By tony on September 23, 2011
Ever wondered how solar water systems work? Why they are designed and installed in certain ways? Want to know the difference between passive and active systems and what they actually look like when installed? Then join me at Solar Hot Water Design & Installation, a course I will be teaching at Palo Alto College as [...]
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Posted in Blog, Events | Tagged education opportunity, Palo Alto College, Solar Texas, solar water heaters
By tony on September 7, 2011
This year’s Greater San Antonio Builders Association (GSABA) Parade of Homes tour is on! This event is great for seeing design and building trends as well as new appliances and equipment as they come onto the market. This year, Solar Texas and Velux Sun Tunnels are featured in the Sitterle Homes show home. Seven Velux [...]
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Posted in Events | Tagged parade of homes, Solar Texas, Velux
By fran on April 4, 2010
You’ve heard it all year long….go green! What does it mean for today’s homeowner? How do you separate out the dazzle from the duds? With dozens of products and services making promises about delivering savings, how do you make informed choices? Finesilver Ranch homeowner and energy expert Tony Stephenson will share his experience and knowledge [...]
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Posted in Promotions
By fran on April 4, 2010
The Stephenson home will be featured in this year’s Solar Tour. It uses three solar applications. The first, a Solahart water heater, is mounted on our roof and is the main source of water heating. We save up to 400 kilowatt hours each month on heating water since its installation. A Solar Dynamics attic fan, [...]
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Posted in Events
By tony on April 27, 2010
Are you overloaded with information about what’s green and what’s not? Most homeowners want to save energy but don’t know where to start. I get lots of phone calls from people with questions about types of equipment, costs to install, what will work best for their household, so I wanted to help the conversation along [...]
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Posted in Blog | Tagged Blog, energy efficiency, solar products, Solar Texas
By tony on April 27, 2010
To reduce energy use around the Texas home, here are seven simple suggestions: Improve shade. The home heats rapidly under the Texas sun. Shade trees reduce the heat buildup in the home. Shading the external air conditioning components is also recommended. Improve the energy retention envelope around the home through better door seals, windows (double [...]
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Posted in Blog | Tagged clotheslines, energy saving tips, Solar Texas, solar water heaters
By tony on April 27, 2010
Are you trying to reduce your energy footprint? The path to energy efficiency, like a company’s quest for quality, is continuous. Many people looking for energy efficiency want to take an immediate big bite out of their energy bill. This is not necessarily the best approach. For some, it works well, but for most, it [...]
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Posted in Blog | Tagged energy efficiency, energy information, Solar Texas
By fran on April 28, 2010
We will be part of the fun at this year’s Solar Fest 2010, sponsored by Solar San Antonio. Join us on May 1, from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. We will be part of the exhibitors’ area. Check out the new technologies, learn about how you can get started with solar in your own home, [...]
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Posted in Blog, Events | Tagged solar events, Solar Fest 2010, Solar Texas
By tony on May 19, 2010
Modern homes have become more expansive over recent generations of homeowners. Single story homes in particular, have expanded outwards resulting in larger dark areas in the center of the home. Even in the middle of the day, some homeowners have to turn on electric lighting to augment the limited light coming through windows. For many, [...]
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Posted in Blog, Products, Skylights | Tagged Solar Texas, sun tunnel tips, Velux Sun Tunnels
By tony on May 26, 2010
Sun Tunnels are a great economic choice for bringing natural light into a room, but they’re not appropriate in all rooms for all people. Velux provides the ultimate in natural light control with its skylight and roof window range paired with a wide variety of shades and blinds. When the home or business owner wants [...]
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Posted in Blog, Skylights | Tagged energy saving tips, Solar Texas, Velux skylights
By tony on June 23, 2010
Just about every home in Texas has some type of attic ventilation. The reason for attic venting is easy to understand. The sun beats down upon the roof and heats the air in the attic. Methods have changed over the years, but the International Residential Code and most roofing manufacturers recommend balanced venting of 1 [...]
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Posted in Blog | Tagged air flow, attic heat, attic ventilation, Solar Texas
By tony on June 25, 2010
Earlier this week, we talked about why attics are so hot. Today, we’ll focus on how we cool our attics. One solution to cooling down hot attics was popular in the 1980s. Wind turbines. The problem with wind turbines in San Antonio and surrounding regions is that they are designed to extract about 850 cubic [...]
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Posted in Blog | Tagged air flow, attic ventilation, solar attic fans, Solar Texas
By tony on July 8, 2010
Last fall, I was fortunate to be part of the team involved in “greening” the Adams’ home in Boerne with a Solahart closed loop solar water heating system. Karen and Griz Adams spent more than two years designing and building Kendall County’s first-ever LEEDS Platinum home. Karen documented the project’s various benchmarks with a blog [...]
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Posted in Blog | Tagged LEED certification, MySA.com, Natural Home Magazine, Solahart, Solar Texas, solar water heating
By tony on July 28, 2010
It’s a simple concept. Instead of relying on an electric element or a gas flame to heat your household water all the time, a solar water heater has the sun do the work of heating the water and only supplements with electricity or gas when needed. People are surprised by how effective the sun can [...]
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Posted in Blog | Tagged energy savvings, Solahart, Solar Texas, solar water heaters
By tony on August 17, 2010
Several weeks ago, I attended a two-day training course for Velux solar water heaters. “Velux makes solar water heaters?” you ask. Not only that, but the company is the world’s largest manufacturer of flat plate collectors! We just haven’t heard much about Velux solar water heating in the USA, because Velux has been concentrating on [...]
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Posted in Blog, Velux Products, Water Heaters | Tagged Solar Texas, solar water heaters, Velux
By tony on August 30, 2010
Solar Texas recently had the wonderful experience of donating a 14 inch Velux Sun Tunnel to the very deserving recipient of the KENS-5 Mi Casa Makeover home, Cecilia Consuergra. Many, many thanks to Lina Luque at Build San Antonio Green for contacting Solar Texas to ask about possible involvement. This was such a wonderful experience [...]
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Posted in Blog, Events | Tagged KENS 5, Mi Casa Makeover, Solar Texas, Velux Sun Tunnels
By tony on September 8, 2010
We get questions all the time about providing financing for solar equipment. We’ve never been able to offer that to our customers. Until now! A new San Antonio Federal Credit Union (SACU) initiative announced on Sept. 7 is to be applauded. SACU has set aside $2 million in funding for loans for “green” programs. Read [...]
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Posted in Blog, Promotions | Tagged green financing, SACU, Solar Texas
By tony on September 29, 2010
Stephenson home featured on solar tour 2010 This Saturday, Oct. 2, find Solar Texas on the Solar San Antonio annual Solar Tour! This is a free, self-guided tour of solar applications around the city. It’s a great way to meet solar installers, look at the ways that solar is being applied to residences and businesses [...]
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Posted in Blog, Events, Water Heaters | Tagged Solar Texas, solar tour, solar water
By tony on October 27, 2010
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: solar water heating has the best payback for homeowners looking to adopt solar technology into an existing home. When you install a solar water heater, you will instantly start saving up to 25% off your electric bill. Every family has a different water use profile; in [...]
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Posted in Blog | Tagged CPS Energy, renewable energy tax credits, SACU Green Loans, Solar Texas, solar water heater
By tony on December 1, 2010
We just installed a 14 inch Velux Sun Tunnel on the KENS-5 Mi Casa Makeover Home in San Antonio last week. This house will be featured on KENS 5 Great Day SA in the near future. The room we chose was a closet off the master bathroom at the rear of the home. Considerable time [...]
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Posted in Blog, Sun Tunnels, Velux Products | Tagged installation instructions, KENS 5 Mi Casa Makeover, Solar Texas, Velux Sun Tunnels
By tony on February 7, 2011
Velux Solar Water Heater on a Clay Tile Roof Last week, the first Velux solar water heater was installed in San Antonio by Solar Texas and Will’s Plumbing. Velux has been manufacturing solar water heaters for around 20 years, but have only recently introduced the product to the USA market. Targetting residential and small commercial [...]
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Posted in Blog, Velux Products | Tagged Solar Texas, solar water heaters, Velux America
By tony on July 5, 2011
From Our Friends at VELUX AMERICA: Rooms filled with natural light and fresh air are more beautiful, spacious and uplifting to our spirits. “With added natural light and ventilation from skylights, homeowners have attractive and effective tools to balance the light and improve ventilation in their homes,” says Joe Patrick, senior product manager with VELUX [...]
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Posted in Blog, Skylights, Velux Products | Tagged home improvement, skylight selection, Solar Texas, Velux America
