New, affordable homes being built in the southern Arizona city of Yuma will come fully equipped with solar energy systems thanks to a partnership between American Solar Electric (ASE) and Elliott Homes.

For the non-engineers out there who are interested in learning as much as possible about how solar panels work, here’s a brief overview of micro-inverters and what they can add to a solar installation. Solar panels need (micro)inverters to convert the electricity they produce to a type that can be used at home. Solar photovoltaic [...]

Rebates available in Tucson Electric Power’s service area make residential solar hot water systems very affordable. The payback period for this technology in Southern Arizona is 7 years.

A weekly update on strange uses for solar energy. This week we covered the solar animal repeller.

This prime solar state offers an enticing return on investment for solar hot water. First, being smack dab in the middle of the Sunbelt means that owners of solar hot water systems will benefit from some of the world’s most consistent sunlight as well as relatively high temperatures. The high outdoor temperatures are especially helpful, [...]

We’re going back to basics here. Those of us who follow solar often get most excited about creative ways to apply the technology– like solar phones to serve rural India. However, understanding the potential for solar within the good old United States means we sometimes need to refresh our memories on how, exactly, those PV [...]

NASCAR’s Pocono Raceway has recently installed a 3-megwatt solar energy system expected to produce 72 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of solar energy over the next 20 years. That would be enough energy to cover all of the track’s electricity needs, as well as the needs of 1,000 local homes over that time span. The 25-acre photovoltaic (PV) solar farm made up of 40,000 solar panels is the largest solar installation at any sporting venue in the world.

Yesterday, a group of student architects from Virginia Tech won grand prize in the inaugural, 10-day Solar Decathlon Europe in Madrid, Spain, beating 16 other universities from seven different countries.

Today, we begin a three-part series, taking a closer look at the people and process behind Grid Alternatives’ installations.

Beazer Homes, a large U.S. homebuilder, will this weekend introduce its new line of energy-efficient solar homes in Phoenix, Arizona. Photo courtesy of Beazer Homes Dubbed “eSMART Green” homes, the new buildings feature a range of energy-saving technologies, including low-e windows, Energy Star appliances, high-efficiency HVAC systems, home energy monitors, tankless water heaters and energy-efficient compact fluorescent [...]