Author Archives: Ananyaa Mehra

About Ananyaa Mehra

Ananyaa is a researcher in electrification, renewable energy, and green technology, with a focus on policy and equity. She’s a junior at Tufts University pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies. On campus, Ananyaa is involved with the Energy Club and Sustainability Council and serves as an organizer of the annual Tufts Energy Conference. Ananyaa is especially passionate about protecting our oceans, where she loves to spend time.

How to go solar as a condo owner

If you immediately think about homeowners when it comes to solar panels, you’re certainly not alone. But, did you know that about two-thirds of Americans are unable to install solar panels on their properties? Community solar is a great alternative to rooftop solar, making clean solar energy more accessible and available to a wider range of people, including renters and condominium (condo) owners.

However, as a condo owner, there are circumstances in which you won’t be able to sign up for community solar and situations in which you’ll be able to install solar directly on your property! In this article, we’ll help you determine if home solar or community solar will work for your condo.

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The Enel X Way JuiceBox home EV charger complete review

If you’ve bought an electric vehicle (EV) recently or are considering one, you’re not alone! Global EV sales doubled in 2021 from the previous year to a new record of 6.6 million, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) Global EV Outlook 2022 Report. Having an EV charger at your home allows you to more efficiently and quickly charge your EV at home, while managing and monitoring your charging and energy usage. (Bonus: if you have solar, you can power your car with the sun!)

Enel X Way is one of the leaders in smart EV charging stations providing residential, commercial, and utility solutions. Their smart home EV chargers are regularly top-rated by trusted sites like CNET, Car & Driver, This Old House, and Electrek as well as highly reviewed by users on Amazon. In this article, we’ll focus on the Enel X Way JuiceBox.

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The Lectron V-BOX home EV charger complete review

If you’ve bought an electric vehicle (EV) recently or are considering one, you’re not alone! According to McKinsey, if EV sales continue on their current trajectory, they’re likely to account for over half of U.S. passenger vehicle sales by 2030. Having an EV charger at your home allows you to more efficiently and quickly charge your EV, while managing and monitoring your charging and energy usage. (Bonus: if you have solar, you can power your car with the sun!)

Lectron is one of the leaders in the home EV charging space with several affordable models of EV chargers that you can install in your home. In this article, we’ll cover the V-BOX 40 and 48 Amp (A) chargers, the newest chargers in Lectron’s lineup. There are other Lectron chargers which we’ll mention briefly as well.

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The Wallbox Pulsar Plus home EV charger complete review

If you’ve bought an electric vehicle (EV) recently or are considering one, you’re not alone! U.S. EV sales grew 76% year over year in Q1 2022 to make up 5.2% of automotive sales, according to Kelley Blue Book. Having an EV charger at your home allows you to more efficiently and quickly charge your EV at home, while managing and monitoring your charging and energy usage. (Bonus: if you have solar, you can power your car with the sun!)

Wallbox is a leader in EV charging, with advanced EV charging and energy management systems for homes and commercial spaces. They’re focused on innovative solutions so you can power your EV chargers with solar systems and manage charging to make it the most effective and economically efficient. In this article, we’ll focus on the Pulsar Plus EV charger, which you can use both at home or on the go.

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Where to install solar batteries in your home

As more and more people install solar on their homes and the price of electricity from the grid continues to spike, energy storage systems, also known as solar batteries, are becoming increasingly popular among homeowners. Solar batteries are a complementary technology to solar panels that help establish energy security and reduce grid dependency, while saving money in avoided electricity costs. In the U.S. there are rules, regulations and recommendations to ensure battery installations are completed in a safe and effective manner. In this article we’ll discuss where you should and shouldn’t install your battery to maximize its capacity and your safety!

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Floating solar: what you need to know

Not every roof is suitable for solar panels – factors such as shade, obstructions, age, and available space can have property owners looking for other locations for installation. When it comes to large-scale solar projects, the most common alternatives to rooftop solar panel systems include ground mounts or solar canopies. Here’s a newer alternative that’s making quite the splash in the solar industry: floating solar.

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The Fortress Power battery complete review

Founded in 2016, Fortress Power is a Southampton based manufacturer of lithium ion solar batteries, offering both businesses and homeowners safe, reliable and sustainable energy storage solutions. Their storage solutions support multiple applications, are easy to install, and are competitively priced, with customer satisfaction as the company’s core value. Fortress Power offers four home battery products: the eVault 18.5, the eVault Max 18.5, the eFlex 5.4 and the LPF-5K-48V. In this article, we’ll explain what you need to know about their various offerings.

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The ChargePoint Home Flex EV charger complete review

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The history of electric vehicles: from then to now

Electric vehicles (EVs) are no new discovery: in fact, the technology for these cars has been around for over 100 years! Early discoveries such as the battery and the electric motor eventually culminated in the creation of the EV, making it the vehicle of choice in the early 1900s. In fact, the technology for these cars existed before the gasoline powered vehicles we see flooding roads today. So, when and why did their popularity decline? And why are EVs suddenly so popular again?

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We read Villara’s battery warranty so you don’t have to

Let’s face it – warranties aren’t the easiest (or most gripping) documents to read. There are often a lot of details and fine print included that can be hard to digest, leaving many to wonder: what does the warranty actually cover? Am I vulnerable? Anything I might be missing?

To make it as easy as possible, we’ve read warranty documents for the top solar battery manufacturers, talked to them to confirm what is and isn’t included, and plan to point out the most important aspects of each in a series of articles. In this article, we’ll review the warranty of a newer battery manufacturer in the solar industry: Villara Energy Systems. Villara launched the Industry’s first lithium titanate (LTO) battery, the VillaGrid.

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