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| Our Mission |
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The Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Association (MAREA) is a nonprofit organization, dedicated to informing and educating the public on renewable energy production, energy efficiency, and sustainable living through meetings, workshops, educational materials, and energy fairs.
Your membership makes these activities possible. If you can help, please [Join MAREA]. The support is greatly appreciated and your dollars are used carefully. (And, members get into the Festival free!) |
Community Projects & Workshops
MAREA conducts small group workshops on practical alternative energy projects throughout the year. Learn from experts in the field. MAREA members receive special discount on workshops. |
MAREA Monthly Meetings, the More the Merrier!
Next Public Meeting:
7 p.m. Tuesday, January 31, 2012 |
Next Time the Power’s Out, Count on the Sun |
Recent power outages have us thinking. No lights, no heat, no fridge, no water, no television and no computer will do that to a person. Halloween’s freak snowstorm left hundreds of thousands of customers in our area without electricity for days. Stories of misery abounded. Expensive and frustrating, we found our vulnerability unnerving.
As the electrical grid grows older and busier and the weather wilder and weirder, there’s reason to believe that outages will occur more often and longer. What’s a responsible, resourceful person to do? Perhaps it’s time to revisit solar electricity, yes solar, as a practical, though pricey, reliable source of electricity when the grid’s down.
Grid-tied solar electric systems are designed to interact bi-directionally with the grid and, because of this, have mandatory safety features that disconnect the systems when the grid loses its power. This is to protect line workers and emergency responders.
Without battery backup, solar electric systems don’t deliver electricity, even when the sun is shining. When batteries are designed into the system, however, the solar generation and battery charging system are isolated from the grid in a way that allows the solar to continue to operate legally and safely whether the grid is up or not.
For years the conventional wisdom has been that battery backup adds unnecessary expense and maintenance for routine grid-tied solar electric installations. Unless you live in an area with unusually frequent power outages or have a situation that is particularly sensitive to power outages, battery backup was probably not warranted. That may be changing. |
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Advances in technology and a rethinking of how the grid is used—from central to distributive generation—have brought AC coupling to the forefront in a mainframe/pc analogy. Though still in its infancy, AC coupling has the potential to revitalize the aging grid infrastructure, preserve its capital investment and offer reliability and redundancy that would limit and reduce the severity of both mass and local power outages.
Going from theory to the specifics, Bill Hennessy and Bruce Hankins, NABCEP-certified photovoltaic installers, will discuss the AC Coupling technology that adds battery backup to an existing solar electric installation. They’ll look at design and cost considerations for adding battery backup to existing systems and for planning new systems. They’ll help you understand how it all works and answer your questions. For example, can solar with battery backup run my geothermal system during a grid outage? Can I use a backup generator?
This talk is meant for those who have existing solar systems, are considering getting a solar electric system and those who just like to understand how things work. No technical background required (bring it if you have it). Questions and ideas welcomed.
After the meeting, we’ll continue the discussion. How did your family and business deal with the dark and cold? What did you learn? Any good ideas, products or services to share with us? We’re also interested in your ideas for MAREA events, activities and services. Coffee and light snacks will be served. Please bring your own mug.
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For more information or to suggest a topic or speaker, contact:
Vera Cole, 215-258-0526 or veracole@comcast.net
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Last Tuesday of the month, 7:00
TEK Park, 9999 Hamilton Boulevard, Breinigsville, PA
[DIRECTIONS] |
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MAREA Educational Programs
MAREA is planning a series of two-hour workshops on possible topics that include, so far, solar electric design, solar hot water design, structural engineering for solar electric mounting systems, thermodynamics, commissioning solar electric systems, solar oven cooking, reducing electrical use in the home, all about RECs, considerations for commercial solar electricity installations, solar electricity for homeowners and wire crimping for solar installations. Whew! Let us know topics you would like covered and if there's a topic you, or someone you know, would like to instruct. Dates, locations and times will be announced soon. We expect them to be on Saturday mornings with a fee of around $45 for members. We're also nailing down plans for the next solar electric installation workshops. We'll send details as soon as they're available.
With ideas or questions, please contact Bill Hennessy, 484-560-4666, bill@berkssolar.com. |
Resource Recovery 2011
". . . Another Woman's Treasure"
Julie Fiorini,
Resource Recovery Coordinator
Recycling was an adventure! Who would volunteer to deal with that?!? But it's a RESOURCE- that's what saving the Earth is about! [READ MORE] |
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Higher Learning:
Rooftop Solar Workshop
From as far as Staten Island, NY to York, PA, participants in MAREA’s most recent Solar Installation Workshop sweated and smiled through four vigorous days of cooperative work and learning. This installation took place on a residential rooftop in Kutztown, PA at the home of Gene and Vivian Mosca.
[FOR MORE INFO AND PICS] |
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Use Google Calendar for MAREA Events
Sign up for access to our Google Calendar, and never miss another MAREA event! It’s easy and you can share your events too.
For more info: [MAREA Calendar].
Sure, you can check our website or read our newsletter to learn about our events, but, with Google Calendar, you can choose to receive reminders about our meetings and choose when and how you’d like to receive them.
Here’s how it works. Click the link below to send us an email asking us to add you to the calendar. After we’ve added you, you’ll automatically see our events on your Google Calendar. Click on an event that interests you and select Copy to My Calendar. Depending upon which version of Google you use, you’ll see Reminder either to the right of the event announcement or directly below it. Choose between an email or pop-up reminder and then select when you’d like to receive it. One reminder not enough? You can create as many as five for the same event!
Don’t worry if you don’t have a gmail account. You don’t need one. All you need is a Google account. It only takes a minute to sign up. Go to www.google.com and click on the Calendar option on the upper left side of the screen. If you don’t see it, click on More to find it on a drop-down list of options. On the calendar page, you’ll see a Create an Account button on the lower right of the screen. Click on the button to get to a page where you’ll enter your email address, select a password, and add a little information to set up your calendar.
If your organization lists its events on a Google calendar, let us know! Send a description of your organization and the type of events you list to info@paenergyfest.com.
[ADD ME TO MAREA’S GOOGLE CALENDAR!] |
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