Residential PV - We are happy to offer residential customers the installation of PV systems at sizes custom to their needs. Whether you’re looking to have a grid-connected or an off-grid system, we can help you. We’ll help you determine the best size PV system for your home using the newest equipment on the market. Our on-site analysis can offer you options for PV panel placement. Options include roof or ground locations. We can install data logging equipment, so the homeowner can view their system’s power production through a computer.
Buying a PV system for your home is a sound investment and one that will pay for itself in time. Consider making the change and going green.
Commercial PV - There is no better advertising for a business right now than to install a PV system. Going “Green” is the thing to do. A business having a PV system installed will certainly attract many people to come out and see the green technology in action. Savings resulting from reduced utility bills will help businesses lower their overhead costs, which will certainly be on the rise in the future. We’ll size our systems for your commercial business based upon your property’s available space and configure our inverters based upon the type of service your property has. As with residential systems, we can install data logging equipment so you can view your new renewable energy system’s power production remotely, through the computer. Become the next leader in the business sector and consider making the change and going green.
Solar Hot Water Systems - Our solar hot water systems can provide either your home or business with sufficient hot water for domestic use. Typically, a home owner can install just one or two solar hot water collectors to harvest enough heat to obtain sufficient hot water. A commercial business may need to install more hot water collectors than that. It all depends on how large your hot water tank is. Our solar hot water systems can derive 80% of their needed energy from the sun. The other 20% is derived from an auxiliary electric element. Based on quantity and time of use of hot water, more than 80% can be derived from the sun.
Our solar hot water systems work off of a controller which dictates when the circulating pumps turn on. When the pumps are not working, the fluid, which acts as the heat exchange medium, rests in a reservoir tank located next to or on the domestic hot water tank. This fluid is held there by gravity and poses no danger of freezing in the collector’s pipes. The heat exchanging fluid is water, not antifreeze, which is not very corrosive to the pipes. These systems are designed to withstand the Northeast’s winters and provide long lasting solutions for heating water for domestic use.
Wind Power – Wind turbines can be connected to the grid and also be used in off grid applications. Our turbines are mounted on towers that range from 80 feet to 120 feet. The wind at that height is steadier and more plentiful. Power production at a very good wind site, can be equal to or better than a very good solar site. Wind sites are limited to empty lots of one acre or larger and have specific distance requirements with respect to buildings and utility lines. Sycaway Solar and Wind can survey your property to see if your site is suitable for wind power.
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Included with the 2008 Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (better known as the Bailout Bill) was a clause that allows a PV system owner to take 30% of the total system installed cost as a tax credit. There is no cap for both residential and commercial systems under this bill. Please see the technology below for short descriptions of the tax credits available through the Federal Government.
Included with the 2008 Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (better known as the Bailout Bill) was a clause that allows a PV system owner to take 30% of the total system installed cost as a Federal tax credit. There is no cap for both residential and commercial PV systems under this bill. The new incentive program becomes effective on January 1st, 2009 and remains in place until December 31st, 2016.
Also from that bill, installations of solar hot water systems can be eligible for a maximum $2,000 federal tax credit. Small wind systems can take $500 per kilowatt of the turbine rating. The maximum federal tax credit for a small wind system is $4,000. For all of these technologies, the residence does not need to be a primary residence in order to qualify for the federal tax credit.
These incentives are only available for a limited time, so it would be to your advantage to use them while they are offered. Incentives may not be available in the future.
New York State offers tax credits for residents who purchase a PV systems. The Department of Taxation and Finance states the following:
Tax Law section 606(g-1) allows a credit for the purchase and installation
of an eligible solar energy system. Subject to certain limits, credit is 25%, with a $5,000 cap of the qualified solar energy system equipment expenditures
for the purchase and installation of a system that uses solar radiation
to produce energy for heating, cooling, hot water, or electricity for
residential use. The equipment must be installed and used at the
taxpayer’s principal residence in New York State and must be placed in
service on or after January 1, 2006.
If the solar energy system equipment produces electricity, you must
enter into a net energy metering contract with your electric corporation
or comply with the electric corporation’s net energy metering schedule
before you can qualify for the credit. The completed solar energy
system equipment must also be connected to the electric corporation’s
transmission and distribution facility. Other conditions and limitations set
by the electric company may also apply. You should contact your electric
company for more information before you purchase your equipment.
If your credit is greater than the amount of tax you owe, the balance will not be refunded to you. However, any credit amount in excess of the tax due for 2007 can be carried over for a maximum of up to five years.
NYSERDA, also, known as the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority has their own set of incentives available for those who purchase a renewable energy system. For PV incentives, NYSERDA will pay up to $5 per watt of installed solar with the higher amounts going towards schools, non-profits, and governments. The total grant money available from NYSERDA can be well over 50% of the installed cost of a PV system.
Wind incentives from NYSERDA are also very good and can compensate for over 50% of the total installed cost of a turbine. For specific details of NYSERDA wind incentive amounts, please visit the following web page: http://www.powernaturally.org/
If you live outside of New York and would like to find about your state’s incentives please visit this website:
www.dsireusa.org
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CVPS, 50.16 kW
This array is the first solar generating station in the State of Vermont licensed to sell power directly to the grid. The system consists of 33 pole mounts, three rows of 11. It is located in North Rutland, Vermont and is visible from Route 7 as you drive North or South. Tours of the facility are available by contacting us.
To view the production values of this facility, please click on the following link: CVPS Production Web Page
Martindale Project, 8.4 kW
This system consists of 6 pole mount arrays for a total of 8.4 kW. Power is stored in batteries inside of the home to provide electricityto critical appliances during a power outage. The system is net metered to offset all of the home’s annual electric consumption. It is located on Route 149 in Lake George.
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“No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be…”
-Isaac Asimov
The burning question many people have is how long will it take for this system to pay me back? There is only one real tool to gauge that question and that is the past. We can look at utility rates in the past and try to mirror them into the future. I compiled information from the New York State encyclopedia and made a graph showing residential electric bill rates from 1960 to 2000.
From all of the data I read, it could be inferred that the rate of increase on electric bills for residents of New York State is 5% every 16 months. So by looking at the past we can anticipate a 15% rate increase every 48 months on average. If we take that data and project the average rate of increase over the next forty years, then that chart would something like this.
As difficult as it is to predict the future, we know several things to be true. Energy prices will increase in the future. It really is just a matter of how much. I think rates in the future will rise more rapidly than they did in the past.
Overall, not every purchase we make pays you back in the slightest. Renewable energy systems, however, do. No matter how long the exact payback takes, at least we can know that it is a sure investment.
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Another component is the wind turbine. Wind turbines produce electricity when the wind is blowing and have varying power outputs depending on wind speeds. They can be used in both grid tie and off grid applications. Generally, wind is increased and less disrupted as you rise off the ground. This is why the wind turbines are mounted on tall towers. Winds tend to blow more in New York during the winter rather than in the summer. For this reason, a hybrid wind/solar system will give a more steady annual power production as opposed to each one by itself. 
