…from our 3-part interview series with solar expert Paul Shippee of Crestone Solar School. In Part 1, Shippee answers common questions about solar thermal power, covering everything from maintenance and installation to heat distribution and passive solar heating. In Part 2, Shippee covers the basics on solar collector types. Collectors are necessary components for a smooth-running, solar-powered heating system. Finally, don’t miss Part 3 of the interview, when Shippee delves deeper into the issues, asking homeowners across the country to dig a little deeper too, and to take a look at what it really means to live sustainably.

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We’ve recently welcomed a special guest to “Ask the Solar Pros.” Michael Potts is the author of The New Independent Home and director of the Caspar Institute.

Our 3-part interview with Potts is abundant with information. First, he describes the endeavors of independent homesteaders who live off the grid in an effort to follow sustainable lifestyles. Second, Potts transitions from the goals and accomplishments of independent homesteaders to the challenges faced by the average homeowner. Here, Potts gives homeowners advice on how to increase their energy efficiency, even while being grid connected. Finally, Potts talks about how to make our lifestyles sustainable, without giving up on life’s simple, or even elaborate, pleasures.

View all three segments of the Potts interview here:

• Author Michael Potts on “Voodoo Electricity” and “Living by the Sun”
• Converting Your Home from Energy Hog to Modern and Efficient
• “Sustainable Hedonism” and “Reclaiming Independence”

We hope you enjoy reading the interview as much as we enjoyed talking to Potts.

Got a question for a solar pro? Send us a comment.

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In the following news clip from TheStreet.com, Farnoosh Torabi interviews Akeena CEO Barry Cinnamon regarding solar growth. Torabi asks a question that’s been coming up a lot lately: Is the solar sector getting overheated? With billions of dollars flowing into the industry, the question addresses the danger of excess supply, without enough demand.

Akeena designs, installs, and maintains solar systems. Akeena solar installers are certified by CalFinder Solar, which sends homeowners free estimates on solar installation projects. Cinnamon attests that demand for solar installations is, in fact, rising steadily. He states California, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut as locations where the climate for solar is particularly good in regards to the price of electricity and state incentives.

“As long as sun’s coming up and as long as energy prices are high and there are environmental concerns, it’s the best solution to these technologies,” Cinnamon says in the interview. Unlike ethanol, where concerns revolve around rising corn prices, solar depends solely on the sun.

Cinnamon also discusses Akeena’s new technology, which will be 50 percent faster to install and blend more seamlessly into the roof. Watch the clip to find out how Akeena expects projected improvements in sales revenue to affect stock prices.

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