As the mornings get cooler and the days get shorter, we find ourselves wondering what winter will bring for us and for our solar arrays. Will a patch of snow turn off an entire string of solar panels or will a crisp sunny day increase our voltage with lower temperatures?

Solar homeowners know that changes in the time of year and weather can really get our cognitive wheels turning as we wonder how our systems will be affected. So, while you’re cogitating deeply about your solar production, we thought we would throw a trivia contest your way! Can you determine the right answer to this question?

Given identical temperature and cloud coverage, would your PV system produce more electricity on March 20, 2010 or September 22 2010? Explain your answer.

You must explain your answer to be counted in the raffle. One winner will be chosen and will receive $150 gift certificate to Patagonia. Submit your answer by replying to this email. Good luck!

This issue’s featured customer for Green Lifestyles is Carll Pallokat of Harwin, CT. “Enthusiastic” only begins to describe Carll’s personality when it comes to sustainable living. Since Carll leased his 8.2 kW Sunpower PV system from us, he has been a true friend and advocate of both Sunlight Solar and solar energy.

In addition to his PV system, Carll also has had solar domestic hot water collectors installed on his roof since 1979. To his delight, the system is still working beautifully. Carll says the thing he likes best about both his systems is how great they look and how well they perform. “Even on cloudy days, we get respectable collection numbers,” he said.

Carll is our green customer of the fall because his sustainable lifestyle is by no means limited to his rooftop. In 2001 Carll doubled the square footage of his house with an addition. For this addition he chose specially insulated windows and used 2 x 6 walls and foam insulation. Other weatherization improvements included a radiant heating system in the garage and a house wrap with concrete clapboards. Carll reported that all of these improvements lowered his annual oil consumption to 920 gallons per year.

When Carll isn’t working on new projects around the house, he holds classes for churches on how to cut down energy consumption. He believes that by helping local churches save money on energy costs, those churches can then better use their resources for other ministries besides the heating bill.

Carll said his motivation for living green and teaching it to others is to help save the planet for future generations. He concluded, “We all need to do our little bit.”

Thank you Carll, for doing more than your fair share and for inspiring so many others!
 

Paul Israel, President

OVERVIEW
2010 is looking to be Sunlight Solar’s best year thus far. Massachusetts, Oregon and Connecticut all have viable rebate programs and our staffs have matured to handle business as usual. Our fourth and fifth offices, Philadelphia PA and Portland, OR are searching for brick and mortar locations and soon should have a sizeable presence.

OREGON INCENTIVE PROGRAM
The Oregon Feed-In-Tariff (FIT) is certainly exciting news. The FIT is a guaranteed fifteen-year payment from the utility company for all the solar energy produced during a month. Basically, the monthly cost for a solar system, in most cases, will be less than the monthly check coming from the utility. I have been telling friends and co-workers, why not let the Utility Company pay your monthly cost for a solar system? They will be paying our monthly cost for your system and depending on the size of the system it will additionally reduce the electric bill by up to 90%.

I was so excited that I applied myself and got a 7kW system for my new home.

So why didn’t I have a system earlier? Trees. The Oregon FIT program isn’t dependent on qualifying the site to have great sunshine, usually around 75% sun access to panels. However, I still want good solar production so to overcome my tree problem I am installing “micro” inverters.

Micro inverters are positioned under each panel and wired to it. This allows each panel to be a system unto itself. Our typical installation is one large or macro inverter. With one inverter we need strings of solar panels attached to each other. The problem with strings of panels is that if one panel is shaded, the other panels’ outputs are also reduced. Where a large amount of tree shading is a problem, a micro inverter might be a good choice. Might be a good choice, in that this is a new technology—I’ll test it out for a bit a report back.

MY OLD HOME - GOODBYE
For the past decade I have been blessed with a beautiful lot on the Westside of Bend, Oregon. The mill workers’ home that came with that lot was approximately 900 s/f. and was built in 1925. It had very low ceilings as millworkers were given the smaller lumber to use for their homes. The ceilings were only six feet tall.

Interestingly, during deconstruction we found 1924 copies of the local newspaper serving as the insulation. Some of which the Deschutes Historical Museum took and some which I will frame. Some of the wood was donated to a new non-profit restaurant, Common Table which will serve the public and the homeless in downtown Bend.

We stripped out all the metal and wood and recycled that. The asphalt roof was separated from the sheet rock. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any place in the Pacific Northwest to recycle the sheetrock.

THE NEW HOME - HELLO
I have always been fascinated with sustainable building. In fact, the Sunlight Solar HQ in Bend, now over ten years old, has been zero energy since before zero energy homes existed. When I was rebuilding it, I really wanted to use a product called Aerated Autoclaved Concrete (AAC). However, I ended up using wood framing and blown in insulation--call it a budget decision. But this time I am using AAC for the exterior walls. AAC eliminates the need for foam or fiberglass insulation. The R-value is all in the block. I will update as the construction progresses. Please email any questions if you are considering sustainable building yourself.

The Burke Family of Goshen is our featured installation!

Chris Burke, a carpenter, recently built a barn for a neighbor to hold their new solar array. This gave Chris the idea that he could also put a PV array on his barn roof.

Using the CT Solar Lease Program for their installation was a no-brainer for the Burke’s: the rebate program made the price of electricity competitive with traditional grid power and they locked in their power bill to a fixed expense--even as electric rates continue to rise.

Additionally, installing solar electricity for their home was an easy choice because Chris and his wife already live a “green” lifestyle, including being vegetarians and growing their own food.

Originally concerned with how a PV array would look in the old-fashioned rural setting of the Litchfield Hills area, the Burke’s are now very happy with how the PV array fits in.

Eric Jones of Sunlight Solar conducted the site survey and designed the 8.28 kW SunPower array. Based on his estimates, the Burke’s array is producing just over 100% of the Burke’s electricity needs.

In addition to Chris’s carpentry profession, he also works as a part-time network administrator, and his wife is a teacher. In their spare time, the Burke’s garden, raise chickens and Nubian dairy goats, and hike with their dogs.

 

Dan Britton is Sunlight Solar’s Featured Employee!

Sunlight Solar, based out of Milford, CT, has satellite offices located throughout Connecticut. In order to handle the demand of solar inquiries in the northeastern part of the State, we have one such office in Mansfield, CT.

Dan joined Sunlight Solar more than two years ago after earning a BS and MS in biology from the University of Connecticut. As well as having an advanced degree, Dan is also a BPI-certified Building Analyst. As a Systems Designer for Sunlight Solar, Dan is responsible for performing site assessments, designing solar thermal and photovoltaic systems, and educating customers about incentives and the benefits of going solar.

In addition to the expertise Dan brings to the company, he is exceptionally friendly, professional, and accommodating with all customers. Sunlight Solar is delighted to have this highly-qualified individual working for us and representing the company in his community!

Dan lives in Mansfield where he is President of the Board of Directors at the Willimantic Food Co-op. For more information on the Co-op, please visit their website.

Dan is also Chair of the Mansfield Clean Energy Team. Mansfield is one of 14 Connecticut towns to be participating in the Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge. For details on this Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund program, please visit this site.

It’s hard to imagine Dan having any free time after his job and leadership roles in the Co-Op and Clean Energy Team, but Dan is also very active in the Mansfield-area community, including speaking at UCONN and other events. In his spare time (yes, he has some!), Dan plays guitar and loves spending time outdoors with his dog.

Congratulations to Gail Cadieux for winning our Summer Solstice Photo Contest. Pictured here is her ground-mounted array complete with wild flowers and family. Gail won $100 from Sunlight Solar, and her photo is now featured in our CT Photo Gallery on our website.

For a chance to win a prize this time, see our trivia contest above!