FORGET PV – SOLARFLOW IS COMING!

Congratulations to our customers who had the vision and foresight to invest in Solar Thermal Evacuated Tube Collector systems. We are happy to announce that your smart decision is about to pay off in a big way. Within the next year, you will be able to upgrade your Evacuated Tube solar system to generate grid-quality electricity from the excess heat it produces at a fraction of the cost of installing a separate photovoltaic system. The upgrade is guaranteed to reduce the cost of your combined gas and electric bills by 75%.

Cool Energy Inc., the developer of this new solar technology, calls it the SolarFlow System. Although a production schedule has not yet been announced, we expect to hear something soon.

So how does this new technology work?

Do you remember learning about Stirling Engines in science class? Developed in 1816, it is a simple engine that powers a turbine using heat. On the Antiques Roadshow today, they featured a fan built in 1919 that used a Stirling engine. A kerosene lamp heated air that turned a turbine that spun the fan blades.  By using solar thermal heat, electricity is generated through a low temperature Stirling Engine. It is simple, quiet and clean.

Stirling engine technology has actually been used for the past several years in large commercial solar applications with a large powerful sun dish providing concentrated heat. The technology has been scaled down and will soon be available for residential applications. These small Stirling Engine-based systems have been designed to use Evacuated Tube Collectors only. ETCs are the only solar thermal collectors that will generate the proper amount of heat to power SolarFlow.

Mirasol Solar Energy Systems recognized the advanced capabilities and future potential of Evacuated Tube Collectors from the beginning. We started our business using ETCs exclusively. We knew that ETCs would be the core of all new developments in solar for heating, air conditioning and electricity generating. We are the only solar company in the state to have the experience and the engineering capability to offer the new SolarFlow System as soon as it becomes available.

For the past several months, we have advised our customers to wait for new technology announcements before they buy a photovoltaic system. Check back with us for news about the release of SolarFlow. We think we will have an exciting announcement for you very soon!

Why the Best Solar Thermal System Money Can Buy is NOT Expensive!

Mirasol Solar Thermal Systems with Evacuated Tube Collectors are guaranteed to:

1. Meet and exceed winter home heating capabilities of standard flat-plate collectors.

2. Work more efficiently than flat-plate collectors in cold weather when you need heat the most.

3. Provide the high hot water temperatures required for forced air or baseboard heating that cannot be done by flat-plate collectors.

4. Generate as much energy with one Evacuated Tube Collector as two flat-plate collectors.

5. Use standard, non-proprietary parts that can be purchased from any plumbing supply retailer at any time if a repair is ever needed. Expensive special solar parts are not needed.

6. Use parts that are MADE IN AMERICA at all times possible to strengthen the economy of our country!

7. Be custom designed to fit the system to your specific needs, using as much of your existing equipment to save you from unnecessary costs.

Good News for Businesses--The Stimulus and Solar

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of February 2009 made a major improvement in the solar tax credit program for commercial installations. The Investment Tax Credit (ITC) of 30% of the total cost of the installation of a solar system remains unchanged for the next seven years. But now, a business owner can elect to receive a cash payment from the Department of Treasury in lieu of the ITC. A quick refund of 30% makes a lot of sense for business taxpayers who may happen to be carrying losses in these tough economic times, or for other reasons, would prefer to receive a cash payment rather than a reduction in taxes. This cash grant arrives from the Treasury 60 days after your system is placed in service. Information on the Treasury Department payment is available at the DOT's recovery website.

Of course, if you are able to take advantage of the ITC itself, the possibility exists that you can monetize the incentive even sooner, by withholding the full amount of your ITC from your next quarterly income tax prepayment.

Clark Howard, Money Guru on CNN, HLN Got Scammed on Solar

On Clark Howard's show on CNN & HLN, he did a piece last week about installing a solar thermal system in his home in Atlanta for JUST heating his domestic water. He paid $12,000.00 for it. He got two cheap, Chinese flat-plate collectors. I did notice that the solar company installed the most expensive tanks, controls, etc. They had to have sold the equipment to him at more than double the wholesale price. Times are tough and business is poor but that kind of pricing is criminal!

For $12,000, Mirasol Solar could have heated his domestic water AND HIS HOUSE in the winter AND HIS SWIMMING POOL in the summer. I was one of several people who wrote to Clark to tell him that he should have paid less than $5,000 for his system.

Clark calculated that his payback would take nine years. He thought that was a good deal, especially since savings and investments are paying so little. We would have had his ROI down to less than five years!

I hope that people will take this as a cautionary tale. We run into a lot of people who think they know all about solar and tell us how they think it should be designed. They've read an article or two online and they are sure solar thermal is easy to do. Maybe if they can just weasel out some information from us on the specific parts they need, they can do it themselves? (It's like going to the doctor, giving him your diagnosis and your instructions on how to treat your condition with OTC drugs and then wondering why you don't get better.) Those are the people who are most likely to get scammed in the end. I wonder if Clark wasn't one of those people.

See the story about Clark's solar system at:
http://clarkhoward.com/liveweb/shownotes/2010/06/24/18697/

Please sign up for updates on our blog. We will keep you up-to-date on solar and we would love to hear from you if you have any questions.

Where is the Democracy for Clean Energy?

I grew up in a family with five children. We didn't have much. Popcorn and Kool-Aid were the only treats we could afford. There was always a discussion among us children as to which flavor of Kool-Aid we should choose. If some wanted grape and others wanted cherry, my mother would have us vote for the flavor. "OK," she would say, " Three for grape and two for cherry. The majority rules--so grape it is!" This is how we learned about democracy. There was no whining. There was no discussion. And, certainly, there was never a suggestion that we should have lemonade instead! The majority always ruled.

Today, democracy in our government does not seem to work that way. The rules for the Property-Assessed Clean Energy program were set up in a legal and democratic process. Suddenly, FannieMae and FreddieMac don't like it and they are allowed to derail the whole program. How can this be?

Write or call our elected representatives in Washington, DC and let them know you want them to get PACE moving. There are people in this state who are struggling with energy bills, especially propane users. Many families can barely afford to heat their homes and really want solar! There are a lot of other people in this state who need jobs. Many jobs would be created in New Mexico and other states through the PACE program.

Call or email Sen. Jeff Bingamin, Sen. Tom Udall, Rep. Marty Heinrich, Rep. Harry Teague and Rep. Ben Ray Lujan today and let them know you support PACE!

Click to send email to our elected representatives.

Senator Tom Udall
Senator Jeff Bingaman
Congressman Ben Lujan
Congressman Martin Heinrich

Update on Pace from Renew SantaFe

Joe Pasalodos, Aug 04 15:13 (PDT):

On May 5, 2010, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac released statements to the banking community on PACE programs, indicating that Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac mortgages must retain their first lien position. These letters caused confusion and concern that PACE participants may be ineligible for conforming mortgages. The FHFA (Federal Housing Finance Authority), which regulates FNMA and Freddie Mac, has since issued clarification that they would not support the senior lien position of PACE financing. In spite of pledge provided by the Department of Energy (DOE) that the Federal Government would guarantee against any defaults suffered by FNMA and Freddie Mac, FHFA and the Administration were not able to come to an agreement. 
As a result of the aforementioned, program launch activities have been suspended. 
We have seen wide spread support at the local, state and federal levels from elected officials. New legislation is being introduced to re-animate PACE programs across the country. How can you help? Email your elected representatives both in the House of Representatives and the Senate urging their support and the support of their peers around PACE and the new legislation. 
You can find regular updates on the legislative progress of the PACE initiative at www.PACENOW.org 
Thank you for your inquiry. 
Regards, 
Joe

---

Daniel Etra, Jul 30 15:01 (PDT):

A new inquiry from the Renew Santa Fe website has been received.

Name: Luis and Linda Martin

Email: MirasolSolarEnergy@gmail.com

Comment: We are a Solar Thermal and Photovoltaic design and retail company. We then help our customers hire a qualified installer. We have several customers in Santa Fe. Our customers there are mostly interested in advanced, integrated solar applications that are beyond the scope of a plumber and require engineering. We are very interested in information about Renew Santa Fe. Please contact us. Our phone number is 505-892-6406. Our Website is www.MirasolEnergySystems.com

Add me to the email list: Yes

Interest Type: Contractor

Dear Mr. Pasalodos and Mr. Etra:

Thank you for your update on PACE. I have been reading about the issues that have stalled PACE. We have begun taking action to encourage our elected representatives to resolve the issue. Furthermore, we are encouraging others to learn about PACE and to also contact them. I am also trying to find out what action is being taken to set up PACE in Sandoval and Bernalillio Counties. If you have an information regarding rhe status of PACE in those two counties or who is in charge, we would appreciate that information. 

As you know, most homeowners who desperately want and need solar systems installed on their homes are neither able to afford the investment nor are they able to finance it with traditional loans at this time. We would love to be able to hire lots of people to sell and install solar systems. If the business was there, we could add several jobs to the economy. Unfortunately, our business is just barely surviving. What is more sad is that there are many families who are struggling to pay high energy bills to keep their homes heated and the lights on. We are prepared to help in any way to get PACE moving in New Mexico once the FannieMae and FreddieMac issue has been resolved. Please let us know what else we can do to help. 

I will be posting your updates to our blog.

Thank you for responding so quickly.

Sincerel,

Linda Martin

Mirasol Solar Energy Systems

ANNOUNCING AWESOME SOLAR SYSTEM SPECIALS FROM MIRASOL SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS

BACK-TO-SCHOOL SOLAR THERMAL COLLECTOR SPECIAL– until October 15th, 2010.

SPP-30 Evacuated Tube Collectors -- $1299.00 + shipping with the purchase and installation of a complete Mirasol Solar System for heating space or domestic water.

(Suggested retail price of SPP-30 collector-- $1700.00)

These American-made Evacuated Tube collectors are the most advanced designed collector in solar thermal technology. They produce 43,000 BTUs of heat energy and have the highest rating for energy output by the SRCC. One SPP-30 collector replaces two flat plate collectors!

Get ready for winter heating and low energy bills with a Mirasol Solar System. Using the SPP-30 collectors, we can design our thermal systems to give you maximum heat output during the winter months. Flat plate collector systems are normally designed from the standpoint of reducing the risk of overheating during the summer so they produce less heat in the winter when you need it the most. A Mirasol system includes overheating protection and it is chemical-free and maintenance free!

PV SYSTEM SPECIALS FOR OUR SOLAR THERMAL CUSTOMERS

With the purchase of a Mirasol Solar Thermal system for heating space and/or hot water, Mirasol Solar will give you the option to add a one to two KWh Photovoltaic system to your home or business within 12 months of the installation of the Mirasol Solar Thermal system at OUR WHOLESALE COST + $200.00 for handling + shipping and/or delivery costs. The system can be grid-tie or off-grid. The special offer system will include all the parts and hardware you will need for your installation including mounting hardware* and batteries ** for off-grid systems.  It will not include installation, a system diagram, wire, conduit and grounding rod.  If you would like Mirasol Solar to provide you with a professional, cad drawing of your PV system design, there is an additional charge of $75.00. Normal manufacturer warranties will apply to the equipment.

For customers who have already installed a Mirasol Solar thermal system at any time, we will offer the PV system special for the next 12 months beginning from today, August 3, 2010.

*Mounting hardware is necessary to install the PV panels to your roof. The type of mounting hardware needed is determined by the number of solar panels, inclination of your roof and the roofing material.

**Batteries are normally drop-shipped from the manufacturer to the customer’s address. Shipping will always apply. MIrasol Solar will not provide any other batteries except those that are manufactured expressly for solar applications.

PACE--A NEW SOLAR FINANCING PROGRAM

An innovative new program to finance renewable energy retrofits for homes and businesses is in development in New Mexico. Called Property-Assessed Clean Energy or PACE, the program gives people the opportunity to install Solar Thermal, Solar Photovoltaic, geothermal systems or wind generators with little or no upfront costs and at a low interest rate. PACE has been successfully implemented in many areas of the United States.

In 2009, the New Mexico state legislature passed two laws to enable county governments to raise money through the issuance of bonds to fund clean energy projects for their residents.
The loan is paid over a set number of years through a special tax or assessment on the
property tax bill of those home or business owners who chose to enroll in the program. The
lien is actually on the property and not the individual. If the property is sold before the
loan is satisfied, the new property owner inherits the payments as well as the system.
PACE has many advantages for the State of New Mexico.

Implementing PACE will:

• Finance clean energy systems for everyone including low-income home owners.
• Decrease carbon pollution in our state.
• Lower energy bills for New Mexicans especially those who heat with expensive propane.
• Encourage job growth and economic stimulus for New Mexico.

To date, the PACE programs have been stalled nation-wide due to objections made by Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac. Many high-powered people are fighting for Pace but they need our help.
We encourage you to call your legislatures on the federal, state and county levels to ask
them to support PACE.

For more information about PACE, go to:

NM Dept. of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources:
http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/ECMD/CleanEnergyTaxIncentives/CleanEnergyFinancing.htm

Renew Santa Fe: https://renewsantafe.com/systems/energy

PACE NOW: http://pacenow.org/blog/

Vote Solar: http://votesolar.org/

Solar Energy Industries Association: http://www.seia.org/

Solar 101 for Women

OIL SPILL HAS WOMEN THINKING ABOUT ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

The BP oil spill in the Gulf brings to mind an old Cuban saying that goes: "The good thing about this situation is how bad it is." The oil spill disaster has got a lot more people thinking the way we have all along, which is that we need to reduce our usage of fossil fuels. They are dangerous! We are getting more calls for information about solar from women! As a woman who has worked most of her life in the high-tech, male-dominated field of telecommunications, I am thrilled with the calls from women.

When I designed our new website, two of my goals were to make the website warm and inviting and to help people learn a little bit about solar technology. Solar is much like computers were 25 years--only the geeks really understood it all.

SOLAR JUST MAKES ELECTRICITY, DOESN'T IT?

Solar is not that difficult to understand. It is basically just this--energy from the sun is collected to produce either heat (Solar Thermal) to directly heat the space or domestic water in our homes, or, with different equipment, make electricity (Solar Photovoltaics). The sun has been successfully making heat for over 5 million years. There is a good chance it won't stop any time soon. All we have to do is harvest its energy!

So how do you know which solar system you need in your home? Think in terms of heat and power. Nearly half of your energy dollars are spent for heat. Solar Thermal gives you more energy for a lot less money. Whether your furnace and hot water heater use gas or electricity, always use a Solar Thermal system to make the heat. For lights and most other appliances, use a Photovoltaic system. It is just that easy.

WHAT DOES IT COST?

Solar is an investment. You can compare it to the investment you would make for a new car or remodeling your kitchen. Every woman knows that you will never be able to sell a car for the same price you paid for it, but, a remodeled kitchen will increase the value of your home. If you sell your home, you can usually recoup the cost of the kitchen upgrade. Adding a solar system to your home will also increase the value of your home. You will also recoup the cost of the system if you sell your home. However, the solar system will make its own payments by the money you save on your utility bills! There is no other investment that you can make that will actually pay for itself!

HOW DO I KNOW THAT MIRASOL SOLAR WILL GIVE ME THE BEST VALUE

All of our thermal systems are designed according to ASHRAE standards. We use SRCC rated equipment. We follow all the state laws. We guarantee that a Mirasol Thermal system will produce more energy for you than a system from any of our competitors at the least cost per BTU. If you get a less expensive quote from another company, bring it to us. We will go over it with you and tell you what they left out to make the system cheaper and if we can also take out those parts and still make your system function the way you want it.

Check out our rating with the BBB.

Mirasol Integrated System Design Update

Barbara from Los Cerrillos, NM contacted us in January with a request to purchase 4 Evacuated Tube Collectors to assist with heating her 2000 square foot, radiant heated home and her indoor swimming pool. She is using propane to heat both her home and the swimming pool and her heating costs are huge! Barbara had some of her own ideas on how to make only 4 solar collectors work for her--she is an experienced construction contractor herself and very savvy. Luis went over her plans with her and found that in order to achieve her goals of 60% efficiency with solar, she would need to add more collectors and a huge, custom-made water storage tank. Integrated systems--providing energy for more than one purpose with the same system--is very tricky. She would have to double the budget she had planned for the project.

Luis was up for the challenge and decided he would design the system for her to do what she needed with the budget she had planned. He spent days of his own time consulting with solar engineers and manufacturers of solar products to come up with the perfectly designed, integrated, pressurized 50 gallon storage tank drain-back solar thermal system. New products & new discoveries in solar engineering have made this kind of system possible. It takes a gifted mechanical designer who is willing to learn new things, like Luis, to design a system with this kind of complexity and build it for half the money than our competitors charge for the standard glycol systems.

In Barbara's new solar system, Luis installed a customized Mirasol Energy Controller. The controller is also a Mirasol proprietary design that will reduce the cost of installing a solar system.

Mirasol Solar Energy Systems goal is to find ways for solar to be affordable for everyone. If you would like to install solar in your home, give us a call. A custom-designed solar system by Mirasol Solar Energy Systems is affordable!

We will post photos of Barbara's system at a later date.

WELCOME TO THE MIRASOL SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS BLOG!

At long last, we have our new website up and running. We are so excited to have the means to show New Mexico what Mirasol Solar Energy can do! Last year, we became an authorized dealer for Solar Panels Plus which is not only recognized as one of the foremost developers of Solar Thermal equipment, they are now manufacturing their Thermal Collectors in the United States! Also, we have added Photovoltaic Systems—both grid-tie and off-grid systems to our offerings. We hope to be adding some other Green products in the near future. Keep checking our blog and website for product announcements.

Thermal systems, of course, are our first love and if you think there is nothing new in Solar Thermal, au contraire! New products have been developed and manufactured that make solar thermal systems more efficient and less expensive. No longer is it necessary to patch a system together with plumbing parts that were made for other purposes but work—kinda okay— for solar. Our thermal designer, Luis Martin, keeps up-to-date on all new product developments and actually takes weekly classes online to learn how to use these new products.

New products have allowed Luis to come up with new Thermal system designs. We are now using an advanced chemical-free, pressurized, drain-back design for Thermal that eliminates some of the storage tanks. The system is less costly and takes up less space. Also, we build in overheating protection into each system which means that a Mirasol Solar Thermal System can be designed for higher efficiency to give you the most energy savings possible and quicker Return On Investment. Every system includes our exclusive Mirasol Energy Management Controls to guarantee that your system will work easily, automatically and safely.

Photovoltaic innovations are taking quantum leaps. Better products are coming out every day that is higher in efficiency and less expensive. Recently, Enphase introduced a great mini-inverter that has us very excited. Expect to see more new products coming out over the next year. We will announce these new products as soon as we get information about them.

Anyone who is looking at our website and blog is probably as concerned about the pollution created by the use of fossil fuels as the costs. But, the cost of fossil fuel usage just got higher with the Gulf Oil Spill. Not only is oil coming out of that hole in the ocean but natural gas that we use to heat and generate electricity too. What we must learn from the Gulf Oil Spill is that there is a potential for this kind of accident to happen with every off-shore oil well that is drilled. As we have seen, the oil companies are ill-prepared to deal with it. Let’s give them less reason to drill in the oceans. Get a solar system on your home or business now!

We want to thank our website designer, Brooke Haney, at Techland Creations, for doing such a marvelous job on our website redesign. We are especially grateful to her for her patience, great ideas and professionalism.