do for your home and your neighbors’ health.
Since its inception in April 2012, SolarCurator.com has provided hundreds of hand-picked selections of global solar industry news and features blended with original commentary. Helmed by chief curator and veteran solar/high-tech editor-blogger Tom Cheyney, the site has become one of the go-to alternative media outlets in the industry, offering timely viewpoints and freshly culled content and ideas from throughout the global solar energy community.
Here is their commentary on the Solar Power World magazine’s “Time to Shine” video, followed by a link to the video:
Planting the solar crop
Solar Power Worldโs โA Time to Shineโ video celebrates PV installers while promoting publication of top solar contractors list
As solar value proposition analogies go, this oneโs a doozy. โI was explaining the concept of solar to a farmer, and I used the following analogy,โ explains Mike Schmerl of Harvest Energy Solutions. โItโs a crop that he plants once, never waters, never fertilizes, that produces revenues for 30 years.โ
The quote comes from the new Solar Power World video, โA Time To Shine,โ which has been released in conjunction with the publicationโs well-parsed 2014 Top 400 Solar Contractors directory list. Mike (whose company ranks 189 on the list) joins Bailey Wagner of Third Sun Solar (#135) and Joe Morinville of Energy Independent Solutions (#254) to talk on camera about their perspectives on the solar installation world.
Baileyโs youthful exuberance charms and inspires, as she enthuses about the multifaceted challenges of her job and the joy of helping people go solar. Her comments about one of the final topic titles, โIn 2030,โ made me smile. โI hope that by 2030 that solar is boring,โ she opines. It sure isn’t there yet!
Athens, Ohio Solar Installer Listed Among Top National Firms
ATHENS, OHIOโSolar Power World magazine released their national 2014 Top 400 Solar Contractors list last week, noting the best-ranked solar electric system installers from across North America. Third Sun Solar ranked #135 of 400 nationally.
The 2014 Top Solar Contractors list includes many companies from high-growth solar states like California, Colorado, New Jersey and Massachusetts. Third Sun Solar was the highest-ranked of the five Ohio firms that made the list.
โOnly a tiny fraction of the nationโs companies have demonstrated such remarkably consistent excellence, particularly in the difficult economic environment of the past few years,โ noted Editorial Director Frank Andorka of Solar Power World. โThis achievement puts [Third Sun Solar] in rarefied company.โ
To promote this yearโs list, Solar Power World also produced a video featuring three regional solar companies, one of which was Third Sun Solar. In the video, three of Solar Power World’s 2014 Top Solar Contractors discuss their jobs, the industry and the future. The video is available here and also on YouTube (search Solar Power World on YouTube to find โA Time To Shine: 2014 Top Solar Contractors Discuss The Industryโ).
Our friends at Pure Energies note the following about using a HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit) for solar. Our comments are italicized.
Home equity is the conventional means by which most people have purchased solar systems in the past. So whatโs new in using home equity financing for solar?
Some home equity loan products are beginning to take into account the value the solar energy system adds to your home into their cumulative loan-to-value ratio (CLTV) calculations. This means more people would qualify for a loan with these products. If you’re interested in this, ask your banker or loan officer about it. More and more banks are getting on board with solar.
Maybe youโre thinking โhow much VALUE does a solar system add to my home?โ Solar is a relatively new commodity, and there has not been a lot of turnover yet in homes with solar, so the data is not very deep. But a number of studies over the last few years suggest that solar homes sell faster and for more money than non-solar homes. One summary in an appraisal journal article written a few years ago states that any energy improvement made to your home adds 20 times the yearly energy savings in value. So if you were to install double-paned windows that save you $300 a year in utility expenses, that adds $6,000 in value to your home.
If a solar system saves you $1,000 a year in energy, it adds $20,000 to the value of your home. Think about that. Few home improvements both add value to your home AND produce a valuable commodity year after year. With solar, you can be saving energy costs AND enhancing your home’s value over time. How many other investments do that?
Solar adds value while it also shows your values
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