Photo Credit: borman818

The solar auto industry brings to mind sleek, futuristic cars humming silently down smooth highways, gleaming in the midday sun. Yet that idyllic picture of a green auto industry may have some viable competition. One struggling solar startup thinks it has discovered a cost-effective way to bring grid-independent solar thermal power to millions, all while boosting a desperate auto industry.

Infinia, a rather unique startup, has found a way to mix 21st Century ideals with 19th Century technology. Their innovation begins with a Stirling engine, one that runs on hot and cold air. So long as one end of the engine remains hotter than the other, the Stirling, which alternately compresses and expands a quantity of air or gas, will keep on pumping. It is so adaptable to today’s needs because the heat source does not matter.

That’s where Infinia’s design comes in. They’ve mounted the Stirling at the center of a large concentrating solar collector – a large satellite dish in appearance. This solar-powered Stirling uses solar heat to keep the engine pumping out electricity during the day. It folds up like a flower at night to conserve heat and is backed up by a small bio-fuel generator.

Photo Credit: infiniacorp.com

While Infinia has launched several failed Stirling-based technologies since 1985 when the company was formed, their latest innovation is their most positive. So far CEO J.D. Sitton has already garnered $70 million in funding and their first client: the U.S. Army. (more…)

One of our readers recently wrote in asking for hints on finding solar water heater manufacturers in California, mainly to avoid the high cost of shipping from overseas. Luckily, finding solar companies in California keeps getting easier, manufacturers included.

There are innumerable sources of information across the Internet, all with their own twist and turn, and it can be difficult to find a concise list from any single source. But they do exist. The best list I found was from the Utility Consumer’s Action Network (UCAN). Their list does not separate water heater manufacturers by state, but instead by SRCC certification — a must for reaping federal solar tax credits. So some browsing will have to be done, although it takes little time to find quite a few solar manufacturers in California. Here are a select few:

Sensible Technologies, Inc.
4723 Tidewater Avenue
Oakland, CA 94601
(510) 434-3130

Radco Products, Inc.
2877 Industrial Parkway
Santa Maria, CA 93455
(800) 927-2326

ACR Solar International
5840 Gibbons Drive Suite G
Carmichael, CA 95608
(888) 801-9060

SunEarth Inc.
8425 Almeria Avenue
Fontana, CA 92335
(909) 434-3100 (more…)

Heating, ventilating, and air conditioning – HVAC — is a critical component of any modern structure, from a single-story ranch house to the tallest skyscraper. Typically, any power that an HVAC system needs to function is drawn directly from the electric grid, the same as other home systems. Only in recent years renewable energy has raised questions about the very need for outside power in the home.

Solar power has been a big part of a change that is sweeping the world, as millions of homes and businesses turn to alternative resources to supply at least a hefty percentage of their power needs. Solar is most famous for creating electricity and heating water. Yet its footprint in the HVAC sector is bigger than you might think.

Passive Solar

While the effect may be subtle, it is impossible to ignore the influence that passive solar design has on a structure’s HVAC system. A smart home design will harness the sun for heat during cold months and minimize that heat gain during the summer, both of which lessen the workload for the HVAC unit. Passive solar air heaters can also be used to heat rooms and fit right into a window or wall.

Heating

Most HVAC systems are active electric or gas systems, but there are active solar space heating systems out there as well which supplement or even eradicate the need for outside sources of power. Solar heating systems are solar thermal systems by nature and themselves may be active or passive and liquid or air-based. The high initial cost of solar heaters is really the only barrier to more widespread use. Given time, every system will eventually save money by reducing or erasing high and rising monthly power bills. (more…)