With a small investment for solar panels on the roof, Our Lady of Mount Carmel School has virtually wiped away its electricity bill for at least the next 25 years. Homeowners can do the same, and at a discounted price. But they have to hurry.
Solarize Bristol is aiming to help reduce — or even possibly eliminate — residents’ electricity bills while reducing the town’s carbon footprint. The organization is grouping Bristol residents together to collectively buy solar panels and installation services, increasing the positive impact on the environment and reducing the up-front investment for homeowners. Residents have until June 26 to sign up and reduce their costs.
“The concept is to have greater buying power,” said Patrick “Pat” McCarthy, public ambassador for the Solarize Bristol Program. “The whole idea is to get residents to sign up. The more we have, the cheaper it will be for everyone.”
Solarize Bristol has partnered with SOL Power, the contractor chosen to install the solar panels on homes in the program. The cost to individual homeowners varies, but is generally in the $4,000 to $6,000 range, McCarthy said. That initial investment can translate in several thousands of dollars in electricity savings over the course of 25 years, the length the warrantee on the panels. Our Lady of Mount Carmel School has been able to completely eliminate its $12,000 annual electric bill, projecting savings of more than $300,000 over the life of the panels.
To sign up for Solarize Bristol, residents can visit solarizeri.com/solarize-bristol and click the “Get Started” button to fill out an application. The program will arrange for a feasibility study on residents’ homes to determine whether they qualify for solar. While most likely will, some factors eliminate homes from consideration, including nearby trees or buildings that block direct sunlight to the roof.
Generally, qualified homes should have south-facing roofs to take the most advantage of direct sunlight. Residents whose homes do not face south or have moderate shading are still encouraged to apply, McCarthy said, as advances in panel and inverter technologies — such as angled panels — can allow those homes to benefit from solar generation.
Homeowners who have the panels installed can choose between two systems of tabulating their power generation and cost savings. They can become distributive generators, in which they sell all the power they generate to National Grid, then buy back power from the grid as they always have. The alternative is to use the panels for that specific home, and buy only the power the home demands beyond what the panels generate.
“It’s up to the homeowner,” McCarthy said. “Basically, it’s what type of electricity bill you want.”
Solar and wind power are the most common clean energy sources. The more homeowners who install solar panels and wind turbines to generate their own electricity, the less fossil fuels like gas and coal power plants will burn. Reducing the greenhouse gases fossil fuels emit is key to staving off the worldwide calamity climate change threatens.
“This is a green initiative to reduce our carbon footprint,” McCarthy said. “People will feel the cost benefit is what it is, but many people feel like environment stewards, and they’re motivated by that.”
For more information, visit solarizeri.com/solarize-bristol.