Solarize Somerville and other energy issues

[mem-winterhill.livejournal.com]

Quick update on the Solarize Somerville program, with a deadline notice. But there are 2 other things for folks that don't require you to own a sunny roof.

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We are up to 45 neighbors and 239 kW of solar power! Our goal of a donated array is in sight!

Coming up on a deadline: to get the pricing associated with the Solarize Somerville program, you need to complete your site visit by October 31. There are a couple of weeks after that to turn around the final paperwork. But if you've been musing about this, now's the time to schedule your visit. Just try it: there's no obligation, and you'll actually have the data to look at and decide. Go to our Solarize site and click the "Consultation" button to set this up. http://www.somervillema.gov/sustainaville/solarize.html

Other opporunities below the LJ cut.MassCEC survey on solar adoption: In addition to helping us to Solarize, the MassCEC folks also want to learn about what the challenges are to adopting this green energy. They want your input on this, and you can win a gift certificate for filling out the survey. You can access it from our blog. http://www.somervillema.gov/sustainaville/solarize-blog.html#survey

Other ways to save money and reduce your carbon footprint:
Before I Solarized at my home, I had already been whittling down my energy use. So by the time solar was feasible, my usage was smaller and I needed fewer panels to accomodate my lifestyle. We have done the energy audits several times now, and had great experiences. And I LOVE the LED bulbs I got last time--I wasn't aware there were 3-way LEDs now. The city has a program called "Somerville Energy Efficiency Now!" to connect you with these efficiency opportunities. Check this blog post for ways to save, whether you solarize or not this can help you. And there's a bonus here if we get neighbors involved too! http://www.somervillema.gov/sustainaville/solarize-blog.html#seen

Comments

[bettyw.livejournal.com]

Additional way to get the benefits of solar if you don't have a roof: the First Parish UU in Arlington Center is the host for a Community Solar (http://www.mass.gov/eea/energy-utilities-clean-tech/renewable-energy/solar/community-shared-solar.html) project. Anyone in eastern MA can buy one or more of their 210 panels for $328 each, which allows you to get a one-time 30% federal tax credit, and net metering credit against your residential electric bill from the panel(s) for 10 years (after that you return ownership to the church so they can start getting solar power themselves).

My household just purchased 8 panels (we would need to cut down 3 big oaks to use our own roof). Click this link for $25 off (http://www.arcadiapower.com/elizabeth8542) (I also get $25 off), or this non-affiliate link (http://www.arcadiapower.com/solar), for information. At the moment there are 144 panels still available.

[mem-winterhill.livejournal.com]

That's great to hear. I wish that this state program also had something to offer for renters and folks who don't have roof rights or suitable locations. I am giving that feedback into the program folks.

Thank you for finding a way to solarize!

[vonelftinhaus.livejournal.com]

I haven't responded to any of these posts regarding solar because most of our roof is slate; old slate which I was told by 2 companies that they don't mess with. Which it is very disappointing because a few years back 1 of those companies did come by to evaluate and was estatic over the amount of sun we got. One good part is a small section, somewhere around 14/16 x 12 or so, is asphault and the back section is rubber - though the rubber area is flat and lower than the main roof area.

My question is, is there a minimum amount of panels a home needs to get to participate in the program? I would so love for our home to have affordable solar energy and to be able to participate in this program. Though not enough to reroof the slate portion of our home :-)

[mem-winterhill.livejournal.com]

We had been told by residents that we needed to have the option of doing slate roofs. We are aware that many companies don't do them. So in our vetting process, we were keen to know if they would. And the partner we chose will do slate roofs. It costs a bit more (because it is special tools and additional skills), but they definitely do slate.

Also, they are kind of specialists on flat and rubber roof situations too. We've had a number of people who signed up in this kind of home here.

They say that 8 panels is the smallest situation, but you could have them over more than one roof--you could put some on one area and they can be connected to the other.

If you do the site visit, they can evaluate it and you'd get a proposal that spells everything out. So you can look at the data and see if it makes sense in your setting.

[vonelftinhaus.livejournal.com]

Thank you s much will call in Monday morning early to set everything up! From the height of our 2 family/3 story home we get the sun on the roof all day - with nothing blocking the light at all.