At their Canterbury, New Hampshire home, David and Anne Emerson work hard to be self-sufficient - they heat with wood, buy organic and support local vendors. They also own a craft business, Old Ways Traditions , that is all about sharing old tools and methods in today's world.
For the past 34 years David, a remodeling contractor turned woodworker, has been in the business of crafting Shaker and contemporary accessories. David and his wife Anne, who retired from teaching in the Penacook school district several years ago, have been ambassadors for antiques, art, and teaching the use of vintage tools and machinery. In so doing, they've created a community around self-sufficiency and the fine art of doing things for yourself!
Now, with solar, David and Anne are able to support their heritage home and business with clean energy technology.
The Emersons had been thinking about solar for a long time, being cognizant that their workshop was an ideal site for solar. Anne says, "In the 70s my parents installed solar hot water in New Jersey and we were very interested in the possibility that we might do it someday for our own home."
After hearing that modern solar technology had dropped dramatically in price, they reached out to ReVision Energy, and we were able to walk them through their current options. In the process, the Emersons realized that solar made good financial sense as well as environmental sense.
"Our electric bills were going up and our investments were doing well," David says, "but we realized that the return for investing in solar was greater than the return of our other [traditional] investments - at least 10% better."
With this information, the Emersons knew that the time was right to make the switch. Their neighbors had recently installed a solar array, as well as many of their fellow Canterbury residents. "You were well recommended and we just figured ReVision was the gold standard for solar," they told us.
ReVision installed a 24 Q Cell panel array for the Emersons which will produce roughly 7,000 kilowatt-hours of clean electricity per year. Through their group net metering arrangement, which allows them to receive a monetary credit to put towards their various utility bills, David and Anne will be able to offset a good portion of the electric usage for both their home and shop.
With a couple months of production underway, they are excited to have finally made the investment. "We loved the whole process right from the get go," David says. "The crew was fun to have around, it was clear they enjoy their job."
Anne adds, "We would like to say what a pleasure it's been to work with the office, you've been very responsive as we got all the signatures needed and submitted for the necessary paperwork."
Though the Emersons note that the solar array is so low-profile that they hardly notice it, it doesn't reduce the peace of mind that comes from knowing their energy needs are nearly 100% met by sunshine. "It is nice to look up there on a sunny day and know that when we use electricity around the house, or go out to the shop to work, that we are generating sustainable power."
