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01/30/2017 11:00 PMResidents who want to take advantage of the opportunity to have their homes evaluated for solar panels and look into installing solar with the rate incentives offered by the Solarize Chester/Deep River program need to sign up by Wednesday, Feb. 8.
The Solarize Chester/Deep River program aims to educated people about residential solar power, and make the conversion to solar more affordable. The Chester Energy Team selected a local installer, C-TEC, to work with residents. By having multiple people convert to solar electricity generation at the same time, the installer can purchase supplies in bulk; the resulting savings is then passed on to residents in the form discounted pricing.
The process moves along pretty quickly, noted Solarize Chester/Deep River Community Outreach Manager Chamae Mejias.
“People who signed up four months ago, when the program started, are starting to see installations,” Mejias said.
After sign-up, an appointment for a free home evaluation by the installer occurs, and a proposal for the house is drawn up. Instead of offering one system for everyone, systems are designed so that each resident can reap the maximum benefit for his or her home based on logistics of solar exposure such as tree coverage and orientation of the house. Part of the evaluation requires analyzing each home’s energy consumption over the course of a year, so that the installer can design a system that aims to meet 100 percent of a house’s energy needs.
A key part of the system is a unit called a net meter, which monitors electricity generated by the solar panels. When the panels generate more than is used, the excess is put into the public grid; the net meter tracks how many kilowatt-hours (a unit of electric energy) are generated. When, based on weather or season, too little electricity is generated by the panels, the house pulls from the public grid instead. The transition between the two is seamless.
When the solar panels produce more energy than needed, as they typically do in the summer, the house builds up a credit in the value of a 1-to-1 exchange of kilowatt-hours of energy. During the winter or periods when the consumer needs to use more energy than what is generated and the house has to pull electricity from the grid, that credit is used first, thus saving electricity costs.
The Solarize program savings aren’t limited to reduced consumption from the grid. Not only has the overall price of solar conversion come down over the past few years, but Solarize Chester/Deep River program qualifies for special pricing and incentives.
Chester Selectman Carolyn Linn is a proponent of the program who has converted her own home to solar as a way to both actively reduce her expenses as she looks towards retirement, and a sense of social and environmental responsibility.
“Solar is a great way to cut our electricity bill costs while protecting the environment,” said Linn. “We are also concerned about the stronghold foreign oil has on our country; we feel personally compelled to do everything we can to increase our independence as a nation. The Solarize program really brought transitioning to clean energy to the forefront of our minds.”
Residents of Deep River and Chester who want to sign up for the free home evaluation can do so at www.solarizect.com/chester before Feb. 8. Questions can be directed to Chamae Mejias at 860-331-1041 or by email at cmejias@smartpower.org.