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ReVision employees are eager to invest in the same technologies that they offer customers. In the recent year, ReVisionistas have had nearly thirty employee home projects installed, including 12 air source heat pump systems, 11 solar electric systems (including one expansion) and 6 heat pump hot water heaters.
For example, Solar Design Specialist Bob Morton and his wife Filomena invested in a 6.93kW PV array for their home in Peabody, Massachusetts. To maximize the solar production output of their home, Bob designed a system that spans two roof slopes at his home and uses twenty-two 315 watt LG panels, among the most efficient solar panels on the market. Designed to produce 7,815 kWhs of clean solar electricity each year, the Mortons’s solar array will nearly eliminate the household’s electric bill and offset roughly 7,000 lbs of carbon pollution annually.
Bob’s solar journey began in 2008 as a part time business. Becoming part of the renewable energy transition was a key objective. He says, “I made a career change to get into a field that would make a positive difference. Getting away from fossil fuels was good business and good for the environment.”
Quick to adopt solar for his own home, Bob’s first PV installation was in Newton, NH. A simple twenty-four panel array with Evergreen 205 watt panels and a Solectria 5300 watt inverter, the system was granted permission to operate on January 6, 2009. Bob joined the ReVision team in 2016 and notes that, “Curiously enough, our recent installation [with ReVision Energy] received PTO on January 6, 2017.”
The ReVision Energy crew that installed Bob’s solar array
The difference between the two arrays, 8 years separating their respective installations, shows the dramatic transformation of the solar industry. When Bob made his initial investment, solar panels were nearly three times the cost per watt price of his 2017 installation. Thanks to increased affordability and efficiency, he was able to invest in a larger array the second time around. The 35% greater capacity with fewer panels means higher production with a smaller footprint.
In its first month of operation, Bob’s system produced 481 kWhs of solar electricity. Even with the Peabody Municipal Light Plant’s low electricity rate, around 11.5 cents/kWh, Bob says that the economics of his system make sense. The Morton’s will also benefit through selling their SRECs, a Massachusetts incentive that provides solar owners with a significant compensation for renewable production over a 10 year period. Of solar and ReVision, Bob says, “It is very satisfying to save money while helping the environment. It is even more satisfying to help others do the same.”
