Wade Ortel
Electric Vehicles, Renewables and the Grid
Operating the electrical grid is a constant balancing act between supply and demand. In order to keep voltage and frequency within...
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Wade Ortel
- Nov 12, 2021
- 2 min
Heat Your Pan, Not Your Stovetop
Conventional electric stoves use resistive heating elements, much like a space heater, in order to heat the cooking surface. This heat is...
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Wade Ortel
- Oct 29, 2021
- 2 min
Heat Pump Hot Water Heaters Are Highly Efficient
Heating water takes a great deal of energy, due to its high heat capacity. In fact, domestic water heating accounts for 19% of total...
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Tony Pappas
- Jun 25, 2021
- 2 min
Getting into hot water
The Solar Initiative is expanding its subsidy program to include heat-pump powered hot water heaters. The total subsidy of two-thirds of...
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Tony Pappas
- May 21, 2021
- 2 min
Solar cell basics
Isn’t it shocking how a little chunk of silicon can produce electricity? When I asked the U.S. Government, Department of Energy, how this...
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Tony Pappas
- May 7, 2021
- 2 min
Bigbellies are here
Bigbellies are here...but you don’t need to hide...they won’t eat you, just your trash. Bigbellies are the brand name of state of the art...
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Tony Pappas
- Mar 21, 2021
- 2 min
The sun also rises
With apologies to Hemingway, the sun is rising on solar generated power (and other renewables). Consider the following data: • In 2019,...
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Tony Pappas
- Feb 25, 2021
- 2 min
Every 38 years
The year is 1983. The committee has organized its annual House and Garden Tour. This year’s theme is “Solar Energy,” featuring four...
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Tony Pappas
- Feb 11, 2021
- 2 min
Everything you always wanted to know about heat pumps but were afraid to ask
The Solar Initiative’s (tSI) heat pump subsidy program has proved to be very popular. Over 40 island families have signed up or are ready...
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Tony Pappas
- Jan 28, 2021
- 2 min
Why Your Next Car Should Be An EV
There are many reasons to replace your current gas guzzler with an electric vehicle. Let me count the ways: 1. You can save money on...
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Tony Pappas
- Dec 3, 2020
- 2 min
This should rate your interest
The first major initiative of The Solar Initiative was to put solar panels on the roofs of the Block Island Power Company facility. The...
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Tony Pappas
- Nov 5, 2020
- 3 min
Let's Have Some Fun in the Sun
We at the Solar Initiative hope that this series of columns has convinced you to at least consider installing a solar system at your...
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