We're officially in Spring - a few days we've made it to the 50s but generally we're in the breezy 40s which creates an unpleasant wind chill. It's all about perception since we're actually right on the average temperature curve for this time of year. That being said, the tulips, daffodils and other bulbs are still reluctant to venture too far from their comfortable earthen protection. Meanwhile, the internal temperature of the Great Room in our home regularly approaches 78 degrees on sunny days thanks to the passive aspects of our structure. A few windows opened, or venetian blinds adjusted to keep out most of the sun, mitigates the natural winter heat. Soon the sun will be at an angle when our roof overhang shades our interior during much of the day. I am not complaining, just letting you know about the incredible benefits a well-designed solar house brings to its residents.

Having said that, the arrival of longer days is a blessing for our PV output. Slowly, but consistently, our array output is gaining ground, having generated 378 kWhrs in March.

My Plugin Prius is also gaining batter capacity as the average temperature in our garage inches upwards - nearly 11 miles at this writing. We're still doing 113 mpg, which is nothing to sneeze at.

Overview: January began a new year with very good PV output and we counted many more sunny days than cloudy ones. We generated 301 kWhrs of electricity and our solar hot water tanks in the basement (1,000 gallons) kept the heat flowing in our floors without much supplemental help from the propane hot water heater.

Plug-in Prius: The Prius ended January at 110 mpg. You'll notice that the 'full' battery is now just above 10 miles - a reduction from the summer range of 13. This mean the engine came on sooner on my local trips than in the summer time. As the days are getting longer and we are emerging from our winter lows, I'm expecting the battery capacity to rise. Stay tuned.