Rooftop Solar Secrets

Forget the old idea that only eco-warriors, off-the-grid survivalists, or wealthy West Coast conservationists are using solar energy for most of their energy needs. Times have changed. Everyday working American homeowners have discovered that installing solar panels and using solar energy makes excellent financial sense. While energy bills continue to go up & up, solar prices have gone down. The overall cost of solar panels and components has dropped by 70% since 2009, even as panels are getting more efficient.Author Nicholas Gorden, co-founder of solar installation company Shine Solar, LLC, saw a "massive informational gap" between what people perceive going solar costs and what it actually does cost. Gorden sought to right that - "this massive informational gap is keeping so many good people from something that could benefit their family or business and lighten many a financial burden. Our mission at Shine Solar is to educate homeowners about how solar energy can save them money, increase the value of their home and make them more self-reliant." To fulfill that mission, he has written "Rooftop Solar Secrets." This guide offers clear and straightforward answers to:� Is going solar right for me?� How reliable is it? How long does it last?� Does my house qualify?� How much does it cost?� What is a solar loan and does it really benefit me?� How do solar panels work? / What is a photovoltaic (PV) system?� What is "Net Metering"?

Labor and related costs account for more than half of the price of the average home solar installation. But homeowners can save thousands of dollars with this user-friendly manual, which follows the same process professional contractors use. Through detailed directions and step-by-step photos, veteran solar installer Joseph Burdick and seasoned builder Philip Schmidt teach you how to determine the size, placement, and type of installation you’ll need. This comprehensive DIY guide covers everything from assembling rooftop racking or building a ground-mount structure to setting up the electrical connections and making a battery bank for off-grid systems.

Here is the truth that the powerful Dirty Energy public relations machine doesn't want you to know: the ascent of solar energy is upon us. Solar-generated electricity has risen exponentially in the last few years and employment in the solar industry has doubled since 2009. Meanwhile, electricity from coal has declined to pre-World War II levels as the fossil fuel industry continues to shed jobs. Danny Kennedy systematically refutes the lies spread by solar's opponents—that it is expensive, inefficient, and unreliable; that it is kept alive only by subsidies; that it can't be scaled; and many other untruths. He shows that we need a rooftop revolution to break the entrenched power of the coal, oil, nuclear, and gas industries Solar energy can create more jobs, return our nation to prosperity, and ensure the sustainability and safety of our planet. Now is the time to move away from the dangerous energy sources of the past and unleash the amazing potential of the sun.

While the global economy languishes, one place just keeps growing despite failing banks, uncertain markets, and high unemployment: Silicon Valley. In the last two years, more than 100 incubators have popped up there, and the number of angel investors has skyrocketed. Today, 40 percent of all venture capital investments in the United States come from Silicon Valley firms, compared to 10 percent from New York. In Secrets of Silicon Valley, entrepreneur and media commentator Deborah Perry Piscione takes us inside this vibrant ecosystem where meritocracy rules the day. She explores Silicon Valley's exceptionally risk-tolerant culture, and why it thrives despite the many laws that make California one of the worst states in the union for business. Drawing on interviews with investors, entrepreneurs, and community leaders, as well as a host of case studies from Google to Paypal, Piscione argues that Silicon Valley's unique culture is the best hope for the future of American prosperity and the global business community and offers lessons from the Valley to inspire reform in other communities and industries, from Washington, DC to Wall Street.

This handbook on Greening the Roofs: A Guide for Solar Entrepreneurs deals with the subject of how an individual can enter the solar PV domain, which includes the major topics such as, carry out market research and prepare a cost estimate for a rooftop solar photovoltaic plant, prepare site feasibility report, manage solar PV project for its entire lifecycle, entrepreneurship skills, maintain personal health and safety at project site. Solar developers, EPCs, and other stakeholders have provided their guidance and support in detailing the activities to be performed by aspiring entrepreneurs in the solar PV domain, which has helped in the development of this manual and making it a practical guide.

"In the rapidly changing PV industry, The Solar Sales Leap is a must-read for anyone involved in the task of marketing solar power to residential homeowners. Curren summarizes here what many PV installers are failing to recognize when trying to capture the attention of a qualified residential solar power prospect."-- Joe Sadonis, Solar Consultant, Paradise Clean Energy The Solar Sales Leap will help anyone who works in marketing, sales, or management at a residential or commercial solar contractor to sell more solar with the powerful new tools of online outreach. These days, even while solar panels are getting cheaper and cheaper, the cost of acquiring a new solar customer remains high - around $3,000 on average for a residential installation, according to GTM Research. This raises the price of installations and cuts into the profit of solar installers. If solar sales and marketing was effective it would be cheaper and easier to get a new solar customer. But traditional tactics, most of which have been used for decades, from door-knocking to cold calling to direct mail, don't work well anymore. In some cases, by destroying consumer trust, outdated outreach can backfire for solar sales. Why? Blame it on the Internet. No Patience for Cold Calls and Door-to-Door Sales Suffering from an overload of information through phones and computers, not to mention cable TV and satellite radio, the average American consumer today gets thousands of marketing messages a day. That's why more and more people are blocking ads on their computers and on their phones. Busy consumers have even less patience for solar telemarketers or door knockers than they do for ads. That's why today, people are not just blocking the ads. Potential solar buyers are also hanging up on the cold callers, slamming the door on the canvassers, and tossing out the direct mail unread. And that means lost sales for solar installers. Pushy marketing tactics create distrust for the solar industry. And that distrust is fanned by monopoly electric utilities who use stories of solar scams spread around the news media and online to throw mud on the rooftop solar industry. As scare stories spread they'll create distrust and make homeowners and commercial property owners think twice about working directly with solar installers. The Solar Sales Leap is a practical guide to help solar installers survive and thrive in today's market by using the power of the Internet to build trust with homeowners and commercial property owners. The book is also a manifesto calling for the industry to remove the biggest roadblock to solar's growth by bringing the industry's marketing out of the 1970s into the 21st century. Different than Other Books on Solar Marketing and Sales While there have been books published previously on solar sales and marketing, The Solar Sales Leap is the first book to introduce Internet marketing to solar companies. It's a detailed guide to help solar installers make the transition online with concrete advice to create content they can use to establish themselves as trusted advisors rather than sales bullies. The book covers such topics as: How all marketing today has become Internet marketing Why going online is much more than getting a Facebook page or putting up a website - it's a change of mindset The secrets to building a website that will generate solar leads online Why solar installers need to distinguish themselves from competitors in order to make sales Blogging as the secret weapon to build a successful solar brand

Here's How To Discover 301 Great Tips for Making the Most of Your Solar Power System. Solar energy is among the fastest growing forms of alternative energy in the world. It can help you save money and it is great for the environment. If you are thinking about using solar energy in your home, this book is for you. Read on and learn everything you need to about residential solar energy. If you are interested in solar energy than you need to get this book right now as it may be the most helpful solar energy book you'll ever read in a long time. Here's just a fraction of what you're going to discover in this book that you simply will not learn anywhere else: * How to best take advantage of the most effective solar energy techniques - ideas to make any of your solar energy projects a success. * The surprising "little-known tricks" that will help you get the most out of your Solar energy system. * How to find low cost solar energy materials; this best kept secret will save you lots of money on your purchases. * Do's and don'ts for the most popular solar energy methods: top solar energy activity ideas. * How to take your solar energy system to the next level; be ready to be surprised when you discover how easy and effective this is. * The simple unvarnished truth about what works and what doesn't work in solar energy, this is really crucial! * Extremely effective ways to take advantage of recently discovered solar energy materials and methods. * Solar energy myths you need to avoid at all costs. * Golden rules to help you get better at solar energy matters; discover simple methods that work perfectly every time. * The vital keys to completing a solar energy project successfully. * How to make sure you come up with the most effective solutions to your solar energy challenges. * A simple, practical solar power strategy to dramatically cut down costs, but amazingly enough, almost no one understands or uses it. * The top solar power mistakes people do - and how to avoid them. * How to put together an effective solar energy routine: the golden rules of good solar power practices. * The exact solar power routine you should be following for every project. * What nobody ever told you about solar energy; insider secrets of avoiding the most bothersome challenges. * All these and much much more.

Unlike the media would have you believe, most black males find great value in education. They want to believe that they have a special gift and that they can make a difference in the world. The problem is that they have ill feelings about how society has deprived them of the most qualified teachers and the best ways to be engaged in their own education. As a consequence of repeatedly being marginalized, criticized, and put down by society and teachers, they do not feel motivated to attend school or to produce outstanding academic work. The Secrets for Motivating, Educating, and Lifting the Spirit of African American Males contains essays that center on how to help educators and parents to equip young black males with the drive necessary to craft fulfilling lives for themselves so they dont slip through the cracks in the educational system. Historically, we are still dealing with what happens to the image of Black people in the minds of white people. A book like this helps to make certain that the information teachers provide to all studentsregardless of their racewill help them understand that the history of this country has made generation after generation of black students see themselves as academically and socially inferior to white people. Most importantly, its the teachersnot just black teachers, but all teachers who have to understand the power they have to change the mindset of society. Changing how society thinks about Black people, particularly Black males, is a task teachers can truly accomplish because they have the power to create lesson plans that challenge how students think about each other. For such lessons are important for changing the attitudes and beliefs of the entire community in which we live. REVEREND C.T. VIVIAN, A Pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement, Author, Educator, and a Close Friend of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This book provides a fresh perspective for understanding the problems associated with the education of Black males. As a minister, I have not encountered a project that gathers the collective wisdom of a group of over 20 Black male educators who are dedicated to helping the world save young Black males. When all their ideas come together, they are bound to create a storm of new thinking about how all of us can work together. As a spiritual leader, my role is to help young Black males understand that the same God that was in Dr. King is the same God that is in them. This is a difficult lesson for some Black males who have been brainwashed to see themselves as having no say about the outcome of their lives. This book will help us, including those in the ministry, to reevaluate the thinking patterns of our boys so that we can better prepare them for the critical thinking that is required for life in the 21st century. REVEREND ROBERT KILGORE, Assistant Pastor at Hillside International Truth Center, Atlanta, GA

Rising gas prices create a pain in our pocketbooks with every visit to the gas pump. What can you do to stop your dependence on big oil and imported fuel? Energy and EV Secrets not only spells out how your oil dependence is undermining your individual bank accounts; it shows how imported oil is impacting the security of our troops, the health of our economy, and the creation of good jobs. The first half of the book will make it crystal clear that changing these conditions is a pressing priority. That priority will only increase as the global competition for oil intensifies over the coming decades with direct impacts on your gas prices. The book provides reliable facts and figures from national and international sources to create readily understandable graphics. These graphics and the accompanying descriptions provide a clear picture of the global oil challenges and the need to save energy. When you see these facts, it will show you the way to move forward. The EV Solution The book goes on to show how to stop the oil dependence by making the transition to the electric vehicle (EV) solution. The EV solution saves energy and involves cutting your fuel costs to pay for the electric cars and e-bikes. It can stop the need for importing oil and free you from the tyranny of gas prices. It takes all of the wrong minded ideas about electric vehicles, e-bikes and plug-in hybrids like the Volt and puts those ideas to rest. You will learn how the old ideas and outdated excuses about EVs are all part of the mindset that keeps us addicted to oil. Energy and EV Secrets makes it clear that you can free yourself from the age of the internal combustion engine – the ICE age. It will help you to develop the EV Mindset to become oil free and to cut the drain of money that goes with rising gas prices.

Here's How To Discover 301 Great Tips for Making the Most of Your Solar Power System. Solar energy is among the fastest growing forms of alternative energy in the world. It can help you save money and it is great for the environment. If you are thinking about using solar energy in your home, this book is for you. Read on and learn everything you need to about residential solar energy. If you are interested in solar energy than you need to get this book right now as it may be the most helpful solar energy book you'll ever read in a long time. Here's just a fraction of what you're going to discover in this book that you simply will not learn anywhere else: * How to best take advantage of the most effective solar energy techniques - ideas to make any of your solar energy projects a success. * The surprising "little-known tricks" that will help you get the most out of your Solar energy system. * How to find low cost solar energy materials; this best kept secret will save you lots of money on your purchases. * Do's and don'ts for the most popular solar energy methods: top solar energy activity ideas. * How to take your solar energy system to the next level; be ready to be surprised when you discover how easy and effective this is. * The simple unvarnished truth about what works and what doesn't work in solar energy, this is really crucial! * Extremely effective ways to take advantage of recently discovered solar energy materials and methods. * Solar energy myths you need to avoid at all costs. * Golden rules to help you get better at solar energy matters; discover simple methods that work perfectly every time. * The vital keys to completing a solar energy project successfully. * How to make sure you come up with the most effective solutions to your solar energy challenges. * A simple, practical solar power strategy to dramatically cut down costs, but amazingly enough, almost no one understands or uses it. * The top solar power mistakes people do - and how to avoid them. * How to put together an effective solar energy routine: the golden rules of good solar power practices. * The exact solar power routine you should be following for every project. * What nobody ever told you about solar energy; insider secrets of avoiding the most bothersome challenges. * All these and much much more.