Solarpete’s Blog

Pete’s Solar Panel Hit By Gun Fire

At about 11:15 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, Pete heard an alarming sound that came from his roof.  He ran outside in the dark, wondering if something had fallen onto his roof, and worried about his solar panels.

After climbing up a ladder to get a better look at the roof in the dark, he found one of his solar panels had a hole in it.  At first he thought maybe a fire cracker had hit the roof – a number of people in his neighborhood were shooting them off, celebrating the incoming new year.

When the police arrived, they went up on the roof and informed Pete his house had been hit by a stray bullet.  Apparently someone thought it would be festive to celebrate the new year with gun fire!  Pete figures it is going to cost him about $2000.00 to repair the damage caused by the bullet.

*** Incidentally, a 4 year old child in Atlanta was killed New Year’s Eve night when a stray bullet traveled through the roof of the church his family were worshiping in that evening.  The child was struck in the head.  Can you imagine losing a child that way?  We all need to remember that guns are weapons and thus should be treated with the utmost of respect.  They aren’t to be fired off randomly for celebration.  I’m thankful I still have my brother – the solar panel may have saved his life – but my heart goes out to the family in Atlanta who lost their           precious child.

He loves his roof and all those neat solar panels that pay HIM.  What more can we say?

Rain Barrel Sketch

 Rain barrels have become increasingly popular in recent years.  Drought ridden areas, such as the Atlanta-metro region, have turned to rain barrels as a way to keep flowers and plant life alive during the parched summer months when watering restrictions and bans would otherwise prevent home owners from being able to water and maintain outside landscaping and plant life.

The above sketch shows how easy it is to assemble your own rain barrel.  There are a number of companies who now sell fully assembled rain barrels as well.

Further, many creative artists have begun offering rain barrel design services where the homeowner can choose the design they desire for their rainbarrel(s), thus adding to the beauty of their yards.  The rainbarrels become part of the landscape.

Below are examples of painted rain barrels.

If you have a hot, stagnant attic, this will greatly reduce the efficiency of your home.  Cooling costs will be higher and the comfort factor in your home lessened.

In Pete’s attic he installed  bubble wrap radiant barrier insulation.   The buble wrap is attached to the rafters and helps to reflect the UV rays back out through the roof. This helps to reduce the high temps in the attic, (remember, Pete lives in Florida).  By keeping air moving in the attic the temps will be lower thus making the house cooler in the summer.  During the long, Florida  summer, the outside roof temps on can get up to 180*. That heat is transferred into the attic making the air conditioner work harder to cool the house and utility costs much higher.

This is an effective way to keep all houses cooler in the summer, not just for those living in a southern climate.  

To help cool off the attic Pete installed 2 solar attic fans for air movement. There is an air change of about 1200cfm or cubic feet per minute to help reduce the excessive heat that can build up in the attic.  One blows air into the attic and roof peak the other one is exhausting the air from the attic to the outside. You can use electric ones, but Pete believes in letting the sun do the work.

Additionally, Pete made up a hatch cover that is used to cover up the attic stairs.  He insulated this wood box with an insulation foam batt that has an R-value of 5.0. This is sealed once closed and it helps to reduce warm air in the summer and cold air in the winter from entering the house. The box is made from ¾” pine and is sealed with foam door sealer. Simple little fixes, such as this, can help reduce your energy usage.

Stair Cover/Hatch

Lastly,  an R-38 of insulation was added to help keep this warm air out of the house.  The higher the R values the better the blockage of hot air  getting into your home.  Here we can see that Pete used two layers of R-19 laid north to south then over top east to west to cover up any missed places.

If you have questions about any of the information on the Solar Pete blog or any ‘green’ questions at all, just email Pete at: