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Dara Bortman

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RE: Question for all ASES Members - Solar Educational Materials

Posted By Dara Bortman 08-23-2023 11:08 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
Those all sound great. Would you be willing to video yourself doing the outside "spectacular solar thermal demo" and sharing that as a NST site? You won't be able to see the mouth drop open but if you include your contact information you might get some good questions and opportunities to teach more from ...

RE: Question for all ASES Members - Solar Educational Materials

Posted By Dara Bortman 08-23-2023 09:04 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
Ah, William! Please reconsider this year! The addition of VIRTUAL sites on the tour makes your site as easily accessible as any website by anyone anywhere. And, once you make your video or photo collage, you can post it for each year's NST if you like - maybe just updating for new added features to your ...

RE: Question for all ASES Members - Solar Educational Materials

Posted By Dara Bortman 08-22-2023 10:57 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
Love this conversation! Bill, Glenn, Scott, David - I hope you're all signed up for the National Solar Tour! This is exactly the point of the Tour! When folks Show Off their Solar , more people go solar! Please sign up! (www.nationalsolartour.org) Dara ------------------------------ Dara ...

RE: Robots designed for PV industry

Posted By Dara Bortman 08-16-2023 10:35 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
Thanks for posting, Tim! Great videos! Dara ------------------------------ Dara Bortman Sustainable Solar Systems Philadelphia PA ------------------------------

RE: Resale of home

Posted By Dara Bortman 07-16-2023 05:24 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
Hi Mark - Sorry for the delay in responding. Ugh - this is really frustrating and exactly why we formed the Real Estate Valuation Task Force. Want to join? :-) This webinar with speaker/appraiser Woody Fincham talks to this issue (Ella linked to it above as well). This is a great article by Woody ...

RE: Resale of home

Posted By Dara Bortman 06-23-2023 11:58 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
Hi Mark That is very disappointing to hear. And the appraiser was incorrect. I don't love this article (https://appraisalbuzz.com/how-appraisers-should-value-solar-paneling/) but you can see that there is a form from the Appraisal Institute that shows details of the solar and other energy efficiency ...

RE: Resale of home

Posted By Dara Bortman 06-22-2023 11:10 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
Hi Danny - I'm happy to chat with you. Send me an email at daramarkb@gmail.com and we can connect offline if you like. It does depend on where you are (community perceptions and comfort with solar) and how knowledgeable your real estate agent is. It also depends on whether you OWN or LEASE the system. ...

RE: Unbelievable sunshine string in May!

Posted By Dara Bortman 06-02-2023 09:20 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
Wow! That's so awesome! A huge "solar spill"!! ------------------------------ Dara Bortman Sustainable Solar Systems Philadelphia PA ------------------------------

RE: What are the top 3 problems that made you to rework after Solar Panels Installation?

Posted By Dara Bortman 06-01-2023 12:36 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
Hi Venkata - We didn't have this issue that often, and you can often avoid it by removing any clumps of leaves that might collect under the panels before the critters can get settled under there and cause a lot of damage. If some damage occurred, we'd usually fix it and put down some repellent and ...

RE: What are the top 3 problems that made you to rework after Solar Panels Installation?

Posted By Dara Bortman 05-31-2023 11:07 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
There aren't a lot of things we saw, but rodents (mostly squirrels in our area) did sometimes bite through wires - some of them seem to have bionic teeth! Most service calls were for Enphase micro-inverters or Solaredge optimizers needing replacement after a few years - which should usually be covered ...

RE: Zoom Discussion - The problem(s) with hydrogen as an energy source

Posted By Dara Bortman 03-22-2023 09:21 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
Ah. Never mind. Should have clicked on the video link! Thanks! Will watch! ------------------------------ Dara Bortman Sustainable Solar Systems Philadelphia PA ------------------------------

RE: Zoom Discussion - The problem(s) with hydrogen as an energy source

Posted By Dara Bortman 03-22-2023 09:16 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
Hi Jay - Is there a recording of this session? I'd love a link. Thanks, Dara ------------------------------ Dara Bortman Sustainable Solar Systems Philadelphia PA ------------------------------

RE: Expanding existing PV system

Posted By Dara Bortman 02-20-2023 05:42 PM
Found In Egroup: Ask a Renewable Energy Expert \ view thread
I'll second Ken's comments and add a few: It definitely makes sense to wait an entire year to get a complete picture of your system's annual production. If you run a PVWatts report for your system, you'll see projected average production by month of the year. You can see that, as Ken suggests, certain ...

RE: What keeps homeowners from going solar?

Posted By Dara Bortman 02-06-2023 05:56 PM
Found In Egroup: Ask a Renewable Energy Expert \ view thread
I have to say I disagree with this now. There are many many new and creative options for loans to pay for a solar energy system. It depends on where you live, but in most states a homeowner can replace immediately reduce their monthly utility bill by the same amount as the monthly loan payment or more. ...

RE: How Do I Know My System is Still Making Power?

Posted By Dara Bortman 01-10-2023 01:25 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
A great discussion! I think this is a great education opportunity for ASES! Has anyone seen a good, simple, online resource that would help folks with older systems like this? I haven't ! Let's fill the gap! ------------------------------ Dara Bortman Sustainable Solar Systems Philadelphia PA ----- ...

RE: Is it common for production to be less than estimated?

Posted By Dara Bortman 01-21-2022 12:59 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
I'm guessing that there's more shade on the lower row than the top row (and you can ask your installer to redo a full shade assessment of the entire roof) and at least they can move the existing panels to the sunniest parts of your roof. Dara -- Dara BortmanExact Solar (267) 544-9228 cell

RE: How to get the tax rebate?

Posted By Dara Bortman 01-14-2022 12:16 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
You should not need a CPA. Check out the form and just fill it in. You don't need to submit any backup documentation with it. Here's the link: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-5695 ------------------------------ Dara Bortman Exact Solar Yardley PA dara@exactsolar.com --------------------- ...

RE: Is it common for production to be less than estimated?

Posted By Dara Bortman 01-14-2022 12:10 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
Wow. Yes. If you have neighbors that are close to you (and it looks like you do), then of course their assessments should include all obstructions including other buildings, all trees that cast shade on your home (whether on your property or not), chimneys, etc. It maybe makes sense that their preliminary ...

RE: Life Cycle Cost Analysis of PV Solar versus Heat Pump

Posted By Dara Bortman 01-13-2022 09:49 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
Thanks so much, Hugh, for this excellent explainer! Love it! Dara ------------------------------ Dara Bortman Exact Solar Yardley PA dara@exactsolar.com ------------------------------

RE: Life Cycle Cost Analysis of PV Solar versus Heat Pump

Posted By Dara Bortman 01-11-2022 03:06 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
Crap! Sorry! Just realized I misread your message - PV vs heatpump...not hot water. There are other questions for that. What do they use now to heat the building (gas, oil, electricity?), how much do they use, what type of space is it, what type of roof and access to sun do they have, etc. Also can email ...