Wayne Davis with his solar powered heat pump!
When Wayne Davis and his wife Christine bought an old village garage in 2003, solar wasn't part of their grand renovation plan.
The garage / service station, perched on the northwest shore of Minnehonk Lake in Mount Vernon, ME, had been abandoned for many years... and had seen better days. "It took me a year and a half to make it livable, and another year and a half to fix it up," says Wayne, a retired professor of marine ecology and current course leader with Landmark Worldwide.
Twelve years later, their home is also their business, The Lakeside Loft. "Our vision was always to have this place be a lure for friends and family," says Wayne, and with many repeat guests arriving year after year to enjoy the swimming, kayaking and canoeing right outside Lakeside Loft's door, that vision is assured.
Wayne met ReVision for the first time in 2013 at the Common Ground Country Fair in Unity, ME, and had a positive experience from the start. "It's obvious that ReVision is committed to creating a better future, that they're here for the long term. With solar, it's about much more than energy - it's about stability and independence as well."
A few months later, Wayne committed to an on-site evaluation with ReVision system designer Hans Albee. According to Wayne, "Hans answered all of my questions, was very helpful and accessible, but he also deepened my education about solar. He gave me good advice and left room to ask questions, and I was allowed to make decisions that were right for me."
After conducting a shade analysis and learning more about his site, Wayne learned his standing seam metal roof could handle twice as much solar electric as he would need to offset his CMP bill. With that in mind, Wayne looked into offsetting his oil heating costs with air source heat pumps.
Now Wayne and Christine's rooftop is covered with 33 Canadian Solar panels, each rated at 255 watts, and have three heat pumps within the building - one in their primary residence and two to heat and cool their guest rooms. Thankfully, Wayne has also taken care to keep track of his solar production!
"Our installation team, especially Ryan (Herz, master electrician), was very knowledgeable," says Wayne. "I've been so happy with ReVision's extraordinary customer service. I can trust in the product and the people. One of the key elements to a successful business is happy employees - if you don't take care of the people who take care of the customers, it's apparent - with ReVision, you can see happiness on everyone's faces."
When asked about the future of energy, Wayne is optimistic. "Our saving grace is that the next generation will be so capable - they'll have a great capacity to handle the things we can't. The future is in development right now, and we're waking up to what we need versus what we really don't, especially as resources are shrinking." Wayne calls to mind a memorable quote from Martin Luther King, Jr: "'We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.' The truth is that it's cost effective to live as brothers, and it's also an imperative."
The Lakeside Loft is ready to welcome you in 2015! Learn more about Wayne and Christine's guest house at http://www.thelakesideloft.com/ .
