Solar Champion Stories Archives

In addition to his jobs as father, grandfather, professor, and former chair of the Randolph Conservation Commission, Solar Champion Bruce Kirmmse has a unique additional title. We feel confident in saying that Bruce is the only ReVision customer who is – drum roll, please – a Danish Knight. (Bruce also created this blog title for us; we love a good sunshine pun.)

Sir Bruce Kirmmse & solar inverter In 2013 – the same year Bruce and his wife Margaret Hellman had their first solar array installed by ReVision at their home in the White Mountains, Bruce was knighted by order of the Queen of Denmark for his extensive work in translation and scholarship. Bruce, who worked as a Professor of History for over 30 years both in the U.S. and in Denmark, was awarded the knighthood for his work as general editor and translator of a twelve-volume edition of the journals and notebooks of the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.

Sir Bruce Goes Solar

When not actively translating Kierkegaard’s work into English, Bruce is committed to the preservation of the planet, starting with his town of Randolph, NH, where he served on the town conservation commission for ten years.

“Conservation has always been Issue #1 for me,” says Bruce. “I’m concerned, environmentally, with the life of the planet.” In 2013 Bruce and Margaret had ReVision install an 11-panel solar array on their roof as well as a heat pump water heater to get away from oil-heated domestic hot water.

Like any technology, a solar system sometimes encounters issues – that’s why ReVision has a 24/7 dedicated service team. In 2014 their system needed a new inverter, so when the ReVision service team came out to replace the inverter (covered by our warranty), Bruce and Margaret took the opportunity to inquire about more solar and added an expansion to their roof array to produce more clean solar energy.

Last year they decided to have ReVision install their first heat pump, and now they’re expanding once again. This fall they are adding a ground mount solar array to offset the rest of their electric needs, as well as a second heat pump.

“This will enable us to be just about free of fossil fuel oils,” says Bruce.

Peace of Mind While Abroad

Bruce rocks a vintage ReVision t-shirt in his Randolph home. Bruce and his wife split their time between their solar-powered home in Randolph and an apartment in the heart of downtown Copenhagen. Although their son and his family occasionally spend time in Randolph during the winter (it’s a perfect base for New Hampshire skiing), the house is mostly empty in the coldest months. Before their 2023 air source heat pump installation, Bruce admits they “burned a lot of oil” keeping the house set at 50 degrees to avoid frozen pipes. This winter, they set the heat pump at 61 degrees and left for Copenhagen. It heated the entire 2-story, 7-room house throughout the winter; their oil consumption dropped to a mere quarter-tank.

“It really seemed to carry the whole house,” Bruce says. “Nothing froze and our oil consumption was very, very low.” And although their perch in the White Mountains means they enjoy cooler summers than many in our region, Bruce says the heat pump has also been working well in cool mode.

“As for the present heat wave, my new heat pump/air conditioner handled everything well–in fact, almost too well. I had to go to Dartmouth-Hitchcock yesterday, so when I left in the morning, I set the thermostat in the low 70’s. And when I returned at the end of the day, the house felt so cool (partly because I had gotten used to the outdoor temperature), that I turned the thing off. It’s doing everything I could ask for.”

Order of the Dannebrog

One of Bruce’s many published works on Søren Kierkegaard So how does an environmentalist from New Hampshire end up knighted by the Queen of Denmark, anyway? Bruce, who has a doctorate in history, first learned Danish when doing his dissertation on Kierkegaard. When the University of Copenhagen decided to undertake a huge translation project – translating all of Kierkegaard’s many journals and notebooks into multiple languages – Bruce took the lead on the English language part, resulting in the final twelve-volume translated work. On Kierkegaard’s 200th birthday in 2013, Bruce was knighted as part of a large celebration at the Royal Library in Copenhagen. Not to be outdone by the Queen, the Town of Randolph hosted their own celebration when Bruce returned home that year, featuring a 7-foot-long homemade cardboard and aluminum foil sword.

“My grandchildren love it,” says Bruce. In addition to the cardboard sword, his grandchildren will also appreciate their grandfather’s commitment to history, philosophy, and the natural environment. Thanks for being our first Knighted Solar Champ, Bruce!

Beth McGuinn and Ruth Smith’s house looks like a regular house – and for that exact reason, says Ruth, it often surprises their guests. She and her wife Beth live in Canterbury, NH in a home they designed in “classic New England” style. It’s a two story saltbox house with beautiful natural wood shingle and clapboard siding, with a woodstove for heat, and a garden in the yard. It is set apart by the very intentional design to maximize efficiency – and the rooftop solar array that powers 100% of their energy needs.

Solar was always part of the plan when Beth and Ruth started looking at building their own home. Sustainability had long been a shared goal, both personally and professionally. Beth is the Executive Director of the Five Rivers Conservation Land Trust, and Ruth is the Master Gardner Program Coordinator for UNH Cooperative Extension and worked for NH Audubon for over 20 years.

Both can recall their interest in renewable energy starting early. Ruth’s parents installed a solar hot water system on their roof in the early ’80s despite the somewhat “crunchy” reputation solar had at the time, and Beth can recall a high school physics project that sparked her interest in leaving fossil fuels behind for renewables. “It just seemed like the answer to me, but I had to shelve that for close to 30 years before I could act on it,” she says.

Plan Ahead for Solar with ReVision

A solar design consultant helped them optimize their home before it was even constructed, designing it to fit their specific property. It resulted in a home that while looking and acting like any other New England house, has that “intentionality” to it that visitors always notice. Their house doesn’t face the road like most others – it faces the sun. Large southern windows maximize passive solar gain, while good insulation and smaller northern windows help retain it. The southern roof was perfectly set up for solar when it came time to add it.

Beth and Ruth interviewed four other solar companies, but chose ReVision not just for the quality of our work, but ultimately because they knew they could count on ReVision being around for the future. Beth recalls that their solar hot water system had an issue on a Saturday evening, and their ReVision service specialist was out to the house within 2 hours of their call to fix it. “It proved clearly for me that I had chosen the right company,” she says.

They started with a solar hot water system in 2011 with money they had saved up, and used the tax credit and rebate from that project to invest in a 16-panel PV system the following year that produced more electricity than they were using at the time. When Beth traded her car for an electric hybrid in 2016 they expanded the array with another 6 panels, and came out of the transition at net zero.

100% Solar Power Gives Peace of Mind

Ruth looks at their solar installations as not just an environmental project but as a retirement investment. It will give them a retirement free of electricity payments, and puts their money into something that supports the values they live. Ruth says, “Two women on nonprofit salaries made this happen. And it’s not a crazy architectural design – it’s a house that a lot of people would be comfortable living in. A lot of people could do this, it doesn’t have to be the super rich or the super crunchy folks.”

They have not had to sacrifice in their home to keep their electrical usage in line with what they produce – along with the car and usual home electrical use, the solar array powers three large freezers that store summertime harvests from their garden. “It’s an important part of how we live lightly on the land and live our values.” Beth says. “Apple sauce, tomato sauce, broccoli – you name it, we’ve got it in the freezer.” They buy locally raised meats and raise their own chickens. Even an electric lawnmower helps trim their carbon footprint. As Ruth says, “It’s free energy. We don’t have to buy gas for that anymore.”

Lifelong educators and advocates, Beth and Ruth love to share their solar sustainability story with family, friends, and the community, and have referred many people to ReVision for a solar array of their own, as well as let hundreds of people tour their home to see how solar works for them. “It’s been fun to model that for people,” says Ruth.

Like the 100% solar home, Beth plans someday to have a fully electric vehicle, charged on solar power. Ruth notes they’ll need a few more solar panels when that happens – with the rooftop already filled from edge to edge, Beth is planning a ground mount for their next installation. She says, “I have the place all picked out.”