Frequently Asked Questions

Renewable Energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and the earth (ground source heat from the sun, or hot springs). Renewable Energy is naturally replenished and will never run out. Biomass is considered a form of renewable energy because it can be naturally replenished and is part of the Carbon-cycle. Plants acquire carbon during their life and release carbon when they die (whether through combustion or decay).

Renewable Energy provides many benefits to people, communities, countries and the world. Renewable energy is less expensive than non renewable sources. If you purchase solar panels the cost of that energy is fixed over the life of the system and not subject to market forces. At current prices and incentives renewable energy is a better investment than any other source. Renewable energy is good for communities because it is non-polluting and creates local employment. It reduces dangerous chemical emissions such as Mercury, Carbon Monoxide, Sulfur Dioxide, and many other carcinogens. Using renewable energy improves local water and air quality. Renewable Energy is locally produced (at the source) so it federates power distribution making our grid less vulnerable to attack and reducing inefficiencies of transmitting power across large areas. Renewable energy decreases our reliance on imported energy making the US less reliant on foreign energy, giving us greater control over our own destiny and limiting the flow of money overseas (in many cases to areas of the world that don't like us). Renewable energy has no Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions, the leading cause of Climate Change that we can see in the very challenging weather events around the world (along with rising earth temperatures, loss of ice in the arctic, rise in sea levels, and loss of natural resources). Lastly it reduces catastrophic events such as oil spills, nuclear reactor radiation leaks and storage, gas explosions, coal ash spills, and other dangerous side effects.

Unfortunately there is not a simple, straight forward answer to this question, as there are many factors that determine the cost of installing a renewable energy system. The type and size of the system plays the largest role in determining cost. There are incentives or energy rebates to reduce the cost in most areas (see http://dsireusa.org). Freedom Renewable Energy will help determine the best system for your needs and work with you to apply for incentives and rebates to help cut the costs. These systems are affordable and over the course of a decade are a much better investment than doing nothing or putting your money into a financial instrument and waiting for returns. Let our experts show you the finances of a renewable energy investment.

You are guaranteed a positive return on a renewable energy investment. The sun will shine, the wind will blow, the tides will come in, these are absolutes. This eliminates volatility when using renewable energy. When you choose to collect these resources you are guaranteed to save money when the sun shines. How much you save is dependent on the amount you install. If you decided to put in a geothermal system and a solar system for example, you would never pay for heat / AC or electricity again, and you wouldn't worry again about the price of oil, gas or electricity. Renewable energy is a tax deferred investment. Unlike an Mutual Fund, Stock or Savings CD, you can not be taxed on money you don't give to your electric utility, oil or gas company. We are seeing returns above 10% year over year. A representative from Freedom Renewable Energy can help you determine the amount of energy that you currently use and compare it with a renewable energy replacement.

Yes! It is guaranteed to save you money. The investment typically takes 8 to 12 years to pay for itself completely. For the next 20+ years you will get free energy that will pay you back each and every month. Imagine taking control of your future by eliminating a growing bill from your expense list. If you choose to sell your home before the pay off period you will recoup your investment by charging more for your home at time of sale and getting a buyer faster due to the free energy it produces. We get many seniors on fixed incomes that realize they can set the cost of all future energy with one up front payment and reduce the squeeze of rising costs against a fixed income. Plus your home will use less fossil fuels and make a positive impact on the environment, and it will help spread the word of renewable energy. When people see you using renewable energy, they will be more apt to learn more and possibly add some type of renewable energy system to their home or business, helping to keep the movement growing.

It is easy to get started. Simply call the 888 number listed above and one of our trained & certified technicians will answer all of your questions over the phone. If this is something you are looking to do now we will evaluate your property for renewable energy resource first via satellite, and then send a crew to gather data identifying your renewable energy potential. There is no cost or obligation for either of these services. Once your data has been evaluated by our engineering teams we will share the results with you and identify some system designs and prices that might work for your budget. Our sales staff are motivated by the benefits of renewable energy, therefor there are no high pressure sales tactics or uncomfortable visits. You decide if you'd like to move forward; we start by assisting with all of the rebate and utility paperwork and scheduling you installation. It's really that easy!

"The grid" is the public utility system for delivering electricity to consumers. To be "off the grid" means to live without relying your local utility to supply electricity. Off-grid homes require batteries in most cases to provide energy during non-energy producing times (solar doesn't work at night). Batteries can add to the cost and maintenance of your system but are no longer required. Today most renewable energy systems are grid-tied. This means we hook your renewable energy system directly into your power panel. You use the renewable energy produced power first and if it is not enough power from the grid is used. This can save you money on your electric bill because you are purchasing less power. An even bigger benefit is called net-metering. This allows you to sell the power you produce back to the local utility if your not using it and spin your meter backwards giving you full retail credit. When the renewable energy system is no longer producing power you buy back the power you produced. In this scenario the grid acts like a big battery, storing your solar energy during the day for use at night.

Solar energy is generated by harvesting energy from the sun. Photons in sunlight generate heat for use in heating (space and water), cooling, and geothermal energy (earth is heated by the sun which can be extracted by a ground source heat pump). Using solar cells photons can also be converted to electricity through the 'Photovoltaic Affect' discovered in 1839. These cells are chained together to form a solar panel. The solar panel produces electricity that can be easily converted for use in your home or business.

Solar panels have a series of solar cells that collect sunlight and convert it into electricity. As photons strike a cell they knock electrons out of orbit and onto a wire. The wire collects these electrons into a flow of direct electrical current (DC). The DC is then sent to an inverter to ensure it matches the electricity being used by the appliances in your home or office. The sun produces 1000 watts per square meter. Solar panels are generally 5% to 15% efficient. Efficiency is just the amount of sunlight the panel is able to convert and is reflected in the size of the panel. A 200 Watt panel that is 12% efficient will be slightly larger than a 200 Watt panel that is 13% efficient (and generally more expensive for the same wattage). Science has not advanced efficiency very quickly since panels first went into production in the 1950's and 1960's. Freedom Renewable Energy carries a wide variety of Solar panel makes and models. When possible we try to support the local economy.

New England has an ideal climate for harvesting solar energy. Germany leads the world in solar energy systems and they average 2.8 hours of solar insolation (energy producing sunlight) each day. In New England we average 3.8 to 4.6 hours of sun per day. That is an average of every day including nor'easters, thunderstorms and long sunny days in the summer. Because our climate is mostly dry we have a very good solar insolation source. We do better than Tampa FL or Houston TX due to climate. In fact heat causes resistance to electron flow so the cold temperatures we experience can increase solar efficiency in the northeast. Freedom Renewable Energy can predict with very good accuracy how much solar energy you'll receive at your home or business.

Solar Thermal systems are a way to heat from the sun. In most cases we use solar thermal panels (evacuated tubes or flat plate collectors) to heat a fluid in the panel and then transfer that heat to a highly insulated hot water tank in the basement. The hot water can then be used in the home or business for bathrooms, cooking, laundry, etc. or be converted to space heating. Hot water accounts for up to 1/3 of the average energy bill in a home. Think every time you wash a dish or put in a load of laundry you are burning oil, gas or electricity to heat the water. With solar this heated water is free and dramatically reduces your energy costs related to heating water. Solar thermal can be installed in place with your existing system as a backup for days when there isn't a lot of sun available.

Not at all. Freedom Renewable Energy will install your new system and hook it right into your existing wiring in your home. We have licensed electricians on staff to ensure quality and code compliance.

Wind turbines convert wind into electricity, or to pump water. The wind turns blades that then turn a generator creating electricity. A wind turbine generally has a nacelle (the body housing the generator), a set of 2 to 5 blades (to catch the wind) and a stearing mechanism (a tail fin or electronic device to ensure the turbine is facing the wind).

It depends on the wind resources at the installation location. Wind turbines must be placed in laminar flow (unobstructed stream of wind). Therefor in New England that often requires ensuring the wind is above the tree line or building structures. This ensures there is no turbulance while the turbine is operating. Turbulance (like you feel driving behind a large truck) can greatly reduce energy production and shorten the life of a wind turbine. Wind turbines also must have a high average wind speed to return its investment. Wind that blows leaves around the yard is not enough to produce energy, you need strong sustaining winds that only occur in specific places.

Freedom Renewable Energy will work with you to determine if a wind energy system will work in your area. We will not install a turbine in a location where it will not produce energy. Winds at the installation site must have sustaining periods where the wind speed eclipses 25 mph for long periods of time. Wind is measured in intervals called bins (sustained wind over short interval). These bins will create an average and must match up with the wind turbine power curve. The power curve shows how much energy the turbine will produce at particular wind speeds. In general wind turbines produce very little power at lower wind speeds (below 25 mph) and work well at higher speeds (in access of 35 mph). Therefor if your aveage wind speed is 12 mph but is made up of bins with alternating high winds and no winds you would be in a good location to harvest energy as opposed to bins of 8 mph and 15 mph.

The most common wind turbine is a horizontal access 3 blade system. The blades capture the wind perpendicuar to the ground and are placed on towers that extend up above any obstructions. There are two types of horizontal access; downwind and upwind. Downwind turbines have a tail like that seen on a weathervane that turn the wind turbine into the direction of the wind. Downwind turbines do not have a tail and turn away from the wind so that the rear end of the turbine faces into the wind and the blades intercept it as it goes by. Vertical access turbines are also becoming popular. In this case the blades spin in parallel with the earth and look like an eggbeater or spinning top. These types of turbines work better in turbulent situtations but as of this writing do not produce as much power as thier horizontal bretheren.

Wind turbines vary in size. Smaller turbines can be used to charge batteries and are sold with portable tower or mounting device for boats or RVs. Larger turbines begin at 1 KW and are as large as 30 KW for a home or small business. The size of the blades (swept area) determines the amount of power the turbine will produce. The rating of power production is generally measured by the output of the turbine when the wind is sustained at 22 mpg. If the wind is slower the turbine will produce considerably less power, and if it is stonger can produce more power. Costs for these turbines varry by size, tower height, tower type and installation site. Freedom Renewable Energy can assist you with determining if you have a good site to harvest wind and provide you with designs for different turbine sizes for isntallation.

A wind farm is a collection of wind turbines in one area that produce electricity. Wind farms are utility scale and require large tracs of land in very windy areas.

Geothermal energy is energy created by using the heat stored beneath the Earth's surface.

In some parts of the world, geothermal energy uses super-heated fluids from Earth's geothermal resources to create electricity (think volcanoes, hot springs and geysers). Here in New England, we use the term geothermal energy to describe exchanging heat and cooling with the ground using a ground source heat pump (like an air conditioner). Small scale geothermal energy for residential and business use works by taking advantage of the constant temperature of the ground beneath our feet. Below 25 ft is called deep earth temperature and is constant to 10 degrees below the average surface temperature. Using heat pump technology heat may be extracted from the ground and pumped up for use in the home. During the summer the principle is reversed allowing heat to be extracted from the home and put into the ground. To get to the heat in the ground we must dig large beds or drill wells and place pipes into the underground areas. The pipes feed the heat into a system in the basement or attic to exchange the heat. Geothermal systems are measure in COP (Coefficient of Performance). Oil or Gas when used for heating is generally 65% to 90% efficient. That means for every dollar you spend on fuel 10% to 40% is wasted usually up the chimney. Geothermal systems are 200% to 500% efficient. That means for every unit of electricity you purchase to heat or cool you get back 2 to 5 units of heat (yes 5x!). If you use solar to power your geothermal system you could have FREE heat and AC forever. Ground Source Heat Pumps (the unit used to convert heat in geothermal) are much lower maintenance than your oil or gas furnace or boiler. So the savings adds up quickly.

Geothermal systems will become the new climate control choice for new households throughout New England. There really is no other way to go. That said retrofitting this technology to an existing home can vary widely in cost. Size of the home, access to drilling, presence and quality of duct work, and efficiency of a home (think insulation quality) can all have a large impact on the cost of converting an existing home or business to geothermal. For those that make the switch there are no more days of a thick coat and sweater on in the home to save money. Geothermal energy is the most comfortable climate choice on the market. It feeds constant low speed heat or ac into the home keeping circulation optimal and comfort high. When demands are not met the system will kick into an extra speed to ensure comfort. Much more efficient than a fossil fuel style heater that is floored on high when heat is called for and then turned off when temp is reached. This all or nothing approach leads to cycling and inefficiencies that cost you money.