Prius Owners Complain About Braking System

Some Toyota Prius owners are having trouble with their car's braking system. The system is designed so that when the Prius decelerates (brakes applied) the batteries get recharged. But, some owners are complaining that the car actually accelerates instead. At the very least it takes a little longer to stop the car which has irritated some owners. One man claiming that the car surged forward and he nearly hit the car in front of him while attempting to stop. Apparently some owners have discovered that slowing while hitting a bump cuts out the regenerative braking system. This in theory could cause rearenders and put pedestrians or anyone in front of the car at risk.

Toyota hasn't issued a recall but claims they're paying attention to the complaints. They're clearly downplaying this problem right now as they are introducing new hybrids next year.

Read more about the Prius braking problems at The Detroit Bureau.

Jobs In Solar: Renewable Energy Specialist (Greater Orlando Area)

Date: 2009-12-28, 1:14PM EST
Reply to: job-md45h-1527544946@craigslist.org

Looking for Sales Professional to start immediately. Entire staff of Solar Energy Specialist earning well into the 6 figures With the tax incentives and rebates our customers receive by installing our renewable energy products we are proposing value propositions that save prospects THOUSANDS of dollars with virtually no out of pocket investment.

WE HAVE MORE LEADS THAN SALES PEOPLE TO RUN THEM

Here are some things you should know before responding to this ad

You will earn in excess of $100,000 your first year.
You will need to have reliable transportation
Your will need a cell phone
You will need to be available to handle leads Monday - Friday from 9:00am -9:00 and Saturdays from 9:00am - 3:00pm


If this sounds like something you can are able to do we would like to schedule a interview with you in our Altamonte Springs Office. All screenings for this position are being handled by our corporate recruiter so call or email Julius Higger @407-970-1008 jsolar6888@gmail.com to schedule a immediate interview

Location: Greater Orlando Area

• Compensation: 2K + per week minimum
• Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
• Phone calls about this job are ok.
• Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

Sales Manager for Solar Sales (Santa Fe/ Taos)

Date: 2009-12-18, 3:29PM MST
Reply to: job-a9mkk-1516365548@craigslist.org

High commission Sales Manager position for leader of direct sales team. We are selling solar hot water systems to both commercial and residential properties. Solar knowledge a plus but not required. Must have direct sales experience and not be afraid to knock on doors and cold call. Financial earnings opportunity is very high for the right individual. The market is good and getting better! Please, only serious experienced inquiries need apply. We don't have time to babysit. Send resume with best time to call.

Location: Santa Fe/ Taos

• Compensation: This is a commission only position.
• Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
• Please, no phone calls about this job!
• Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

Solar Powered Charging Station in Brooklyn

Brooklyn NY eco-entrepreneur has developed a solar powered electric car charging station. Lex Heslin president of the "Beautiful Earth Group" lets electric car owners charge up up their vehicles for free. His own mini-Cooper takes 3 hours to charge there.

Heslin admits that there aren't many electric cars in his area but the point of having the station is to let people know the station exists and why. He acknowledges that hurdles have to be crossed when it comes to making it convenient for people to be able to charge up their new car. If you live in a neighborhood with no driveways and you'd have to park your new electric car a block or two away- hooking up to a very long extension cord isn't practical.

This technology and these cars are still in their infancy. It'll be years before there are large numbers of electric cars parked in neighborhoods. There are only a handful of "charging stations" at this point so these new eco-entrepreneurs are well aware they are breaking new ground and won't be seeing a return on investment for quite a number of years.

But, this is how new industries begin. Visionaries and "first adopters" always lead the rest of the pack to where they need to go. The first steps on a long journey.

Story here at The Brooklyn Paper.

Jobs In Solar: SOLAR CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGER (Simi Valley, CA)

Date: 2009-12-14, 2:25PM PST
Reply to: job-xsnww-1510179763@craigslist.org

SOLAR CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGER: minimum 5 years experience; understanding NEC Code, building codes, city/county permitting, managing subcontractors. Commercial/ residential photovoltaic design and energy sector knowledge –manage engineering projects using multi-discipline obtaining client relationship and construction partners. Fax resume 805-915-1345

Location: Simi Valley, CA

• Compensation: To be Determined
• Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
• Please, no phone calls about this job!
• Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

Toyota Debuting Their Plug-In Version of Hybrid

The plug-in version of the Hybrid by Toyota is ready to roll out to consumers in 2011. Motivated by competitors like Chevy who are getting ready to offer their Volt plug-in at 60,000 cars per year. Other competitors like Nissan, Volkswagen and Ford are on the plug-in bandwagon also.

They're encouraging buyers of their new plug-in to charge up at night when the cost of electricity is lower.

Their management wants to continue to focus on regular hybrid technology because of the massive investment they've put into it.

Read about Toyota premiering their Plug-in Hybrid at the New York Times.

Reduce Your Energy Bill with a Solar Hot Water Heater

The Economy of Solar Hot Water Heaters

By Jacob Mintz

Conversion of Sun Radiation to Heat

The physical principle of converting sun radiation into heat was known for generations. For many years people knew that liquid bottles are heated up when they are exposed to sun radiation. Greenhouse agriculture is known for centuries. As of the 20^th century, Solar Hot Water Heaters based on the greenhouse effect were developed, and in countries like Spain or Israel almost every dwelling building is equipped with a Sun powered Water Heater System.

Water Heating is cheaper than Solar Power Generation

Residential Solar Power generation is based on the photovoltaic effect. Although the effect was known for over 200 years and was explained in the 1920s by Albert Einstein, commercial exploitation started seriously only in the 90s of this century. Solar Power generation is still an expensive technology because it is not as matured as the conversion of sun radiation to heat using the greenhouse effect. It is expected that within the next 5 to 10 years residential photovoltaic power generation panels will be sold at more affordable prices. Solar Water Heating systems are sold at very affordable prices right now, even the most expensive evacuated tubes collector type that is recommended for use in the colder less sunny regions carries a very affordable price tag. In most countries, the payback time on sun powered water heaters is 3 to 5 years, even for the most expensive systems

The Benefits

A typical household spend about 20% of the home energy bills on heating water whether the water heater is operating on electricity, gas or other fossil fuel. A sun powered water heater can eliminate 80% of this expense for the 15 to 20 years life span of the solar heater.

The household once equipped with the sun powered heater contributes to the environment by the evident reduction in CO2 and pollutants emissions.

North America

I share my time between Israel and Southern California. In Israel I can see the solar collectors on almost every roof. When I come to sunny California I am surprised to see very few homes with installed solar water heaters. To me, it is like sitting on a gold mine and not exploiting it. I checked into the US statistics, and found that only 3% of the households have solar water heaters. Widespread installations of sun radiation powered water heaters can cut the nation energy consumption by 2 to 3%. Just imagine how many new power plants can be deferred and how many barrels of crude oil can be saved.

Jacob Mintz
http://www.solar-energy-for-home.com/solar-water-heating.html
http://www.solar-energy-for-home.com/solar_hot_water_heaters.html

Residential Solar Project Manager (cincinnati )

Date: 2009-12-06, 9:38AM EST
Reply to: job-kfqtu-1497311156@craigslist.org

No Phone Calls, Please.

RESIDENTIAL PROJECT MANAGER

Job Description:

This rewarding opportunity is a fast paced, and a fulfilling experience that deals with high profile and professional architects, builders and successful clients on a daily basis. This is an integral pivot point in the process of installing quality high volume residential and commercial solar electric systems. The position requires a well organized individual with evolved computer and management skills to plan and coordinate the companys installation efforts. The candidate will primarily be responsible for building department packages with a qualified CAD driver, customer project scheduling, roofer and subcontracting coordination, maintaining installation crews productivity and daily organization. The project coordinator will be responsible for overseeing a multi-million dollar warehouse inventory and a fleet maintenance. This position requires a high level of detailed communication skills set including written, verbal computer based.

Responsibilities:

-Fabricate and maintain weekly scheduling for three, four-man crews
-Create coordinate project files with daily and weekly updates
-Coordinate permit packages/inspections to be approved by local building authorities
-Coordinate with sales, contracts, and CAD departments to execute all facets of project installation
-Oversee and Manage installation crews
-Coordinate repair effort: identifying, scheduling, prioritizing customer service
-Uses experience and judgment to plan and accomplish productivity quotas

Minimum Requirements:

-5 to 10 years hands-on working experience in construction, coordinating with a high quality General/Electrical/Roofing/HVAC.
-AA Degree in Construction Management or LEED AP preferred
-Multitasking experience and scheduling twelve to forty projects per week
-Candidate must have advanced computer skills (Excel, PP, and Word test will be administered)
-Candidate relocation coordinated by the company is NOT an option

Location: cincinnati

• Compensation: 2400/mo
• Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
• Please, no phone calls about this job!
• Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

Smart Grid-Green Energy Projects Receive Stimulous Funding

U.S. government will be funding many "smart grid" and green energy projects around the country to the tune of $683 dollars. Over 32 projects will receive the stimulus funding in order to produce a more efficient and smarter "smart grid." Additional funding from the private sector will bring the total to over $1.6 Billion dollars!

Wind energy will be getting a boost with a new testing facility in South Carolina. Next generation Wind Turbines will be tested for durability and use on a utility scale.

950 companies submitted applications for these grants with 125 small technology companies being awarded up to $150,000 each.

With all the large and small scale projects being started and continued through these grants, more good news is on the way for people who want to work in these fields. Hundreds of temporary and full time jobs will be created in the next few years in support of these new technologies and the necessary construction to facilitate them.

Research and development departments just breathed a sigh of relief with the news of this new funding. Companies dedicated to advancing this technology will now lead the way to cleaner, more efficient and cheaper energy for consumers.

Read about the new projects being funded here at Environment News Service.