Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Live reporting - Energy $ense - Part 2

Part 1 can be found here

The audio version of this section can be found here

brief interlude for the presentation switch

Fred introduces Matt

Matt Arner
SolarFlair Energy, Inc.
Hopkinton, MA

  • Solar electricity
  • solar hot water (mostly for domestic hot water use)
How does the system work?
  1. The solar grid feeds the inverter (the brains of the system)
  2. The inverter is tied to the breaker panel, just like another breaker with the exception that it provides power into the breaker panel (not drawing from like the normal breakers).
  3. If you are generating more power than you need to use, you send the extra back out through the meter to the power company. Effectively turning back the meter.
  4. Matt's home system is generating enough that it pays for 90% of the electricity they use.
How did Matt do it?
  1. Bought and converted to energy efficiency appliances
  2. converted more appliances
  3. then installed hot water system
  4. then installed solar system
  5. almost 100% solar powered but over time, a five year plan
Matt's company uses local products (Marlboro and Lawrence)

How much does it cost?
  • Payback: approx 7-8 years
  • System life: 25 years
They partner with a local bank to provide no upfront cost (outside of the grants and tax credits).
So you could effectively pay the same amount for green solar as you would for your normal electrical monthly bill.

expecting to see an 8% increase in electric rates

For commercial installations
  • Payback: 5 years
  • Return on Investment: 14%
for solar electric you need a minimum of 4 hours of real direct sun daily
solar hot water becomes a good alternative if you don't have the south facing roof

They make the process easy. The permitting process can take up to 3 months, the actual installation takes 2-3 days.

For more information on SolarFlair Energy, Inc. please click through to their web site. It has additional information on the solar water heating, solar electricity and several photos of residential and commercial installations.

If you want to examine the potential for solar for your home, you can follow the steps to start here.

For commercial installations, you can follow the steps to start here.

Renewable Energy Installers

Solar Energy Business Association of New England (SEBANE)

North East Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) Directory

Information on Installers, Costs, and Locations

Other Solar Resources

Disclaimer: The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) has not investigated, and expressly disclaims any duty to investigate, any company, product, service, process, procedure, design, or the like which may be presented on the aforementioned websites. The presentation of these website links does not constitute endorsement, warranty, or guaranty by MTC of any company, product, service, process, procedure, design, or the like. The entire risk of any information presented is assumed by the user.

No comments:

Post a Comment