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Bright ideas: Solar energy solutions shine, sparking surge in homeowner interest(Times Union (Albany, NY) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Apr. 8--CASTLETON -- It was an early March cold snap and the mercury read 12 degrees. A scouring wind's vicious bite made it feel more like 10 below beneath a cloudless sky. Atop the south-facing shingled roof of Frank Wind's two-story house under construction, a bright sun's rays were pulsing through 18 photovoltaic panels and producing a steady stream of 3,170 watts of electricity. "These are kick-ass conditions for solar power," Peter Skinner said excitedly. His words came out in puffs of steam as he checked rooftop panels for a companion solar hot water system he recently had completed installing. Inside the home, which is an unheated construction site, an electric meter was spinning backward, counter-clockwise, meaning Wind was racking up a "net metering" credit with National Grid. Perhaps it was fate that caused Wind -- a retired petroleum geologist who spent his career hunting for oil for Texaco -- to purchase a bucolic, 9-acre wooded lot with a large pond on Sunset Lane. He and his wife, Dee, built a state-of-the-art solar house on the site that thumbs its nose at Big Oil. "There's a blood price for every gallon of oil we're pumping out of the ground," Wind said. "Half of Bangladesh will be under water because of global warming, and a lot of people will die because of our dependence on oil. It has to end." Wind's timing couldn't be better. There's a growing menu of options for renewable energy systems in the commercial home building industry, both for new construction and additions to existing homes. Photovoltaic solar power, solar hot water, wind and biodiesel systems are drawing scores of homeowners like the Winds across the Capital Region to the emerging market. Their reasons for going green range from a desire to live in an environmentally friendly manner to saving money on rising energy bills to concerns over global warming to a fascination with leading-edge technology. Rising demand The factor that often seals the deal is a new program of state and federal incentives, ranging from cash rebates to tax credits, that can slash the cost of installing a photovoltaic solar power system by 40 percent to 70 percent. "The demand is growing exponentially," said Michael Stangl, a partner in Renewable Power Systems of Averill Park, the company that installed the solar power system in Wind's house. Stangl and partner, Kevin Rose, have been in business for three years and they've already quadrupled their work force to eight employees. They installed 12 photovoltaic solar power systems in 2005 and 30 in 2006. That number will increase substantially this year, with growth limited only by the capacity of their crews. Rose gauged growing interest at the 27th annual Great Northeast Home Show at the Times Union Center in February. "We had four times as many people stop by our booth as last year," Rose said. "We're starting to build a critical mass of installers, so we can meet the booming demand." Renewable energy is still in its infancy across New York. Statewide, a total of just 488 photovoltaic solar power systems have been installed in residential homes since 1998 and 257 more are under construction, according to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. By contrast, in California, the nation's leader, 7,000 homeowners filed installation plans for solar energy systems with the state energy commission last year, nearly double the number from 2005. Going green has suddenly become celebrity-chic. Hollywood stars step out of Toyota Prius hybrid cars onto the red carpet on Oscar night. A-list celebs like Leonardo DiCaprio, Carlos Santana and Alicia Silverstone are talking up their solar systems. Solar's growth faces a bottleneck in New York because NYSERDA lists just 60 certified solar installers, compared to 434 certified installers in California. NYSERDA awarded a grant in 2005 to Hudson Valley Community College to start a photovoltaic solar installation program, which soon reached capacity at 12 students. Installation cost Even with cash rebates and tax breaks, the cost of installing a solar hearing system is substantial. In their Castleton home, the Winds will invest roughly 10 percent of the $500,000 cost of their 2,700-square-foot, post-and-beam custom home in a top-of-the-line 3-killowatt solar power, solar hot water and backup battery system. But the Winds' out-of-pocket costs will end up being less than half the roughly $50,000 total cost. The $36,000 3-kilowatt photovoltaic solar power system is tied into the power grid and includes a battery backup, a costly added option most homeowners forgo, that will provide power to the house for a few days in case of an outage or system failure. The $14,000 four-panel solar hot water system is also top-shelf and will pay for itself in five to eight years, based on energy cost savings, Skinner said. "It pays off even faster if the price of energy continues to go up, as it surely will," he added. Stangl estimated that the photovoltaic solar power system in the Wind house will pay for itself in roughly 15 years, based on current electricity rages. The system has a 25-year warranty. "That's like getting 10 years of free power," Stangl said. Going green The homeowners' solar energy journey started four years ago when Wind purchased online a solar-powered attic vent for their 17-year-old, traditional stick-built home in Slingerlands. "I took it out of the box, it started turning and I was hooked," he said. In retirement, the couple, who are both 62 years old and have three grown children, wanted to build a new house on scenic property and were committed to an environmentally friendly design. They hired architect Keith Cramer and sub-contracted with a half-dozen specialists. The house has several additional energy-efficient features in the walls, roof and windows, as well. Taken together, the Winds' house is expected to be 50 percent more energy-efficient than standard construction, making it eligible for New York State Energy Star certification and additional state and federal incentives. The house also features a south-facing passive solar sun room that will help heat the house. "They've really gone the extra distance here," Rose said. The Wind house was used as a classroom for Hudson Valley Community College students who are studying to become certified photovoltaic solar power system installers. "This is the next big thing in home construction," said Eric Knott, 19, of Stockport, Columbia County, a second-year HVCC student working toward his photovoltaic solar installation certificate. "I believe in this. Solar is a great energy resource we're just throwing away when the sun's shining," said Mark Bomba, 37, of Sacandaga Lake, who's switched to the HVCC solar program after taking engineering classes at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Solar veterans On the other end of the renewable energy spectrum, Paul Coons of Rexford is a green veteran. He and his wife, Jeanne, who teaches science at Shenendehowa High School and drives a VW Jetta that runs on recycled cooking oil from restaurants, installed a free-standing photovoltaic solar power system in the backyard of their 1850s Greek Revival house five years ago. The system's panels move and track the sun as it slides across the horizon. After rebates and incentives, they paid about 60 percent of the actual $24,000 cost, which provides 75 percent of their electricity year-round for the 2,000-square-foot home. Last year, they installed a solar hot water system on the roof of the barn. A few months later, they added a recycled restaurant cooking oil boiler that heats water when the sun isn't shining. "With global warming, increase in the cost of fuel, and state and federal incentives, there's no better time than now to switch to renewable energy," said Coons, who works for the state Office of Mental Health and drives a Honda Civic hybrid. "I'm finding it offers a solid return on investment." Paul Grondahl can be reached at 454-5623 or by e-mail at [email protected]. Cost of Frank Wind's solar plan The System: 3-kilowatt (KW), photovoltaic (PV), grid-tied with battery backup PV System Cost: $36,000 NYSERDA PV incentive ($4.50 x 3,000W): ($13,500) Customer out-of-pocket cost: $22,500 NYS Income Tax Credit: ($5,000) Federal Income Tax Credit: ($2,000) Customer cost after incentives/tax breaks: $15,500 Source: Renewable Power Systems, Averill Park For more information on solar and other alternative energy sources, as well as incentives and tax credits, go to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) Web site: http://www.powernaturally.org Copyright (c) 2007, Albany Times Union, N.Y. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |