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istreengineering · 3 years

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Foundation Design Services in Lafayette LA

Needing Foundation Design Services in Lafayette LA?

Istre Engineering Services has the knowledge and expertise for all you foundation design services in Lafayette LA.

Every building, house, bridge, road, or anything erected on the ground has a foundation to support it. Foundation design simplistically is determining how to make the soil support the structure you want.

Since every structure is unique and built-in different places, it’s important to have a precise foundation designed for the conditions at your property or project location.

Whether you are developing new construction or a renovation, it’s important to start with a solid foundation. Other engineering firms will tell you a foundation is the lowest structural member of a building. We at Istre Engineering Services will tell you that a foundation is what you will build everything from. A proper foundation design reduces settlement and potential damage to your building.

The design of a foundation is vital since foundations in Louisiana have a vulnerable point; they’re usually built on soil. To counteract this obstacle, a good assessment of the supporting soil is your best weapon. Our engineers apply proven practices along with old fashioned common sense to evaluate what the soil conditions are at your site so we can design the best foundation for your needs. At ISE (Istre Engineering Services), we are honored to offer our clients the convenience of our drilling and foundation design services.

Generally, foundations are broken down in to two categories, shallow and deep.

SHALLOW FOUNDATIONS IN LAFAYETTE LA

Shallow foundations are generally used in residential construction and commercial construction where the weight of the structure is not too heavy or where the shallow subsurface environments are suitable to support your structure. This is ordinarily the less expensive foundation when related to a deep foundation. Typical shallow foundation types utilized in Louisiana are slab-on-grades, strip footings, mat/raft foundations, and pad foundations.

DEEP FOUNDATIONS IN LAFAYETTE LA

Deep foundations are generally used for larger structures such as commercial or industrial buildings. These types of foundations distribute the structural loads competent soil where a shallow foundation is insufficient or where the shallow soil is not competent. There are several types of deep foundations Istre Engineering Services is experienced with including but not limited to auger cast piles, drilled shafts, driven piles, and micropiles. The deep foundations are normally constructed by drilling to a set depth and forming either a zone of influence in the soil or a column for a load to be applied to. IES has the knowledge and experience to find appropriate cost-effective solutions for most deep foundation design projects.

Istre Engineering Services offers complete turn-key Foundation Design and Inspection services. Our team of skilled engineers can oversee each step of the design process, working with customer to deliver the right foundation for your job efficiently, effectively, and affordably!

FOUNDATION INSPECTION IN LAFAYETTE LA

A foundation is certainly the most essential component of any building or structure. As such, you need to know if yours was constructed properly. Istre Engineering Services offers comprehensive foundation inspection services for all types of foundations.

A foundation inspection can involve two categories of testing, frequently referred to as non-destructive and destructive testing. Non-destructive testing can incorporate tasks such as a visual inspection of the foundation to recognize construction defects, poor drainage, and settlement, or can include an elevation survey to establish levelness, or various types of surveys such as GPR or x-ray to establish foundation construction. When necessary, destructive testing methods such as coring are completed.

OUR NON-DESTRUCTIVE SERVICES INCLUDE:

Visual inspections to identify settlement, construction defects, poor drainage, and much more

Elevation survey to determine levelness

Concrete strength with common techniques such as a rebound hammer, Windsor Probe, or impact echo

Concrete imaging with modern techniques such as GPR, electromagnetic, or x-ray

At Istre Engineering Services, we are proficient at recognizing the signs of a troubled foundation and determine the cause(s). Where necessary, our foundation design engineers have vast experience at formulating proficient, cost-effective solutions custom-made to your needs.

Contact Istre Engineering Services for all your foundation design services in Lafayette LA. Istre Engineering Services is located at 5712 Percy Road, Kaplan, LA 70548. You can contact IES by phone at 337-522-1015.

#foundationdesignlafayettela #istreengineeringservcies #istreengineering #engineeringserviceslafayettela #civilengineering #structuralengineering #ies #lafayettefoundationdesign

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sigma-testing-lab · 3 years

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How do you know the compressive strength of a rebound hammer?

Sigma Provides Rebound Hammer Test Services, and How Do You Know the Compressive Strength of a Rebound Hammer? Sigma Is Here. Book Your Test with Us. https://bit.ly/3mxhwMr

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rvsqualitycertificationspvtltd · 8 months

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Rebound Hammer Testing Services | Titanium Alloys

In the dynamic realm of quality assurance, precision and reliability are paramount. At RVS Quality Certifications Pvt. Ltd., we take pride in delivering unrivalled Rebound Hammer Testing Services that not only meet but exceed industry standards.

Visit: Titanium Alloys

#rebound hammer testing services #titanium alloys #third party inspection services

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geocontech · 2 months

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Structural Engineers Group & Third-Party Testing, Inspection, Verification & Certification services provider

NDT testing:

Non-Destructive Testing (NDT), provided by Geocontech, encompasses a range of techniques crucial for assessing materials and structures without causing harm. These methods, including Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity testing, Rebound Hammer testing, and Core Cutting testing, allow for thorough inspections to detect flaws, discontinuities, or weaknesses that could compromise structural integrity. By employing NDT services, industries can ensure the reliability and safety of their assets while minimizing downtime and costly repairs. Geocontech offers comprehensive NDT consultancy and inspection services tailored to meet the specific needs of clients across various sectors, maintaining high standards of quality and accuracy in every evaluation.

For businesses seeking Non-Destructive Testing and Inspection Services, Geocontech provides expertise in utilizing advanced techniques like Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity testing, Rebound Hammer testing, and Core Cutting testing. These methods are instrumental in identifying defects and evaluating material properties without causing damage, ensuring the integrity and longevity of critical structures and components. With a commitment to precision and reliability, Geocontech delivers NDT solutions that meet industry standards and regulatory requirements, supporting clients in maintaining operational efficiency and safety across their projects.

structural engineers:

When considering the best companies for structural engineers, Geocontech emerges as a leader in the field of structural stability and testing services. Specializing in Structural Stability Certificate Consultancy, Geocontech provides thorough and reliable structural stability checking services tailored to meet the needs of building owners, developers, and construction firms. Their expertise extends to Building Structural Stability Testing Service, ensuring compliance with rigorous inspection, verification, and certification standards for both new constructions and existing structures.

Geocontech excels in Construction Testing Inspection verification and certification, offering specialized services that guarantee the structural integrity and safety of buildings, factories, and other infrastructure projects. Their commitment to excellence in Building Testing and Factory Testing Inspection further solidifies their reputation as a trusted partner in ensuring structural stability across diverse sectors. By leveraging advanced engineering techniques and adhering to industry best practices, Geocontech delivers comprehensive solutions that prioritize safety, efficiency, and compliance with regulatory requirements.

best concrete repairs and restoration:

When seeking the best concrete repairs and restoration solutions, Geocontech excels in offering comprehensive Structural Rehabilitation Services. Specializing in Structural Repairs and Rehabilitation Services, Geocontech provides tailored solutions to address concrete deterioration, cracks, and structural weaknesses effectively. Their expertise extends to Structural Repairing Service & Rehabilitation, where they utilize advanced techniques and materials to restore the integrity and longevity of concrete structures.

Geocontech's commitment to excellence in Structural Repair Services ensures thorough assessment, precise repair methodologies, and adherence to industry standards. Whether it's repairing structural elements in buildings, bridges, or other infrastructure, Geocontech's skilled team delivers reliable solutions that enhance durability and structural stability. By prioritizing quality craftsmanship and innovative repair techniques, Geocontech stands out as a trusted partner for clients seeking robust concrete repairs and restoration services.

project management consulting:

Project management consulting involves specialized advisory services provided by experts to help organizations effectively plan, execute, and control their projects. Geocontech, a leading name in this field, offers top-tier Project Management Consultants (PMCs) who assist clients in Chennai and beyond with comprehensive PMC Services. These services encompass strategic planning, resource allocation, risk management, and quality control to ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget, and to the highest standards.

Geocontech's PMC Project Management Consultancy includes tailored solutions that cater to the unique needs of each project. Their team of experienced Project Management Consultants brings expertise in overseeing project lifecycles from inception to completion, ensuring efficient coordination among stakeholders and adherence to project goals. By leveraging industry best practices and innovative methodologies, Geocontech enhances project efficiency and minimizes risks, making them a trusted partner for organizations seeking reliable project management consulting services.

Soil Testing & Mix Design Services:

Conducting a Marshall mix design test is essential for determining the optimal asphalt binder content in asphalt mixtures, ensuring durability and performance in road construction. At Geocontech, we specialize in providing comprehensive Soil Test & Concrete Design Mix services, including precise Soil Testing & Mix Design Services and Concrete Mix Design Test Services. The Marshall mix design test begins with careful selection of aggregates and asphalt binders based on project specifications and environmental conditions. Samples are then prepared and compacted using a Marshall compactor to simulate real-world conditions, followed by testing to measure stability, flow, air voids, and density. Through meticulous analysis of these results, our expert team ensures that asphalt mixtures meet stringent quality standards and performance requirements, offering tailored solutions that enhance the longevity and resilience of infrastructure projects.

#ndt testing #geocontech #Structural Stability #Repair & Rehabilitation

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velciticonsultingengineers · 3 years

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Non destructive testing service in Chennai Tamil Nadu India

Nondestructive testing (NDT)

is a wide group of analysis techniques used in science and technology industry to evaluate the properties of a material, component or system without causing damage. The terms nondestructive examination (NDE), nondestructive inspection (NDI), and nondestructive evaluation (NDE) are also commonly used to describe this technology. Because NDT does not permanently alter the article being inspected, it is a highly valuable technique that can save both money and time in product evaluation, troubleshooting, and research. The six most frequently used NDT methods are eddy-current, magnetic-particle, liquid penetrant, radiographic, ultrasonic, and visual testing.

NDT

is commonly used in forensic engineering, mechanical engineering, petroleum engineering, electrical engineering, civil engineering, systems engineering, aeronautical engineering, medicine, and art. Innovations in the field of nondestructive testing have had a profound impact on medical imaging, including on echocardiography, medical ultrasonography, and digital radiography.

NDT methods rely upon use of electromagnetic radiation, sound and other signal conversions to examine a wide variety of articles (metallic and non-metallic, food-product, artifacts and antiquities, infrastructure) for integrity, composition, or condition with no alteration of the article undergoing examination. Visual inspection (VT), the most commonly applied NDT method, is quite often enhanced by the use of magnification, borescopes, cameras, or other optical arrangements for direct or remote viewing. The internal structure of a sample can be examined for a volumetric inspection with penetrating radiation (RT), such as X-rays, neutrons or gamma radiation. Sound waves are utilized in the case of ultrasonic testing (UT), another volumetric NDT method — the mechanical signal (sound) being reflected by conditions in the test article and evaluated for amplitude and distance from the search unit (transducer). Another commonly used NDT method used on ferrous materials involves the application of fine iron particles (either suspended in liquid or dry powder — fluorescent or colored) that are applied to a part while it is magnetized, either continually or residually. The particles will be attracted to leakage fields of magnetism on or in the test object, and form indications (particle collection) on the object’s surface, which are evaluated visually. Contrast and probability of detection for a visual examination by the unaided eye is often enhanced by using liquids to penetrate the test article surface, allowing for visualization of flaws or other surface conditions. This method (liquid penetrant testing) (PT) involves using dyes, fluorescent or colored (typically red), suspended in fluids and is used for non-magnetic materials, usually metals.Analyzing and documenting a nondestructive failure mode can also be accomplished using a high-speed camera recording continuously (movie-loop) until the failure is detected. Detecting the failure can be accomplished using a sound detector or stress gauge which produces a signal to trigger the high-speed camera. These high-speed cameras have advanced recording modes to capture some non-destructive failures. After the failure the high-speed camera will stop recording. The captured images can be played back in slow motion showing precisely what happened before, during and after the nondestructive event, image by image.

Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity test

Rebound Hammer test

Cover Meter test

Core Extraction and testing

Half Cell Potentiometer test

Carbonation test

Chemical Analysis of Concrete

Thickness Measurement

Pile Integrity test

Pull out test

Load test

Vibration Analysis

Electrical Resistivity

Tomography

Seismic Refraction

Block Vibration test

#ndt #ndtservice #Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity test #Rebound Hammer test #Core Extraction and testing

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reading-writing-revolution · 4 years

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Heather Cox Richardson:

July 22, 2020 (Wednesday)

Today Trump announced that he will send federal agents to Chicago and Albuquerque, New Mexico, as part of his push to advance the idea that he is a “LAW & ORDER” president. Trump insists that “violent anarchists” allied with “radical left” Democrats have launched “a shocking explosion of shootings, killings, murders and heinous crimes of violence.” “This bloodshed must end,” he said. “This bloodshed will end.”

To hear the president tell it, the country is at war against a leftist enemy that is destroying us from within.

But his dark vision is simply not true.

While crime is indeed up in some cities in the last month or so since the stay-at-home orders lifted, crime is nonetheless down overall for 2020. Indeed, violent crime has trended downward now for decades. And more crime in the short term is not exactly a surprise, as we are in an unprecedented time of social upheaval, with a pandemic locking us in our homes, the economy falling apart, and police violence—particularly against Black people—in the news day after day.

What has changed in the last few months, though, is Trump’s strategy for the 2020 election. It is notable how desperate he appears to be to win reelection. While all presidents running for a second term want to win, most of them are also willing to lose if that’s what voters decide. Trump, though, has withheld military funding from an ally to try to rig the election—that was what the Ukraine scandal was about—and, according to John Bolton, begged Chinese leader Xi Jinping to make a trade deal to help get Trump reelected. The insistence that he absolutely must win sets the stage for the federal troops in our cities.

Trump had planned to run on what he believed to be a strong economy, for which he took the credit (although he inherited a growing economy from his predecessor, President Barack Obama). But then the coronavirus hit.

Determined to keep the economy humming along, Trump downplayed the dangers of the virus, convincing his supporters that it was not as serious as Democrats insisted it was; they were, he said, hoping to sabotage his reelection. Then, when it was clear the disease was not a hoax, he was unwilling to use the federal government to address the crisis, and his administration botched early testing and isolation. Death rates spiked as we locked down, but then, as it seemed that infections were leveling off, states reopened quickly, despite warnings from experts that they were opening too soon.

Now, of course, cases are skyrocketing. While the rest of the developed world has corralled the virus, we have had close to 4 million infections and more than 140,000 dead. Today more than 1000 people died of the disease. After weeks of refusing to wear a mask, Trump was finally forced to acknowledge that it is imperative for us to slow the spread of the coronavirus after prominent supporter and former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain apparently contracted Covid-19 at Trump’s Tulsa rally. Cain has been hospitalized since early July.

And yet, Trump is desperate to get children back into school and their parents back to work, in part because Republicans object to government social welfare programs like unemployment insurance, and in part because he wants the economy to rebound before the election. But on this, too, he has been stymied, as most parents are worried about exposing their children to the disease. More and more school districts are opting to start the school year online.

So, Trump’s campaign is trying to rally voters with the idea that American cities run by Democrats are seething with violence. And to create that violence, the administration is sending in law enforcement officers that belong to departments within the executive branch of the government.

Trump included the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, in his photo-op on June 1, after officers cleared peaceful protesters out of Washington D.C.’s Lafayette Square with tear gas and flash-bangs. But military officers and defense officials past and present pushed back strongly against the attempt to politicize the military, and made it clear they would not permit soldiers to be used in ways they considered unconstitutional.

So Trump is turning the officers of the executive branch into the president’s private army.

On June 26, Trump issued an “Executive Order on Protecting American Monuments, Memorials, and Statues and Combating Recent Criminal Violence.” That is the document supporting the deployment of officers from what appears to be Custom and Border Protection, wearing military uniforms, in Portland, Oregon. Their original mission was to defend the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse, which had sustained vandalism and thrown fireworks.

The Executive Order blames the protests in Portland on “rioters, arsonists, and left-wing extremists who… have explicitly identified themselves with ideologies — such as Marxism — that call for the destruction of the United States system of government.” It says that those calling out racial bias in America are seeking “to advance a fringe ideology that paints the United States of America as fundamentally unjust and have sought to impose that ideology on Americans through violence and mob intimidation.” It claims: “These radicals shamelessly attack the legitimacy of our institutions and the very rule of law itself.”

The administration justifies the operations in Chicago and Albuquerque differently. On July 8, Attorney General William Barr announced a Department of Justice initiative called “Operation Legend,” named for a four-year-old victim of gun violence. Operation Legend began in Kansas City, Missouri, “to fight the sudden surge of violent crime.” Under the initiative, Barr is deploying federal agents from the FBI, U.S. Marshal Service, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) to “surge resources” first to Kansas City, and now to Chicago and Albuquerque. The DOJ also promised to move personnel to Kansas City—and now, presumably to the other cities— “to handle an anticipated increase in prosecutions.”

All the affected cities are run by Democratic mayors.

The Trump administration is hammering again and again on the idea that Democrats will bring chaos and violence to American streets. To illustrate that argument, it is instigating violent encounters. In Portland, officials said that the protests were calming down before the new federal force moved in. They asked for the officers to be removed, but Trump refused. His acting director of the Department of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf, says: “I don’t need invitations by the state, state mayors, or state governors to do our job. We're going to do that, whether they like us there or not.”

Today, Tom Ridge, the country's first Director of Homeland Security, who served under President George W. Bush, warned that the department "was not established to be the President's personal militia." "It would be a cold day in hell before I would give consent to a unilateral, uninvited intervention into one of my cities," he said.

What is really at stake is the delegitimizing of Democrats altogether before the 2020 election. Today Jenna Ellis, senior legal adviser to the Trump campaign and one of Trump’s personal lawyers tweeted: “No Democrat should EVER AGAIN be elected in the United States in any capacity. The government’s constitutional obligation is to preserve and protect OUR rights, not to preserve and protect their own power. They are willing to sacrifice America and our freedom and liberty. NO!!!”

(Wolf is not Senate-confirmed, and there is question about whether or not he’s even legally in his job, since he has now been 251 days in a post that can only have an “acting” director for 210. With no experience in intelligence or security, it is unlikely the former lobbyist could make it through the Senate, but Trump likes his loyalty.)

The Trump campaign has released an ad suggesting that the choice in 2020 is between “PUBLIC SAFETY” and “CHAOS AND VIOLENCE.” But observers quickly noted that the image of street violence in the ad was not from America, it was from Ukraine in 2014.

And the image was not of respectable police officers defending the rule of law. It was the opposite. It was a picture taken when democratic protesters were trying to oust corrupt oligarch Viktor Yanukovych from the Ukraine presidency. Yanukovych was an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and fled to Russia when he was thrown out of office in Ukraine. Yanukovych was in power thanks to the efforts of an American adviser: Paul Manafort, the same man who took over Trump’s ailing campaign in June 2016.

So to illustrate “chaos and violence,” the Trump campaign used an image of a corrupt Ukrainian oligarch’s specialized federal police wrestling a pro-democracy protester to the ground. And Donald Trump and that oligarch won power thanks to the same advisor.

Honestly, it’s hard to see the use of the image as a mistake.

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lawrencedienerthings · 4 years

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Coronavirus cost Colorado’s solar industry thousands of jobs, but there’s one bright spot

more news https://northdenvernews.com

The solar power industry has been hammered by the pandemic economy with the loss of tens of thousands of jobs nationally and Colorado facing an estimated 2,400 solar jobs gone by June. Yet one niche market is fitfully soldiering on in the state: home rooftop solar.

COVID-19 IN COLORADO

The latest from the coronavirus outbreak in Colorado:

MAP: Known cases in Colorado.

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Thanks to a strong start in 2020, some installers had built up a pipeline of jobs, though some customers have decided to defer installations. And after a sharp drop in new sales in March and early April there has been a small rebound.

“We are surprised how many customers have been interested, we have been making sales,” said Blake Jones, co-founder of Boulder-based Namasté Solar.

A key to the rooftop market’s buoyancy was the decision by Gov. Jared Polis to include installers among essential services that could continue to operate during the state’s stay-at-home order, which was aimed at limiting the impact of the COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus.

“The Polis administration did what we needed them to do and the utilities have been good partners continuing connections,” said Mike Kruger, executive director of the Colorado Solar and Storage Association (COSSA), an industry trade group.

“It has been worse for commercial and industrial folks,” Kruger said. Commercial and industrial “are all just hoarding cash. There’s been a crashing halt in the large-scale community solar.”

Kruger also noted that while some home solar projects have been deferred, few have been canceled.

Namaste Solar technician Jep Grosboll of Louisville shoulders a solar module at a customer’s home during an installation in Boulder on May 25, 2020. (Andy Colwell, Special to The Colorado Sun)

To be sure, the market still has its pitfalls. There have been some furloughs and firings, and some companies are completing installation faster than the pipeline is being refilled.

“Colorado has always been a really strong market for us,” said Jeff Lee, executive vice president for sales at Orem, Utah-based Blue Raven Solar, which operates in 14 states. “We had a big pipeline of jobs, but we have definitely decreased our weeks of capacity by a month and a half.”

“The real key is when do we start seeing business resume and people restore traditional patterns of life?” Lee said. “If it takes six months it will definitely have an impact. … It’s a timing game.”

Jones agreed. “If sales continue to decline, the queue will shrink in four months with greater impact.”

Kruger said there have been several hundred layoffs in the sector, although the impact has varied by installer and the geographical market they serve.

Namasté, with a workforce of about 200, for example, let go 15% of its employees and furloughed another 15%, Jones said. After getting federal paycheck protection aid, the company was able to bring back all of the furloughed workers.

Sunrun, the largest rooftop solar installer in the U.S., with operations in 22 states and headquarters in San Francisco and Denver, cut its door-to-door sales force to concentrate on online sales.

“We had to do some furloughing,” said Ann Hoskin, Sunrun’s chief policy officer. “Now we are working our way to bring some of those folks back.” She declined to say how many jobs have been lost at Sunrun in Colorado.

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Blue Raven Solar has not cut jobs. It usually has eight crews working in Colorado, but has had to shift some installation teams to out-of-state jobs, Lee said.

Still, the cuts and shuffling stand in contrast to the turmoil in the overall solar power sector where 65,000 jobs have been slashed since the end of February and the job losses, over the projected targets, will reach 114,000 by June, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), a national trade group.

This will leave about 188,000 people employed in the sector. “These losses would negate five years of solar industry growth, pushing the workforce back to a level not seen since 2014,” SEIA said

Colorado is projected to have job losses of 2,387 through June, equal to a 42% decline in the workforce.

A number of analysts – including Bloomberg New Energy Finance, IHS Markit and the International Energy Agency – have put the global decline in megawatts of solar installations at 12% to 18% for the year.

The forecast for residential and small commercial installation may be double that. Forecasts for the decline in rooftop sales in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2020 range from 30% to 50%, Sunrun CEO Lynn Jurich said during a May 6 call with analysts and investors. Sunrun aimed to be at the low end of that range, Jurich said.

Namaste Solar technicians install solar modules on a customer’s home in Boulder on May 25, 2020. (Andy Colwell, Special to The Colorado Sun)

Against this backdrop the Colorado market has chugged along, though not without missteps and misfires.

When local government buildings shut down so did permitting and inspections. “‘The biggest issue has been the building departments closing for eight weeks,” said David Raichart, co-founder and president of sales for Broomfield-based Photon Brothers. “That was tough.”

Construction slowed by 40% and then Photon Brothers ran out of permits, Raichart said.

“That was the initial speed bump,” Kruger said. “There is a balkanized permitting system. You had, for example, Commerce City, which required a physical copy of the permit application be dropped off, but the office was closed.”

Jones said “inspectors weren’t coming out to inspect projects and you can’t do your final billing until it is inspected.”

The City of Aurora already had digital filing for permits, but it wasn’t until the end of March that the City of Boulder had added an online permitting process, Hoskins said.

“Broadly, we fixed it,” Kruger said. “We convinced many jurisdictions to take scanned email forms.” Emailed video and photos were also sent to inspectors for their OK.

One upside from the turmoil could be to speed the development of online permitting and inspections, one of the most time-consuming and cumbersome parts of installing solar arrays, Hoskins said.

The same could be said of sales. “The way we’ve done it in the past was sitting down at people’s kitchen tables with proposals. Now we are using the internet and Zoom,” Hoskin said.

In her conference call with analysts, Jurich said the pandemic has sped up a transition that was slowly taking place and that companies that can make the switch will fare better.

After seeing overall sales drop 40%, Sunrun has seen steady improvement including a record day for sales, which were all made online, in April, Jurich said.

The story is similar for some of the Colorado installers.

Raichart said Photon Brothers typically sells 60 to 70 systems a month and is now at 40 a month, but that interest has returned for solar and also for home storage batteries. “We’ve done a lot of marketing in that space,” he said.

For the moment there have been no staff reductions as the company has been able to shift crews to southern Colorado. “In Pueblo we are crushing it,” Raichart said, with more than a 30% increase in activity.

This was helped by the fact that the City of Pueblo did not shut its building department, he said.

Still, if sales do not return to normal it may lead to staff reductions, Raichart said. A 20% decline in revenue could translate to a 15% cut in staff, about five positions.

Blue Raven Solar installs per month have dropped from 165 in February to a projected 120 for May, Lee said. In part reflecting the permitting problems. “We lost some jobs because we couldn’t get permits,” he said. Still, the company has close to two months of projects in its pipeline.

And while a solar array is an expensive proposition – around $25,000 for a 5-kilowatt system – it is seen as a money saver, particularly when twinned with a home battery and with interest rates so low financing may be appealing to many homeowners.

“Home solar may be countercyclical; we saw this in 2008,” Hoskin said.

Namasté did 1,100 residential projects in 2019, and this year the company had one of its best first quarters ever, Jones said.

“We are feeling grateful, we are doing projects, we have been making sales. But what happens going forward? Will sales slow down if more people are laid off?” Jones asked. “What if there is another surge of the virus and it starts all over again?

“It is definitely a glass half full,” Jones said. “We are certainly better off than restaurants, and we are grateful for that.”

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bigyack-com · 5 years

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Wall Street Rises After Historic Plunge: Live Market Updates

Wall Street’s gains fade as investors’ jitters persist.

Stock climbed Friday, rebounding from their worst day in more than 30 years, with gains that were pinned partly to signs of movement in Washington and a pledge by leaders in Germany to spend heavily to support Europe’s largest economy.But investor nervousness persisted and an early rally on Wall Street faded. The S&P 500 was up about 1 percent by midday, after initially jumping as much as 6 percent. Trading in Europe followed a similar pattern, with major indexes surging as much as 10 percent early in the day before losing steam as the week ended.Financial markets have been nothing if not inconsistent for the past three weeks, plunging and then rising, and then plunging again, as each day brought new measures to contain the outbreak and new worries that the economy, workers and businesses would take a hit as a result of them.On Thursday, stocks on Wall Street and in Europe plunged in their biggest daily drop since the stock market crashed in 1987, as President Trump’s ban on the entry to the United States from most European countries disappointed investors, who had been waiting for Washington to take stronger steps to bolster the economy.But late Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had “resolved most of our differences” on a package of economic aid for workers and companies, pledging a vote in the House of Representatives on Friday.And on Friday, Germany’s government said that it would make more than $600 billion available to help companies there, while France pledged to unleash tens of billions of euros to prevent a potential jump in unemployment by paying small and medium-size businesses slammed by the epidemic to keep workers on furlough.Olaf Scholz, the German finance minister, said that his government could take further steps, including taking stakes in companies, if deemed necessary. “We can’t forget the lessons of the previous financial crisis,” Mr. Scholz told reporters in Berlin.Also on Friday, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York moved again to inject more liquidity in the Treasury markets, saying it would complete half of its planned $80 billion of government bond purchases for the month today.“These purchases are intended to address highly unusual disruptions in the market for Treasury securities associated with the coronavirus outbreak,” it said in a statement.The volatility in markets this week reflects the increasing concern that governments and central banks may not be able to meaningfully mitigate the economic fallout from the spreading coronavirus.Asian indexes were hammered on Friday following the U.S. market plunge. Like Wall Street, every major financial market in Asia except for China is now firmly in bear market territory.

The Fed will inject more liquidity into the Treasury market.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is buying up a variety of Treasury securities in a bid to keep markets functioning normally after trading in government debt broke down earlier this week — and that effort to help became even more substantial on Friday.The bank said it would pull forward its planned monthly purchases, which total $80 billion, so that half of them would be done by the end of the day. It would also “bring forward remaining purchases for this monthly calendar and adjust terms of operations as needed to foster smooth Treasury market functioning,” it said in a statement.The swift action suggested to some investors that there could be more to come, and stock prices rallied on the back of the announcement.“It’s a signal that they are diagnosing what it going on in the market,” said Julia Coronado, founder of MacroPolicy Perspectives. “It’s a signal that we’re likely to get quantitative easing next week, if not before.”But just as the Fed was pulling out the stops, President Trump was tweeting about the central bank’s inaction.“The Federal Reserve must FINALLY lower the Fed Rate to something comparable to their competitor Central Banks,” he wrote. “Jay Powell and group are putting us at a decided economic & physiological disadvantage.”The Fed was ahead of its global counterparts in reacting to the coronavirus’s economic threat, slashing rates by half a percentage point last week in its first emergency move since the financial crisis. It is widely expected to lower rates again at its meeting next week, and analysts think it could revive more aggressive bond-buying, among other measures meant to cushion the market and real-economy fallout of the global pandemic.

Mnuchin says U.S. in ‘second inning’ of stimulus efforts.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin vowed on Friday that the United States government would do whatever was necessary to ensure that markets have “almost unlimited” liquidity. He said that the economic relief package being negotiated with Congress was just the beginning of efforts to stimulate the economy in the wake of the coronavirus.“I think we’re like in the second inning of getting things done,” Mr. Mnuchin said on CNBC.The Trump administration is considering additional relief measures, including a payroll tax holiday. Mr. Mnuchin also said that the administration is working on exemptions from tariffs imposed by President Trump that are affecting businesses, and that he would be open to waiving restrictions on withdrawals for 401(k) investments so that people can more readily access their savings.The Treasury secretary dismissed rumors that markets could shut down because of the recent volatility, and he encouraged banks to turn to the Federal Reserve’s discount window for funding if needed.Mr. Mnuchin expressed optimism that the current “black swan” period would be over in a matter of months, and pent-up demand would jump-start the economy.

A split in Congress: Who should be paid not to work?

A fundamental divide over how many Americans should be paid to stay home from work amid the coronavirus outbreak has emerged as one snag in negotiations over a multibillion-dollar federal response to the mounting health and economic damage from the virus.House Democrats are set to vote Friday on a bill, negotiated with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, that includes several measures meant to combat the spread of the virus and cushion its economic shock to the economy. One of those is a plan to provide paid leave to workers affected by the virus.A key question is how many workers should be covered by that leave plan, which would ensure compensation for people who do not go to work during the outbreak. Many Republicans want to keep it focused narrowly to workers who have contracted the virus or are forced to care for sick family members or children whose schools have closed — and they are concerned that the bill, more broadly written, could also encourage healthy people to stay home, thus chilling economic activity.Many Democrats say legislation should go further, and protect workers from being forced to expose themselves to the virus.The final legislation could affect both the health of the economy and the speed at which the disease spreads.

China makes the masks the world needs, and it’s starting to share.

With the United States struggling to meet coronavirus testing demands, China, which appears to have made progress managing the outbreak, has tried to become a resource for other nations.On Friday, the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation said they would donate 500,000 testing kits and one million masks to the United States to help it deal with the pandemic. Alibaba is China’s biggest online retailer, and Mr. Ma is the company’s co-founder and former executive chairman.“Drawing from my own country’s experience, speedy and accurate testing and adequate personal protective equipment for medical professionals are most effective in preventing the spread of the virus,” Mr. Ma said in a statement.Mr. Ma said that the two foundations had, in recent weeks, also donated similar resources to Japan, Korea, Italy, Iran and Spain.

Here’s what else is happening.

Berkshire Hathaway said it would not allow shareholders to physically attend its May 2 annual meeting in Omaha, Neb., which will be streamed online. All special events around the meeting were canceled.The People’s Bank of China said it would inject $79 billion into its financial system, in a move that indicated Beijing remained concerned about its domestic economy after weeks of virtual shutdown.The travel and tourism industries could lose up to 50 million jobs as the coronavirus pandemic saps demand for their services, the World Travel and Tourism Council said on Friday. To preserve jobs, the group said governments should remove barriers to travel, cut taxes, provide incentives and support promotional campaigns.American consumers were slightly less confident in early March compared with a month ago, according to the latest University of Michigan consumer confidence index, reflecting early fears about the spread of coronavirus and its impact on the stock market. The index fell to 95.9 in March, which the survey described as a “modest decline” from 101.0 in February.“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and “Late Night With Seth Meyers” will suspend production next week, CBS and NBC said Thursday, making them the biggest daily American television series to go dark because of concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemicDisney will close its theme parks worldwide starting this weekend, including Disney World in Florida and the Disneyland Resort in California. Disney Cruise Line will also close.Reporting was contributed by Alexandra Stevenson, Jeanna Smialek, Niraj Chokshi, Jim Tankersley, Cao Li, Amie Tsang, Carlos Tejada, Brooks Barnes, Mohammed Hadi and Katie Robertson. Read the full article

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