The Town of Dayton, Maine will now enjoy electric bills of nearly zero year-round thanks to a 15 kilowatt grid-tied solar electric system commissioned the first week of August.

The system, which received funding from Efficiency Maine as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

An article about the project was featured in The Journal Tribune:

The solar panels will produce 21,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a year, according to an e-mail from Town Treasurer Angela Cushman.

Last year, the town used about 24,600 kilowatt hours of electricity for the municipal building, which includes heating and cooling, at a cost of about $3,600, said Cushman.

The system uses real-time data monitoring so that the town can track performance of the system.

Read more about the system in the full article from the Journal Tribune (PDF Download).

More Photos, from Our Commercial Solar Project Gallery:

This 3.2kw solar electric system just installed in New Hampshire will generate over 4,000 kWh of electricity each year.

We’ll often say that the only limiting factors of a grid-tied solar electric system’s size are available roof space and budget.

If you have a huge roof with great southern exposure, you can install enough solar to produce more electricity than you’ll ever need.

Most homeowners, however, choose to offset a portion (say 30-50%) of their overall use.

Here are a few steps on how we calculate what you use and how to size a system accordingly:

Find Out What You Use

One of the first things to do is look at your electric bills, which will give you can get a good handle on what your energy needs are each month.

You’re billed based on how many kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity you use. A kilowatt hour is simply a measurement of energy – 1kWh = 1,000 watts * 1 hour.

Every appliance in your home has a wattage rating which, multiplied by the number of hours you use it per day, will give you an idea of how much it contributes to your electric bill.

Conveniently, most electric bills include several months of data so you can get a rough average of what you use over a longer period of time. It’s also helpful to compare winter vs. summer data as your needs might vary widely – for instance, if you use electric space heat your use might spike in the winter; on the other hand, if you use air conditioning your use might spike in the summer.

Once you have a basic handle on how much you consume, you can see how much impact a solar electric system will have on your bill.

How Grid Tied Solar Cuts Down Your Electric Bill

The beauty of a grid-tied solar electric system is that we use the electric grid as a battery.

When you produce more electricity than you consume, that energy goes out to the grid and is credited to your account. When you are using more electricity than you are producing, you simply use grid power as normal, and deduct accumulated credits off of your bill.

This means two things:

• You can produce more than you use in the summer and benefit from that overproduction during the dark winter months.
• You can install a system that provides less than 100% of your needs and still benefit from all of the electricity it generates.

A 1 kW solar electric system will produce 1,000 watts of electricity when in full sun. If you get an hour of full sun on that system, you’ll have generated 1 kWh.

In New England, we’ve found that each kilowatt of installed solar will generate roughly 1,300 kWh of electricity each year, varying a bit depending on where you are in Maine or New Hampshire.

By taking the amount of kWh you consume, and dividing them by 1,300, you can get a ballpark estimate of how many kilowatts of solar you would need to completely offset your electric usage.

Solar Energy at Work

Let’s look at an example based on the typical American home. The US Energy Information Agency estimates that the average home uses about 10,656kWh each year (Source: End-Use Consumption of Electricity 2001).

That means the average American home would require a 7.6kw solar electric system to completely offset their electric needs  (10,656/1,400 = 8.2).

Realistically, most homeowners opt for a 3-5kw system to offset a portion, but not 100%, of their electric needs, and either work towards a second solar system sometime in the future or work towards reducing their load to match their solar production as closely as possible.

We’ve covered the economics of solar electricity before – by purchasing solar you’re basically locking in your electric cost at below market rates for the next 40-50 years. A great buy in an increasingly uncertain energy climate!

Efficiency Maine has announced that their popular $1,000 summer promotion for the Home Energy Savings Program (HESP) has been extended. Sign up by August 31st to qualify for an additional $1,000 beyond the existing $1,500 – $3,000 of incentives available in the program.

Here’s how it works:

• You no longer have to complete the project by August 31st.  Simply send in your application using the Efficiency Maine website.
• You’ll need to have an energy audit completed by September 30th and the project completed by December 31st.
• The $1,000 bonus is above and beyond the HESP standard rebates, which are:
  • 30% of Project Cost up to $1,500 for projects that will result in 25% – 49% total annual thermal energy savings - OR -
  • 50% of Project Cost up to $3,000 for projects that will resulting total annual thermal energy savings that will be 50% or more
• If solar hot water is part of the HESP project you’ll still get the standard solar hot water rebate, including an additional $500 for a total $1,500 solar hot water rebate.

To get started with the HESP program, be sure to submit a request before the August 31st deadline – that will secure your $1,000 bonus rebate. Then find an energy auditor – if you’d like a referral in your area just contact us!

The Home Energy Savings Program is funded by a stimulus grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

As of Earth Day 2010, New Hampshire now offers a state solar hot water rebate program, which averages $1,500 for a typical residential solar hot water system.

This program is comparable to Maine’s existing $1,500 rebate – now it doesn’t matter which side of the mighty Piscataqua you’re on – renewable energy makes more sense than ever!

How the Rebate Works

The rebate is on a sliding scale based on BTU output of the system under peak solar conditions. The average rebate of $1,500 is for a typical family of four – larger systems qualify for up to $1,650 towards a system.

A few piece of fine print – the rebate can only be used for a primary residence in New Hampshire and can only be used for retrofits (no new homes – however, solar hot water for a new home is still a great investment because of the incredible life of the energy efficiency upgrades).

What Does a System Cost?

This new state rebate is in addition to a 30% uncapped federal tax credit. The net system budget for a typical 4-person household looks like this:

$11,000 gross installed cost
-($3,300) fed tax credit
-($1,500) state rebate
$6,200 net investment

Here are estimated payback periods for a 4-person system at different prices for heating oil:

Solar Hot Water ROI (Based on Price of Oil)

Compared to electric water heating, a solar hot water system will save roughly 3,540 lbs of C02 from entering the atmosphere each year.

Get Started

Curious whether solar hot water is a good match for your New Hampshire home? ReVision is happy to offer a free solar site evaluation is the first step towards securing the state rebate.

In addition to answering any of your questions about solar, we review your home and site and help determine where a solar energy system would fit in. Several pieces of site data are required to qualify for the state rebate and we’ll collect all of those while we’re at your home.

Contact us or call our New Hampshire office (603) 501-1822 for more information.

Clean solar electricity and solar hot water system installed on a home in Porter, Maine

Many people ask us how solar affects a home’s resale value.  The quick answer – solar can be a huge asset when it comes time to sell your home, though there are a variety of considerations you should take into account.

Lower Utility Costs Equal Increased Value

Let’s look at the purely rational economics of a solar energy system.

In the 1998 Evidence of Rational Market Valuations for Home Energy Efficiency report (link, PDF Download) by The Appraisal Journal there’s a section they call the “Rational Market Hypothesis” which describes the relationship of market value to energy savings.

Using fixed (and very conservative) utility costs savings, compared to the cost of the investment, they are able to project an economic value for energy improvements:

Fuel costs may be considered just one of many complex factors affecting the decision to buy a home, but the same can be said about other determinants of home value—from number of bedrooms to the quality of local schools. In a rational, competitive market, the value of energy efficiency, like the value of any other housing characteristic, should reflect its marginal value to home buyers. If home buyers expect stable fuel prices, then the marginal value of energy efficiency in recent years should be $10–$25 for every dollar reduction in annual fuel bills. (emphasis added)

Note that this 1998 report reflects a very different energy situation than what we face today.  We would now argue that the $10–$25 value increase per dollar of reduction in annual fuel bills is only a starting place, as home buyers should NOT expect stable fuel prices for the future.

Over the life of a 30 year mortgage, the fuel cost/utility savings will rise dramatically as fossil fuel heating and energy resources become increasingly scarce.

In addition, purchasing solar electric is particularly attractive right now because solar panel prices have reached record lows, so the payback time is greatly reduced.

Solar as an Attractive House Feature

There is huge emotional value to a solar hot water or solar power installation in addition to the purely logical economic argument.  A renewable energy system makes a strong statement about your commitment to sustainability and the environment, which is increasingly desirable in the marketplace.

In a down market, a solar system may be the differentiator that makes your house attractive to potential buyers.

An recent article on sunpluggers.com featured a subdivision in Northern California that is using solar panels in its homes as a way to differentiate itself.

How successful is it?

“We are the bestselling project in the market right now,” [Hal Woods, president of privately owned CenterStone Communities] says. “All of our Phase 1 and Phase 2 are sold out. We expect to have the project complete in the spring of 2010. A number of other builders are scouting us and looking at the success that we’ve had.”

While the attractiveness of a solar system will vary depending on your location and potential buying pool, it stands to reason that interest and excitement about renewable energy will only grow in the future as the need to move away from fossil fuels becomes more critical, and all things “green” become more mainstream.

Both solar hot water and solar electricity are proven, mature technologies that will provide a payback for you as long as you live in your home, and a more competitive position should you need to sell your home.

Like all investments, the earlier you put solar on your house, the sooner you will reap the rewards.  As we sometimes say, payback doesn’t actually start until the system is installed!

Wall Street Journal journalist Gwendolyn Bounds wrote a story on solar hot water for homeowners – what the technology is like, how it works, and the quite impressive economics of investing in solar hot water.

Rather than tackling the environmental benefits of drastically reducing your oil consumption (since in many homes, a solar hot water system can eliminate boiler usage during summertime), the article focused on the great economic incentives for installing solar hot water.

In Maine, these incentives include a $1000 rebate from Efficiency Maine, as well as a 30% tax credit offered by the federal government.

This economics over environment approach is increasingly common – indeed, it’s consistent with the approach Obama took in the State of the Union – and seems to be steering the minds even of those still skeptical of global warming.

Bounds writes:

In the average home, harnessing the sun’s free energy for daily hot-water needs can be a more practical and affordable bet [than solar electricity]. Water-heating is the third-largest energy expense in most households, after space heating and air-conditioning, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. This year, Hawaii began mandating solar water heaters in most new homes, and cold-weather locales such as New York and Colorado are among the state leaders in installations.

A misconception in Maine is that it is too cold for solar, a fact that is totally untrue! In fact, Maine is far sunnier than Germany, the world-leader in solar installations. Today, a gray January day in Maine, our solar hot water tank at the shop reads a toasty 138 degrees.

Whether your motivations are environmentally or economically driven (or better yet, both!) we appreciate the Wall Street Journal’s efforts in presenting the facts about solar hot water to homeowners.

If you’d like some more information on the technology for yourself, take a look at our solar hot water page or contact us to talk about a free site evaluation at your home or business.

This low fossil energy home in Freeport has a 3 kilowatt grid-tied solar electric array that produces roughly 340 kwhrs of clean electricity per month. The solar thermal collectors at upper right produce enough domestic hot water for a family of four. You can see ReVision Energy’s workmanship up close on October 3rd when the home will be open for the Solar Open House Tour.

The price of solar electric panels in the global marketplace is dropping, and systems that were once out of reach are now a more affordable opportunity.

For solar electricity, the most costly component of the system is the photovoltaic panels. According to a recent article in the New York Times, “panel prices have fallen about 40 percent since the middle of last year. The price drops – coupled with recently expanded federal incentives – could shrink the time it takes solar panels to pay for themselves to 16 years, from 22 years”.

The cost reduction is due to two key factors: increased production of polysilicon, the raw material that enables solar panels to convert sunlight into electricity and a panel glut due to a decrease in worldwide demand as a result of the economic downturn.

Although many manufacturers are continuing to see profit losses in 2009, according to the New York Times, some “say that cheaper panels could be a good thing in the long term, spurring enthusiasm among customers and expanding the market”.

What does this mean for people in Maine and New Hampshire who want to invest in a grid-tied photovoltaic system for their home? The timing is perfect because you have the advantage of an all-time low installed cost combined with generous state and federal financial incentives. It is important to remember that grid-tied PV is the most reliable renewable energy technology (no moving parts anywhere in the system) that comes with a 25-year warranty and expected lifespan of 40 years. This means you can lock in your own electric rate for decades and reduce your CO2 emissions.

In Maine there is a $2,000 rebate for solar electricity. In New Hampshire there is a $6,000 rebate through the NH Public Utilities Commission and a $3,500 incentive if you are a NH Electric Co-op member. The federal tax credit improved in 2009, lifting the cap for solar electric (and solar thermal) installations. The federal tax credit now totals 30% of the total system cost.