Sustainable 19125 Housing & Energy Fair

Last Saturday, we attended a Green Housing and Energy Fair, hosted by the New Kensington Development Corporation (NKDC) and Sustainable 19125. We were really excited to participate, since we’re just down the road in Northern Liberties we’re always looking for opportunities to get involved in the community and speak to our neighbors.

The Fair was held at Kensington High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, which was a perfect venue; Kensington CAPA is the first school in the region to be awarded platinum status under LEED certification. Hopefully this will become less of a rarity and more of the “norm” someday.

There was a great turn out and we really enjoyed talking to everyone who was interested about solar. For a few more pictures of the event (we were too busy talking to take more pictures!), check out the Sustainable 19125 blog.

Thanks again to the NKDC and Sustainable 19125 for inviting us to participate – we’re hoping there are many more events like this to come.

Did you stop by? Let us know what you thought of the event in the comments.

Launch of one of the largest solar systems in Philadelphia

For the last few months, we’ve been working on one of our biggest projects yet – designing and installing an 81 kW solar power system on the roof of the Crane Arts building in Philly’s Fishtown neighborhood. The system stands to be one of Philly’s largest solar installation to date.

Solar States has kindly organized the Flip the Switch Gala, held at the Crane Arts building on February 24 from 6-9 pm, to celebrate the launch of the system. Mayor Michael Nutter and State Representatives Tony Payton Jr. and Michael O’Brien will be on hand, among friends and neighbors, to show support for this major step for Philly’s sustainability. If you’re interested in attending the event, you can RSVP online.

Helio Power Systems is so proud to be a part of this project and we truly hope that this helps to shine a light on Philly’s potential for solar power.

Energy Consumption Over a Lifetime: What it looks like

It seems like everywhere you look these days there’s a new, green version of just about every product. With complete over saturation in the eco-friendly market, it’s easy to let “green washing” lead consumers to discount the need to be more vigilant about the impact that lifestyle has on our environment. It may be even easier to forget about your impact, because it’s relatively abstract  - you can’t always visualize what the effect of throwing out five pounds of trash per week adds up to. Take a look at the info-graphic below, thanks to Well Home, to get a better idea of how your consumption adds up over time.

(click image to enlarge)

Does this graphic change the way you view your consumption?

8 Energy Saving Tips for Home

When we work with our clients to provide an initial estimate for solar power, we always take care to discuss current energy usage and household energy habits; with the average U.S. family spending about $1,900 a year on utility bills, this is an essential step. While you can absolutely reduce or eliminate your electricity bill by installing solar, you can see even greater savings by employing some very simple energy saving tips around the home. Check a couple of these energy savings tips off your list and you’ll see a decrease in usage and an increase in savings in no time.

1. If you haven’t already, switch to Compact Fluorescent lightbulbs with the ENERGY STAR label. Switching to these energy efficient bulbs can decrease  your lighting electricity usage by 50-75%.
2. Purchase a lighting timer, for as little as $7, and program your lights to go on or off at a specific time – ensure that your lights aren’t in use when you don’t need them, without having to remember to turn them off.
3. Turn off the computer and monitor in your home office when not in use.
4. Try to plug home appliances, like TVs and DVD players, into a power strip, turning off the power strip when not in use. Even if these appliances are on standby mode, they are still using energy (and costing you money!)
5. Install better insulation and seal drafty windows and doors – especially if you have an older home. Only 20% of homes built before 1980 are considered well insulated. You could be loosing up to 33% of hot or cold (depending on the season) air due to insulation and drafts caused by unsealed cracks.
6. On average, 47% of your utility cost comes from heating and cooling. To combat this expense, install a digital, programable thermostat, so you can control the temperature of your heat and air conditioning more carefully.
7. Hot water heating makes up approximately 12% of your utility bill – decrease your energy usage by installing an ENERGY STAR rated washer and dryer and dishwasher and consider switching to solar hot water.
8. Only run dishwashers and washer/dryers on full loads – waiting to do a full load, as opposed to running several half loads, will save lots of energy.

Follow these simple steps as closely as you can, and you’ll be well on your way to reducing your environmental impact and keeping your money out of the hands of utility providers.