Aliso Electric- Your Best Choice for Renewable Energy

Electrical Contracting is complex and we do it right. With the combined experience of over 50 years Aliso Electric has done much work with well known contractors. With over 240 kW of solar installations under it’s belt Aliso is the best place to turn to for solar solutions. Since we are not merely a solar integrator like many solar companies we do not have to subcontract our our work, thereby eliminating the extra costs associated with that. We do the work ourselves. Click here for the QUICK QUOTE Easy way to get a quote for your custom built system.

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The Solar Climate Getting Hotter

As the summer comes along the solar industry begins to feel the heat. The customers start to sweat and wonder why they aren’t taking advantage of that hot ball of gas in the sky instead of complaining about it. As the sales ramp up, the supplies start to diminish. Price hikes occur, and delays of product shipment become more and more common. Though not usually deal breakers they can put a kink in the cashflow pipe of the installer as many contracts are written to say that payments are made after delivery of merchandise.

Point is that the prices haven’t hiked yet, but will soon, so if you have been on the fence, lock in your price now, lock in your rebate now, all it takes is a deposit and a meeting from your favorite installer, Aliso Electric. Don’t wait like some SDG&E customers who didn’t get solar, so now their rebates are less than half of what it was a year ago! They are losing on average $3,000 in rebate money because they waited. Call us now!

We are in Dana Point this weekend attending the Dana Point Boat Show and Green Expo. We will be offering very good deals. We even have the capability to give you quotes on the spot if you bring your electric bill.

What about my roof?

For most people their new solar system will be installed on their roof, and the wide variety of roof materials makes it important to think about when going solar.

What are the different roofing materials? There are variations on the following themes:

Composition Shingle (asphalt) These are the very common “normal” shingle roofs that you see that are made out of asphalt and paper with a rough very small gravel like finish on top. It comes in lots of colors.

Clay Spanish Tile: This is the orange clay roof that you see very popular in the Mediterranean look. It is a durable roof, but very hard to walk on without breaking tiles.

Cement Tile: This comes in many shapes, including S shape, or flat tile shape. There are a couple of grades of this material, the cheaper being very fragile and easily broken. The common colors are grey, and red.

Wood Shake: This is a roof that has the wood shingles a specialized roof that is not very durable, nor safe in a fire zone. It doesn’t last as long as the cement and clay tile roofs.

Metal Shingle: This is an interesting roof, composed of metal tiles finished with a sprayed on sand and various colors that is very durable you can walk on it and it bends but pops right back into shape.

Standing Seam Metal Roof: This is found in many commercial and modern looking homes with the flat look with seams that come up a couple of inches every 18 inches or so. This is a very durable roof, easy to walk on.

Solar can be installed on any of the roof types, your installer will have to vary the price of your system according to the work it will take for each type. The Spanish tile, Cement tile, and wood shake roofs will have considerable more roofing to do when installing solar.

Traditionally, Cement Tile, Spanish tile roofs have required removal, then re-roof under the solar portion with asphalt shingle. Now however there are new solutions that allow installers to just remove a tile and install a footing- the problem remains however with the broken tiles that result from installers walking around placing panels- so the cost still is higher than for Asphalt shingle roof.

Asphalt shingle roofs are simple to install solar, requiring little extra work to install footings. Metal shingle as well is not as hard because you can install the footings then flash and seal the penetration without disturbing the entire roof.

Metal standing seam roofs are interesting because you can install the footings on the standing seam which requires no roofing and very simple.

The best time in all cases to install solar is if you are going to have a re-roof, this allows the installers to lay the footings before they put down the roofing material making it the best seal possible.

If you have an older roof and you want solar, you have the option to re-roof just the portion of the roof under the panels now and wait on the entire re-roof till you are ready…Then you can pay for the new roof with your savings on energy costs using solar.

No on Proposition 16

By Fabian Rousset,

From the desk of the author, the view is expressed and is not necessarily the views of the owner of this company. But this is an easy one, entirely funded by $34.5 million of Pacific Gas and Electric funds (6-9 cents per share), it is an attempt to require a 2/3 vote in order for an entity, like municipality, or Community Choice Aggregate to sell bulk purchased electricity to it’s constituents.

Basically Prop 16 is an attempt by PG & E to curtail the creation of Municipal utilities because they are competition and when they lose customers they lose profitablity. The requirement to get a 2/3 vote will cost a lot of money for the city to do, and allow the Investor Owned Utilities a chance to rebuke it with more millions of dollars

On the surface it makes sense that the people should have a choice whether or not a city should start the expensive process to do that, but looking at the municipal utilities track records over the years, you can see that they are the cheapest for consumers since they do not have to make a profit to stay in business. They can negotiate low electric rates and pass that to the citizens. They still have to pay the for profit utility a fee for the transmission lines, but it has always in the past worked out better for the customers. We have seen also, that since they are controlled by the city councils they have to abide by the vote of the elected officials, all rate hikes must be approved, and considered carefully for legitimacy.

Is no on Prop 16 good for solar? Not necessarily since solar’s value proposition increases with increased electric prices, however the rebates in the municipal power districts are historically higher than those for the For Profit Investor Owned Utilities. For solar to make sense and pay itself off faster the rates of electricity increasing is paramount.

In another way it is good for solar for the NO vote because if a company wanted to form to lets say put a solar power plant in the desert and sell the power as a municipal power provider it would require the expensive 2/3 vote.

Is it good for the environment? That is not necessarily the case either since the City run utilities usually buy power from the dirtiest of sources (because it is cheaper). However the playing field in renewable sourcing is leveling as all the utilities have a mandate to acquire a certain percentage of their power from renewable sources (hence the higher rebates for solar from municipal utilities as they have further to go to reach those goals). But with cheaper energy, the motivation to go solar is not there.

In southern california, LA area we don’t realize the rates that PG&E are charging. They are so high, that the solar companies have had a boom time installing in San Diego and that part of the CSI program the PG&E territory or CCSE area have reached the 7th tier in rebates as Edison is still currently at tier 4 (and almost to tier 5 if you haven’t gotten your rebate reserved, NOW is the time).

So LA area customers are not yet really affected by this proposition, except that if your community in the future wanted to create a municipal utility, it would have a much harder time doing that. So as Californians we have to pull together and help out our brothers up north and down south to vote NO on Prop 16.

But if you like to pay more for electricity and would like to make sure you are able to vote on whether or not your city becomes it’s own power provider, vote yes.

Take Care of Your Batteries!

So many of the new renewable technologies require energy storage so the lowly battery is getting the spotlight again. Solar panels for example need the batteries for night time use if they are for an off grid situation.

The batteries are the least known as far as how to maintain them because they have been so cheap people unfortunately consider them 1 time use, toss away tech. The new Li Ion battery packs in cars are coming, however, and they are going to be expensive to replace (I have heard as much as $50,000)! People don’t know how to take care of a battery, they want it to work when they need it and that is it. Battery use and care is probably the best thing you can do to keep your battery strong and deep charging. We have all had a cell phone or other device who’s useful life declined over time, that was due to ignorance of how to work together with our friends the batteries.

Lithium ion batteries for example do not do well when they get below 2% of capacity. If you drive your battery down to that level, expect it to start not being able to hold as much charge. The same is true for lead acid batteries, but with them you can really feel the difference as they drop off more gradually and instinctively you head toward a charging station. Lithium ion batteries on the other hand are all great even till the end, but then the drop in performance is precipitous leaving you high and dry. Make sure you have a device that measures the battery’s capacity and that you NEVER let it go below 2%. Go so far as saying that it is dead at that point and don’t try and use it because you kill the battery a little bit every time.

Also the rate at which you discharge the battery sucks its life from it. A steady draw is good, the leadfoots out there beware you will be limping quicker when you don’t pay attention to that battery. Take it easy on the take off, let the car get going people who have driven electric drive cars have felt that urge to punch it especially when you have that torque that you haven’t felt before in a gas car. You can get plenty of acceleration with electric cars at safe discharge levels.

So oversize your battery for your usage, charge it promptly leaving it on trickle charge when not in use. Check the battery’s cooling system is working correctly hot batteries are sad batteries and will hardly hold a charge unless they are Lithium ion.

May you have happy battery days!

Turn Renewable Energy into Natural Gas…the New Way to Store Energy

A major problem with renewable energy is that it is intermittent and not as dependable as the powerplants that can be set to stand by and fire up in the event of a surge of demand. Renewables on the other hand could produce too much when perhaps it is not needed, or not enough when the demand is high driving power utility companies mad and stressing Load Managers to no end. One can never tell when the wind will blow, and the sun is up in the day, what happens at night for solar? A buffer zone is needed for renewables. Batteries are a solution that is tried and true, various other schemes abound, and now a German research company has discovered another solution. The process was developed by the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW), in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology (IWES)

The cleanest fossil fuel power plants use natural gas to fire giant turbines that are actually jet engines to turn the generator and produce electricity, and the byproduct heat-lots of it. They take that heat and heat water to steam to power other turbines as well. Now this research company realized an elegant way to turn the excess renewable electricity to natural gas. They use the excess electricity from renewable energy to electrolyze water to split it into it’s components, Hydrogen and Oxygen. Then they take the Hydrogen and combine it with Carbon Dioxide to form Methane! This methane can be stored, transported, and used along with Natural Gas in the same distribution channels, storage facilities, and appliances and vehicles.

This is exciting because it is theoretically at least carbon neutral, and I would like to hear comments on that from knowledgeable people on the subject, and it uses electricity that would otherwise have been wasted or diverted. If they use this storage technology they will be able to control the prices of electricity better as well, controlling the supply side better. The down side- water usage, fresh water is no longer a commodity, and the lack of it could be the cause for major worldwide conflict in the near future. To filter the water will take energy and resources as well. The overall efficiency of the scheme is said to be 60% so it will be interesting to see what happens.

Perhaps the Germans are tired of depending on Russia and the whims of the leaders for their gas supply (remember that incident in the winter when Russia just turned off the tap leaving millions without heat) but whatever the reason, we all get to benefit. The two German research institutes have joined together with the company Solar Fuel Technology of Salzburg. Starting in 2012, they intend to launch a system with a capacity of approximately 10 megawatts.

Creating another market for renewable energy is always good for business, eliminating risk for investors, and increasing demand for AE installations.

Controlled Burn Started in Gulf of Oil Spill

Ok so we have an environmental catastrophe, doubled by corporate failure to upkeep safety mechanisms, now we can multiply by tons of carbon dioxide from the burning oil. Get an electric car folks. Get solar panels to charge it and your home. Lets say good bye to dirty oil, coal and everything that goes with it.

The internet democratized the press, music distribution, content delivery, commerce…Solar panels democratize energy. They allow you as individual to become your own power plant. Your own provider of electricity to yourself and for sale to the utility. No more depending on the global cartels and greed of corporations. No more paying taxes on your energy use.

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Oil Rig Explosion Site is Leaking 1000 Barrels of Oil a Day

The oil rig/boat that exploded and sank off of Louisianas coast was a human tragedy and now the environmental tragedy. BP is spending $6 million a day to try and contain the major mess. Back up spillage systems didn’t work automatically, and now won’t work manually.

Now only 21 miles off the coast of sensitive wetlands the crews are considering a controlled burn situation to keep damage to a minimum.

Ok why? Why do we keep on doing this over and over. Millions of dollars a day spent to try and clean up. Spend some of those millions on a megawatt PV solar plant and you will never have an accident. Use that energy to power the new electric cars and you won’t have to “controlled burn” or combust the fuel emitting carbon dioxide by the ton.

Electric Car Batteries will Supply Grid with Power

Electric car detractors have been saying how detrimental electric cars are going to be for the national grid, causing massive demand in short time spans but in fact the grid will hugely benefited by their batteries and smart charging systems along with Time of Use billing.

Electric cars in reality will be plugged in to the grid for 20 hours of the 24 of the day and they will at most need 8 hours (most just need 2-4 hours) to re-charge depending on their system. So for 12 hours the cars battery is available to the grid. Solar power feeds the grid when it is hungriest during the afternoon when it is the hottest and air conditioning units get turned on by the thousands at once. If you have a solar power system on your roof it is the perfect mate for the electric car because you sell electricity to the grid at its peak price and you program your charger to charge the vehicle during the night at lowest demand grid-wide.

This is why Aliso Electric and Solar is looking for a partnership with a car company to offer as an upgrade or in addition to the vehicle, a solar power system to offset the electric usage of the car or motorbike. I have approached CODA, and Tesla is in bed with Solar City (Elon Musk owns them both). I have also spoken to a local manufacturer of mopeds of the possibility. The future is clean, green transport as well as energy. Please contact us with any information or you opinion on buying a car and a solar system at the same time with the same financing.

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Aliso Electric Volunteers for James Cameron’s Avatar Eco-Warriors

On Earth Day, the Nokia Live theater in downtown Los Angeles was buzzing with excitement as 5,000 largely disadvantaged local students waited for the Mega Hit Avatar to start as a special screening for them. James Cameron, John Quigley and many other activists are working on carrying Avatar’s real message farther than the 3D screen. The hope is to instill in the minds of these kids and everyone to WAKE UP and take charge of their actions as well as their communities actions in helping Earth stay healthy, vibrant and live-able. To the cheers of the students the presenters such as Darryl Hannah did that. With a question and answer session after the screening and presentations by some students who bravely stood in front of 5,000 kids and spoke about their thoughts on the environment the day was rounded out.

Organic food was served on the menu was organic pasta, organic carrots, the tastiest organic strawberries you have ever tried. Most notable were the purple carrots that though weird to look at, were absolutely tasty and healthy- “you could almost feel the healing as you eat them” said Chef E of California Island- the head Chef at the event.

Don’t think for a second that only people were on stage, Tesla Motors had their flagship on the stage as well as upstart CODA with their all electric sedan. Both cars looked beautiful in their Avatar blue. The representative from Tesla had a rag in hand to clean the drool off the paint as we all gathered around like lions on a kill.

Though the kids were the focus during the day, the night time activities turned toward the “green” carpet and photos of celebs passing through to the after party. Live Avatars came in and posed for photos. As doorman I had the unfortunate duty to keep people without passes out of the party…A good job for someone who knows next to nothing about famous stars. I had several awkward moments with famous people as they tried to breeze through the line and met my resistance..luckily the organizers were near and no fighting broke out.

The energy of the event was so engaging, the positivity was infectious and the strategy sessions in which local LA mayor Villaraigosa and other leaders including James Cameron, Native Indian Chiefs, and representatives of the Amazon tribes spoke about solutions and pathways were productive (so I heard I wasn’t in there as I was booting people out of the party).

You don’t need to wait for James Cameron to come to your school, you can do this today with your own school. The message of being green is stronger today than ever, and Avatar just helps to bring it to the masses. Take your message, be it to recycle, save energy, pick up trash, accept and respect one another, and run with it in your own children’s schools. You may even get the attention of the big wigs and get mentioned on TV

So inspire your young ones go solar today!
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Dirty Dirty Coal

This has been stewing and I am surprised I haven’t noticed on the media the between the lines reading of what is happening lately in the coal industry. I guess it takes someone like me who is into this stuff to connect the dots. What I am talking about are 3 events that happened within a month of each other…as if someone was trying to tell us something. The first was a coal carrying tanker that went (way) off course and hit the Great Barrier Reef off of and en route to Australia from China. That tanker spilled tons of fuel oil into the pristine waters of one of the last good coral reef systems in the world. The second was a disaster in coal mine in China in which miners were killed. The third was another coal mine disaster in the USA in which as well people were killed.

At first glance it seem coincidence, but the story to take from these unfortunate events is that we need to ditch coal. The planet doesn’t need that stuff, it is so last year. Coal mining is almost ridiculous when you really think about it. You have to dig miles underground to find it and pick at it take it out by the truckload using monster trucks with million dollar tires take it to a train that has to ship it across the continent to somewhere. There has to be a coal power plant built with tons of steel, huge carbon emissions and capital expense to build. Every year the plant works it emits carbon dioxide, sulfides and other toxic emissions to the point that no one wants one in their backyard, and out of sight is out of mind.

Take solar as contrast. Find sand make silicon ingots, make cells by cutting them very thin, put some contacts and glass wrap a frame and you have a module. Take the module, slap it on the roof, and there you have electricity. No need to transport the electricity over thousands of miles, no need to be charged for that electricity as it comes for free from the sun. No need to pay taxes on the energy that was produced. No need for electric plant maintenance and lighting, health care plans, CEO salaries, accounting fees or lobbyists. No need for disposal of wastes. No need to depend on a grid manager to coordinate the power you will be receiving, no need for a grid really.

People do not value the real costs of coal power by considering the costs to the health of the environment, and those close to power plants. The real costs of energy of nuclear is similar, people say nuclear energy is too cheap to charge for…there can’t be anything further from the truth! Consider the costs before the costs are imposed by legislation…unfortunately it is not in human nature to do that and we are looking at carbon capping and carbon trading on the very near horizon. Looking forward one can see opportunity in the clouds and jump on it by getting solar, keeping your Renewable Energy Credits and becoming an active player in the New Energy Economy. People that do it now will benefit the most because right now rebates are still available as the government is pleading for people to participate. The day will soon come that the pleading will be over and the demanding will begin.
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