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- Guide to Getting Permits for Solar Thermal Hot Water Installations (2009)-
This is a guide on how to obtain a permit for solar thermal hot water installations in the city of Berekely, CA. It was published by the City of Berkeley Green Building Initiative.
The guide is a good example of how local governments are communicating the various policies, incentives and regulations surrounding solar thermal and other renewable energy sources to their local populations. The guide touches on the benefits of solar thermal, the incentives that the government offers for those installing a system and how to go about registering for those incentives.
- Benefits of Solar Mandates (Ordinances) and Template for City Regulations-
Mandating the installation of solar heating in buildings is not a new idea. Since 1980, the use of this technology for solar heaters has been mandatory in Israel, (the world's first country to adopt such a policy for the use of solar energy). Many other countries and many cities are also adopting this policy, including Brazil.
In Europe much effort has been made for a broad introduction of policies that make a mandatory minimum supply of solar thermal energy in buildings.
There are several benefits attributed to solar energy obligations:
