RoofRay is a tool that helps you figure out whether it's worth plunking down on money to put solar panels on your roof. If you've long been contemplating going solar to stick it to the man, this tool will give you a fairly rough estimate of how much efficiency you can expect and how it will affect your monthly bills based on past weather conditions, monthly power bills, the slope of your house, and how much paneling you can cram onto your roof.
It does most all of this with the help of Google Maps. It's one of the smarter mashups we've seen, calculating the square footage of your roof based on Google's satellite and aerial imagery. Building the virtual panels is actually the hardest part, as it will do all the numbers-crunching for you--including how long it will take to break even on the paneling, permit fees, installation and upkeep. These are all things that could cost a quarter or more of what you paid for your house.
Short of getting a professional estimate from a solar panel provider this is a pretty straightforward means of seeing if it's worth the investment. However, I'm still a little unsure of its capability to figure out exact efficiencies, or factor in the four hours a day when your neighbor's trees are blocking all that precious bill-paying sun.
Update: If you're interested in giving this a go you should check out Sungevity. Former News.com editor Michael Kanellos covered it back in April, and it does pretty much the same thing as RoofRay with a little more precision due to the inclusion of multiple angles from the aerial photography. It also hooks you up with a proper quote and installation so you don't have to do the legwork when it comes time to get the panels put in.
[via Lifehacker and BoingBoing Gadgets]
Figure out where you can fit solar paneling to make your very own array. RoofRay will do its best to calculate how well it will do up on your lonely roof.
(Credit: CBS Interactive)
Native ferns mark the first step toward greening the exterior walls.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)A San Francisco nightclub installed on Monday what it's promoting as the city's first vertical garden. Several plant-filled boxes turned on their sides and bolted outside near the entrance are the first step in the Zen Compound's plans to cover the facade of the building in greenery.
"The hope is to have a living building," said Mike Zuckerman, director of sustainability at the 40,000 square foot complex. He spotted a butterfly hovering near native licorice ferns on Tuesday.
Green rooftops are in vogue in cities around the country. Hanging, wall-mounted gardens, on the other hand, are few and far between--except, naturally, where ivy climbs.
Zuckerman envisions eventually shaping plants into the form of the club logo, or sculpting Styrofoam embedded with sprouts to make the facade green all over. And spray-on seeds could cover the building with plant graffiti, making it the architectural equivalent of a Chia Pet.
The existing plants, a test run, may not be ecologically perfect. They're inside of nonrecycled plastic boxes, for instance, but those last at least five times longer than bioplastic. And they will be hooked up to plumbing from the roof to be watered, though the long-term goal is to harvest rainwater.
Don't dis the plants, a sign suggests.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)Zuckerman aims to turn the compound's nightclub and restaurant, which attracts 1,000 people on a decent night, into a showcase of sustainability.
Planned for next year is a dance floor coated in piezoelectric crystals that turn the pressure from dancing feet into electrical power. He already knows someone who can handle the job for only $10,000.
"We have a mystical physicist in residence here," Zuckerman said.
Eco-chic event planning is expanding as more people seek to celebrate without expanding their carbon footprint.
A club in Rotterdam has already harnessed piezoelectrics (more at Inhabitat) to power its lights and sound system. Several other nightclubs are pushing green efforts, including the Butterfly Social Club in Chicago and even some sex clubs in Tokyo.
For now, the Zen Compound serves organic spirits with corn-based cups and straws that get composted rather than trashed. Club marketing is moving away from using paper fliers, even if recycled, to online-only promotions with Flash animation.
Zuckerman is updating the lighting with efficient fluorescent and LED bulbs, which will reap a refund from Pacific Gas & Electric. Future plans include adding an energy monitor to display the building's vital signs, such as water collected from the roof and power generated from planned solar panels. Wind power is on the wish list.
Full disclosure: CNET's holiday staff party is being held here tonight. Sorry, you won't get past our bouncers.
Plans are in the works to cover the club in a living, green skin that can be seen from the freeway nearby.
(Credit: Zen Compound )
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