LSES Workshop- Saturday, July 19, 2008
RECAP
By Cece Hyslop
 
Louisiana Solar Energy Society held the July workshop on Saturday from 9am till noon.  The topic of the workshop was "Is my home ready for Solar" and was held at the Gulf South Solar warehouse in Baton Rouge, LA. 
People from all over Louisiana and even some from Mississippi came out to hear about solar. 
The workshop began with a slideshow presentation about LSES history and activities as well as the federal and state tax credits.  Next Buddy Justice from the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources gave a presentations on energy efficiency and ways you can save money on your electricity bill.
After Buddy's presentation we took a break and gave everyone an opportunity to try site assessment instruments, the SunEye and the Solar Pathfinder, two devices that help solar installers figure out where on your home is a good place to have solar panels installed.  Josh Mayoral from Gulf South Solar lead this portion.
The next presentation we had was by Justin Runnels of Gulf South Solar.  His presentation was, "Do I have a good site for solar?"  He covered everything you need to know before you get solar.  From knowing where to have the panels (roof, ground, or pole), what you do if you don't have a south facing roof, shading, and visibility restrictions.
Our final presentation was from Jeff Shaw, LSES Director.  He covered "What size and type system do I need and can afford?"  Jeff covered everything from grid tie systems to hybrid systems and how to size them for a perfect system for your home.
We ended the workshop with showing everyone how they can easily estimate what type of system they need by using the solar calculator on the website www.find-solar.org.
Everyone at LSES had a great time and wanted to thank Gulf South Solar for helping us by opening their warehouse to have the workshop and by giving the presentations, and Buddy Justice for helping us learn about energy efficiency!