If you think I’m just joking when I talk about Murphy’s Law, think again. I’ve been doing projects since I was 5. I’ve done easy ones, I’ve done hard ones. I’ve been in the linear particle accelerator at Stanford University working on projects with doctors and engineers who have fancy degrees and thousands of years’ […]

Strictly speaking, you don’t have to do an energy audit and take conservation steps before installing a solar system. But bypassing these processes violates the spirit of solar philosophy. Actually, I don’t really have to put this item in this list because you’re already an environmentalist, right? Going with the Cheapest Bid Because It’s the […]

Any solar system that generates more energy than you use is a waste. You save nothing by using a solar system at less than its capacity. If you install a solar water heater that’s too big, you’ve wasted money. If you install an intertie system that’s too big, you get nothing for the excess power […]

If you review the availability of solar water heater systems, you’ll find a large range of prices and performances, and you’ll discover that some systems don’t work very well in cold climates. If you’re in a climate where temperatures can drop below freezing, the pipes or the collector in some solar water heaters can burst […]

If you’re in a cloudy, rainy, cold climate, and your utility rates are low, don’t install a PV system, no matter how much you want to jump on the bandwagon. You can use your money to save the world in many other planet-friendly, more efficient ways. Install a geothermal system for heating and cooling. Put […]

If you have a choice between going off-grid and installing a PV intertie system, do not go off-grid. The economics are horrible, in a relative sense. Off-grid systems use batteries, which are operational and waste nightmares. Plus, you can’t get a mortgage for an off-grid house. Nevertheless, a movement is afoot to “go back to […]

Wait a minute, you’re thinking. This project was listed in the ten best solar projects chapter! Exactly. Solar pool heaters are very expensive, and you don’t get any return on investment from them. They don’t last that long because sunshine and chlorine eat them up. They’re hard to maintain because they’re on your roof, and […]

In This Chapter ^ Not seeing the forest for the trees ^ Leaping before you look ^ Measure once, cut twice — no three times elieve it or not, you can abuse solar power. I don’t mean just by laying out naked in the sun for hours without sunscreen, but rather by installing ill-advised projects […]