Author: wm_admin

For thousands of years, native Americans’ farming practices in desert conditions have called for planting under the shade of mesquite and other trees to shield crops from intense sun and mitigate parched ground.

Along come ground-mounted solar panels, the modern-day version of this practice to plant rows of crops underneath them.

“In the Santa Catalina Mountains north of Tucson (AZ), where a canopy of elevated solar panels helps to protect rows of squash, tomatoes and onions. Even on a November afternoon, with the temperature climbing into the 80s, the air under the panels stays comfortably cool.”

Researchers at work at Biosphere 2 are reimagining and remaking agriculture in a warming world. They are involved in agrivoltaics (agriculture + photovoltaics), asking “How might the shade of a solar panel array overhead lead to cooler temperatures and less excessive sunlight for agricultural plants?” Biosphere 2 is the world’s largest controlled environment dedicated to understanding the impacts of climate change, and affiliated with the University of Arizona. READ MORE

Photo credit: Courtesy of College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, University of Arizona 

Although, by all accounts, today’s American drivers still need to learn to love electric vehicles, in the 1990s there was an electric vehicle well loved and poised to replace gas guzzlers

of that time, the first-ever mass-produced EV from a major automaker, General Motors EV1. Shout out to one of our customers – you know who you are! – who reminded us of the story of that early EV told in the documentary, “Who Killed the Electric Car?” – still worth viewing (we heard it may be available via Amazon prime).

Sidenote: Stanford Ovshinsky, “the Father of Modern Solar Energy” and one of the greatest inventors of our time was interviewed in that film. We featured his amazing story in a 2012 Sunny Times issue in which we also reported that Dan Sabia, our company founder, met him at a symposium in 2007. Read the article.

The federal government has set a goal of having electric vehicles (EVs) account for 50% of all new vehicles sold by 2030. At the pace we are going, we will fall short with EVs expected to account for just 34% by then, according to a recent report by ING Think. Overall, America’s EV market grew at about 28% a year between 2015 and 2020, compared to 41% in the EU and 51% in China, the report says. 

Of note, only four in 10 Americans say they would consider buying an EV, while 46% say they’re unlikely to do so, a Pew research report found. Millennials were more open to purchasing one, particu-larly in comparison with Baby Boomers and older. Similarly, younger generations are more receptive to the idea of phasing out gasoline-powered vehicles entirely.

More to think about, courtesy of Stanford Ovshinsky (1922-2012):

 ”I grew up in the Great Depression and saw a lot of things that were wrong in society—poverty, unemployment, just terrible things happening to human beings. And from a very early age social responsibility was one of my interests. Whatever I did, I wanted to not only be a scientist involved in new technologies, because that’s what excites me, but I wanted to be a scientist who could use my work in science and technology to help make a better world. That means solving the science problems that can build new industries and that can serve the country and the social needs of the people. For example, we talked about photovoltaics, or PV. PV can be the answer to 60% of the carbon emission problems we are facing today, and the problem of global warming.”

The dream of a “green” Christmas can easily be reality. Green can be more than a featured color in holiday decorating. 

Consider these five easy “green” ways to deck your halls by focusing on the natural, simplified, reusable or recyclable.

1. Nature as decorator. Spread holiday cheer by benefit of nature’s bounty. Some of the most beautiful and festive holiday decorations for your home can be found in your own backyard, in the produce section of your local grocery or at one of Long Island’s many neighborhood nurseries.

Make use of red or green fruit such as apples and berries, pinecones, fallen tree branches, pinecones, nuts, acorns, cinnamon sticks, stringed cranberries or popcorn around your front door and throughout your home. 

Ivy, holly and poinsettia plants always add charm, but just be sure to keep the latter two away from children and pets since they are poisonous if ingested.

Use beeswax or soy candles in your menorah or advent wreath rather than battery or electrically operated choices.

2. Use what you have. No need to go as far as that Charlie Brown-type Christmas tree set up in your college dorm festooned with paperclips, beer cans, and candy-bar wrappers, but the idea of using what you have makes sense.

 Purchasing new decorations will not only cost you, but the items themselves will cost the environment in terms of the energy used to produce them, the petroleum consumption if manufactured of plastic, and possibly both in the disposable packaging.

Whether a tree, a mantle or a dinner table, look at last year’s decorations or flea market finds, and group them in new ways — by theme (all snowflakes, all Santas….), by material (all glass, all metal…) or by color (all silver, all red-and-white…). Decorating with vintage family items may bring a remembrance of mantelpieces and trees past. Putting your own spin on them may start new traditions.

3. Make your own. Homemade decorations don’t have to be complicated, or perfect, for that matter. That lopsided angel your son made in elementary school or the hand-carved wooden reindeer your uncle carved can add charm and character, and might even elicit a family story or two.

Other choices might include decorating your tree, evergreen garland or wreath with pinecones and nature’s other offerings, as listed above, or perhaps candy canes or other edibles such as cookies on a ribbon, raffia or string, or ornaments in the form of cut-out snowflakes from paper, or fashioned from recycled fabric, cards, wrapping and other paper, last year’s calendar, extra copies of photos, old magazines, junk mail, and the like.

4. LED or solar holiday lights. A modern-day Hanukah in which one day’s worth of fuel lasts eight would be miraculous and inspiring, but reducing the amount of electricity used for holiday lights can be a bit wonderful in itself. If your home has not yet switched to solar electricity (by the way, rooftop solar panels can withstand Santa’s reindeer and sleigh!), trade those old incandescents or CFLs for light-emitting diodes (LED) or solar-powered holiday lights indoors and out, and use auto-timers.

Both types of lights come in a variety of styles and colors today. Solar ones include icicle strings, snowflakes, and even candy canes, available at major retailers. While solar lights use no traditional energy at all, according to PSEG, LED lights cut energy by up to 96 percent. A typical Christmas light string of old-fashioned incandescent lights uses 35 watts per hour, with a life expectancy of only 3000 hours, while LED Christmas light strings use only 4 watts per hour, and have life expectancies of 100,000 to 200,000 hours, or 20-plus years, and they run cool, reducing worries about fire. 

5. The great “green” tree debate. Putting up a non-biodegradable, petroleum-manufactured artificial tree that will sit in a landfill forever doesn’t seem to be the environmentally responsible thing to do, but neither does cutting down a new evergreen every year, does it?

How to resolve this classic debate? If you have an artificial tree, use it, or reuse one someone else no longer wants. If you purchase a real tree, recycle it. In the Town of Hempstead, for example, curbside tree and wreath recycling takes place this year on Wednesdays, January 6th and 13th. 

One last possibility:  buy a potted evergreen. After the holidays are over, plant it!

By Nancy Hiler via nancy@builtwellsolar.com

Do you have a “green” holiday decorating idea to add? Have you gone “green” in other ways? Are you or your business taking steps to be green? Please email your tip or idea to nancy@builtwellsolar.com. We will credit you if we publish your item in our blog or newsletter.

Thanksgiving is the day we set aside to recognize and appreciate how fortunate we are for all we have, something easy to forget in the dash and demands of everyday life. The idea of making this particularly heartfelt occasion a bit less wasteful and a bit more in tune with nature is in keeping with that spirit of gratitude. It’s also consistent with the historic truth that the very first celebration actually paid homage to the land and to the harvest.

Bestselling “Food Rules” author Michael Pollan once wrote, “Don’t eat anything your grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.” Using ‘GoGurt’ as an example, he said grandma may have thought it might be toothpaste. Fact is Thanksgiving starts off on a  “green” carbon footing since it is one of the few holidays in which most of us eat an entire meal of traditional, grandma-approved fare. 

Think seasonal, local, organic 
As every meal did for Grandma, a traditional Thanksgiving dinner includes foods that are seasonal, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, broccoli, and pumpkin or applies for pies. Seasonal produce is eco-friendly because, in all likelihood, it is local, and therefore not expending the extra fuel needed to transport it or even import it from milder climates, not to mention helping to support nearby farmers where possible and, let’s face it, just plain better tasting! Unless you are one of the few Long Islanders who grow their own vegetables, this time of year particularly, consider local farm stands and supermarkets for seasonal, local and organic produce.

Green gobbler
Turkey, the usual focus of the feast, is of course native to North America, so it’s raised at least domestically. The nation’s largest turkey producer, Butterball, is located North Carolina with other major producers in Minnesota, Arkansas, and Virginia. Still, there are a handful of poultry farms closer to home, including Long Island’s own Makinajian Farms in Huntington, Mecox Bay Farm in Bridgehampton, and Miloski’s Poultry Farm in Calverton. 

Turkeys, as well as ducks and geese, raised on Long Island farms and elsewhere that meet certified organic standards, including being raised free of pesticides and other chemicals in feedstock, make them great “green” choices, often available through specialty retailers such as nearby Trader Joe’s. If you want to go totally vegetarian, try a Tofurky Roast made with organic soybeans

Green guzzling
Starting with filtered tap water rather than bottled, serving “green” drinks is all about thinking “local” and choosing natural and organic ingredients once again. Choose the quintessential Thanksgiving drink, apple cider, produced by an orchard nearby . Consider also making your own juices or adding a dash of juice from oranges, cranberries, pineapples, lemons or limes, and serve fair trade tea and coffee.

When it comes to alcoholic beverages, “green” is of course not about adding a bit of Green Crème de Menthe or Green Apple Schnapps to your glass, although that may be tasty and festive. Only about a handful of wines are certified organic by process, but many earn the label of organic with by their ingredients.  Try a taste test the offerings from Long Island’s sustainable vineyards, micro breweries or distilleries. 

Waste less
On Thanksgiving, we all not only tend to eat too much, we also tend to cook too much to begin with, leading to big-time waste. An Environmental Protection Agency study found that Americans generate about 30 million tons of food waste every year, and all but about two percent of that ends up in landfills. Not only is that an obscene statistic in light of world hunger, the rotting food that ends up in landfills produces methane, a huge source of greenhouse gases. 

The bottom line for Thanksgiving? Start by making and saving less food, if possible, and then send as many leftovers as possible home with the guests. Soon after the big day, drop off that unopened extra jar of cranberry sauce and other nonperishables at local food pantries.

And, break out the good, real china, the crystal glasses, the cloth tablecloths and napkins, etc., instead of paper or plastic disposables. And, decorate your table with nature’s bounty as well, fruit, vegetables or potted plants from neighborhood farmers markets or nurseries. 

Save more 
While cooking the Thanksgiving feast, heat from the oven and stovetop fill the house, not mention body heat of guests, shift that thermostat down to cut energy use, and add to the ambience with soy or beeswax candles. Speaking of the oven, it’s more energy efficient to pack the oven to capacity to heat as many things at once as possible, and to pack the dishwasher to cut water use.

Green is the new black
Finally, consider turning Black Friday “green” by joining in “Buy Nothing Day,” a global initiative in response to the over consumption that goes on during the holidays.

By Nancy Hiler via nancy@builtwellsolar.com

Do you have a “green” Thanksgiving or other holiday idea to add? Have you gone “green” in other ways? Do you use or sell “green” products or services? Are you or your business taking steps to be green? Please email your tip or idea to nancy@builtwellsolar.com and we will credit you if we use it in a future blog or newsletter.

Suddenly, pigeons, squirrels and other pests are nesting under solar panels on Long Island as never before. These critters are a nuisance, sometimes bringing disease, noise and can cause damage to wiring and the functioning of your PV system.

Only recently have “critters” moved to new territories due to Superstorm Sandy, new construction such as McMansions knocking out their former habitats, and climate change with its warmer winters impacting ecosystems overall. It’s warm and cozy in the gap between solar panels and the roof, creating an attractive nesting environment for critters. 

ACT SOON. It’s “critter” nesting season!! 

To prevent critters from setting up home under your panels, we offer Solar Critter Stop, a specialized product made for rooftop solar energy systems.

• High-grade wiring blocks debris, birds, rodents and small animals to better protect your solar array. 

• Utilizes black clips and black coated wire for a clean, attractive & classic look.

• Consists of wire gauge that is thick enough to hold up to animals, yet thin enough to promote airflow under your solar array for maximum production (specifically designed for this!)

Our Solar Critter Stop process is simple:

1. Call us at 516-695-1000 or e-mail us at info@builtwellsolar.com
2. Based on the perimeter length around your array, we will provide a written estimate.
3. Then we’ll schedule our professional services 

We will remove any debris and nests, and install Solar Critter Stop around the entire perimeter to create an effective barrier against squirrels, pigeons, and other critters.

While there, our experienced solar technicians will also check to see if your PV system has experienced any damage, and provide those details to our office, if necessary.  A follow-up proposal will then be provided to you for any needed repairs.

About Critters

SQUIRRELS. Squirrels have babies in Spring and Summer, so that’s when most nesting issues occur. And, they sometimes chew the wiring in solar energy systems because they are often coated with nut-based or vegetable-based oils they love. They can even chew straight through to expose the wiring, causing damage or even a shutdown of a PV system.

PIGEONS. Known as the rats of the sky, wild pigeons don’t damage wiring but their damp nests and debris can damage roof shingles. Also, pigeons can carry disease, leave unsanitary and unsightly droppings, and create a noise nuisance. 

About Us

Solar Critter Stop is a service company of Long Island’s original solar energy company, BUILT WELL SOLAR.  Celebrating our 20^th anniversary, since we specialize in designing and installing solar energy systems, who better to provide a quality solution and to also evaluate any critter damage and repair and restore your system to its former operational functioning? Leave critter removal and installation of wire mesh around your solar arrays to the experts, Built Well Solar. Not to some random laborers or home improvement contractors with little or no understanding of PV systems.

Consider this one amazing fact about the enormous potential of solar:  in a single hour, the amount of power from the sun that strikes the Earth is more than the entire world consumes in a year.  This makes solar energy, by far, the largest energy resource on the Earth.

While estimating this potential largely depends on what factors are taken into account, according to Sandia National Labs, globally we currently use only about .5% of this potential, or about 63,300,000 daily megawatt hours out of 401,850,000 potentially available. 

The following comparisons further underscore the tremendous potential of solar energy:

• One year’s worth of solar energy reaching the surface of the Earth would be twice the amount of all non-renewable resources, including fossil fuels and nuclear uranium.
• The amount of solar energy that hits the Earth every second is equivalent    

to 4 trillion 100-watt light bulbs.

• The solar energy that reaches one square mile in a year is equivalent to 4 million barrels of oil.

Built Well Solar started in 2001 when its founder, a 9/11 first responder concerned about our dependence on foreign oil, realized solar energy was the perfect energy-saving, cost-cutting solution for Long Islanders.

Long Island’s own pioneering solar energy company, Built Well Solar, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
The Chamber of Commerce of the Bellmores commemorated this milestone by sponsoring a special ribbon cutting at its office located at 2473 Jerusalem Avenue in North Bellmore (next door to the N. Bellmore Post Office) on Thursday, June 17th.

“It’s unbelievable how quickly these 20 years have flown by,” said Built Well Solar founder & president Dan Sabia. “Yet, it’s really just the beginning in so many ways as our company continues to expand in this industry that is still very much in its infancy.” Mr. Sabia went on to say that he’s proud that the company has helped thousands of Long Islanders switch to solar energy and cut their cost of living. “Many of our customers have paid for college tuitions, cars, boats, dream vacations, or expanded their businesses with the money they’ve saved by switching to solar energy,” he said. “It’s amazing!”

9/11 Responder’s Realization

When Built Well Solar began, it was also the start of the Solar Pioneer incentive program offered through the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA, later taken over by PSEG-Long Island). “When I read about the Solar Pioneer program on my LIPA bill in 2001, I jumped at the chance to participate,” Mr. Sabia said.

“After serving as a first responder at 9/11, seeing that devastation, I realized we needed to do something to alleviate our dependence on foreign oil,” Mr. Sabia explained. A retired U.S. Army National Guard officer, with the rank of Major, Mr. Sabia was called to Ground Zero after the Twin Towers fell on 9/11 because of his expertise in nuclear/ biological and chemical weapons, and served as logistics officer/facilities engineer with the Army Corps of Engineers as commander of the 204th Engineers at Camp Smith in Peekskill, New York.

Although he had military logistic knowhow, as well as a college degree in construction/ architecture as well as expertise as a general contractor and as a school district facilities director, Mr. Sabia completed a certification in photovoltaic design and installation of solar technology. Then he installed the first photovoltaics system on his own home in North Bellmore. This turned out to be the very first 10-kilowatt residential PV system on Long Island. “That’s how I got into to the solar business,” Mr. Sabia said. “I started with my house, then a friend’s house, then a neighbor’s house and so on, more friends, more neighbors. Before I knew it, I was in business.”

The Wild West

“When Built Well Solar opened, there wasn’t a solar panel in sight. It was like the Wild West back then,” Mr. Sabia explained. “Only two of us were providing solar energy on Long Island, just the two companies, our company in Nassau county for the most part and Go Solar, which has since folded, in Suffolk county for the most part.”
In its first year, Built Well Solar had three employees, Sabia included, and installed just four residential PV systems. Today, with dozens on staff, the company has since designed and installed thousands of residential and commercial solar energy systems, more than most other Long Island solar companies combined.

“Our focus has always been on being straightforward with our customers,” Nancy HIler, VP, Marketing & Operations, said. “It’s about explaining how solar energy works, dispelling the many myths out there so that customers understand just how affordable solar is, how the payback is usually 4-5 years, and how generous federal and state tax credits come into play.”

What also distinguishes the company from others, she said, is that they do not engage in high-pressure sales, cold calls or door-knocking, and have always advocated PV purchases rather than leasing’s rent-your-roof scheme, since purchases are undeniably much more beneficial financially to consumers.

A Top U.S. Solar Contractor

In addition to receiving many consumer-oriented accolades, including its Better Business Bureau A+ rating and having been voted “Best of Long Island” many times, Built Well Solar has attained ranking nationally as one of the “Top Solar Contractors in the United States” eight years in a row.

“We’re excited to celebrate 20 years of helping our fellow Long Island homeowners and business owners to cut or eliminate their electric bills,” Mr. Sabia said. “We look forward as we add new customers every week, continuing to make a difference to our neighbors, their wallets, our local economy, and the planet we all live on.”