Barry Cinnamon has been blogging about the Solar Industry since 2007.
Every week Barry hosts The Energy Show, a 30 minute informative talk show that covers a broad variety of energy related topics spanning technology, economics, policy, and politics that are shaping the future of how we generate and consume electricity, along with practical money-saving tips on ways to reduce your home and business energy consumption.
The Energy Show runs every Saturday on KDOW Radio AM in San Jose California.
Barry heads up Cinnamon Energy Systems (a San Jose residential and commercial solar and energy storage contractor) and Spice Solar (suppliers of built-in solar racking technology). After 10,000+ installations while at the helm of Akeena Solar and Westinghouse Solar, he’s developed a pretty good perspective on the real-world economics of rooftop solar — as well as the best products and services for homeowners, manufacturers and installers. His rooftop tinkering led to the development of integrated racking (released in 2007), AC solar modules (released in 2009), and Spice Solar (the fastest way to install rooftop solar modules).
Running a successful solar business isn’t easy. Whether it’s a small local installer working on one system a week on neighborhood homes, or a large installer working on 500 systems a week in multiple states, the logistics, engineering, financing, customer relations...
I’ve spent a lot of time over the past 15 years talking to homeowners about rooftop solar. More kitchen table chats and walks around the house than I can count. Some of the basic questions I hear again and again. Because they are new to solar, some of the most...
Technologies, companies and business models in the solar industry come and go. But even in the relatively new solar industry, history repeats itself. Disappearing tax credits and incentives, financing scams, unreliable technology, societal doom (Y2k) and gloom...
According to Doc Brown, Marty McFly’s DeLorean needed 1.21 gigawatts to travel back in time. To put this in perspective, new gas power plants are about 0.5 gigawatts, typical large utility scale solar power plants are 0.1 gigawatts, and the average rooftop solar...
Fires in homes are generally caused by kitchen mishaps, heating system fires or electrical malfunctions. When it comes to rooftop solar fire safety, the solar industry's track record is excellent -- with only a few documented cases in which the solar system actually...
We’re talking about religion this week. Did I get your attention? How about if we talk about climate change, more renewable energy, dirty fossil fuels and solar subsidies? OK, we’ve already covered these topics. But with the recent news where the Pope calls for the...
I bet you don’t know that there is a home improvement investment that you can make that will increase the value of your house more than the investment cost. It’s not remodeling your bathroom (2% return). It’s not landscaping with a designer (break even). It’s not...
Outdoor pools are great on hot summer days - the kids are occupied and the water is refreshing. And as the summer progresses, the water heats up to a comfortable level. But on chilly spring and fall days the cool water in that pool amounts to nothing more than a...
With energy prices changing so quickly -- and new technologies ramping up into the marketplace -- the "conventional wisdom" about energy is often wrong. We've been as guilty as others when it comes to trusting emotions and public opinion about energy, as opposed to...
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