Electricity Goes Through Roof / Architect Fights Cost of Power Via Solar Panels and Sells the Leftovers
By GREG EDWARDS
Local architect Patrick Farley is an advocate of environmentally friendly building design and a pioneer of sorts.
He’s the first to install solar panels at a Richmond residence and sell the electricity produced to Dominion Virginia Power.
Farley installed the panels on the southern-tilted roof of a shed/ studio he is building behind his home.
In his first month as an electricity producer, which ended June 4, his solar array generated 10 kilowatts more electricity for the power grid than he used. The value of the excess is credited toward his bill.
Farley recently sat on the rear deck of his Woodland Heights home to talk about his solar project:
Q. How did you settle on the technology and what did that cost you?
A. I basically did my homework, and I did what most people do – go for the best value on a peak-watt basis.
I’ve got modules that have a peak output of 167 watts. And basically what it worked out to be is $4.50 a peak watt. I’ve got 24 panels. It’s a 4-kilowatt system.
When the AC is going at full tilt, as long as it’s a clear day, the AC system and the [solar] system are sort of matching, the load and supply are almost even.
When the [air conditioning] is not going, we are in net mode most of the time. Even when we’re here, we are pretty energy-conscious. Our average usage is about 35 kilowatt hours [per day].
[That's close to the average usage by a Virginia residential customer of 39 kilowatt hours per day, according to the Edison Electric Institute; but, as Farley points out, his is a 2,000- square-foot older home.]
Q. What do you expect the benefits to be?
A. We did not do this for financial benefit per se. We will see a financial benefit, $500 to $600 per year, based on my own calculation.
If you are looking for quick payback, then don’t do it. Most of us can guess that [electricity] is only going to go up. From the 2005 Energy Policy Act for residential alternative energy systems, you get a 30 percent [federal] tax credit with a cap at $2,000. So we’ll get a $2,000 credit for doing this.
If we didn’t have that cap you would see a whole lot more interest. This has been about a $25,000 total investment, not including my time.
Q. Why did you decide to install electricity-generating solar panels at your home?
A. For various reasons. One major one is … I’m a pretty vocal advocate of ecologically sound building and design practices. I’m enthusiastic about solar.
I have a solar consultancy as sort of a sideline. I decided to take the next step and actually practice what I preach.
Our family has also been committed to avoiding (or at least minimizing) what we refer to as “toxic engagements.” We have two children whom we try to instill the values in, so when they flip the light switch they understand what is going on.
We see our dependence on a mainly coal-fired [electricity] system as … an utterly insane system.
How smart is a system that converts chemical energy (which is actually stored solar energy) to thermal [energy], to mechanical [energy], to electrical [energy] in order to blow-dry one’s hair?
Q. What are some of the other goals for your solar project?
A. I’m trying to promote the idea every property can be a solar plant.
We are quite literally a small-scale power plant most of the day because we’re not around using energy. We’re feeding back to the grid.
Q. How difficult was the project to do?
A. It was quite a tedious process in putting the panels on the roof.
I actually dug the trenches and ran the wire. I basically installed the system and had a master electrician terminate all the wiring.
I also have a good friend and colleague who is a solar installer, Ken Schaal of Common Wealth Solar in Ashland. I kind of had him look over my shoulder.
Q. What was it like working with Dominion Virginia Power?
A. I have to say that Dominion has made it as easy as it could possibly be. I admit I went in expecting it was going to be an uphill challenge.
[Dominion has] a net metering office. They have folks devoted to making sure the process goes through.
They actually came over here … sent a technician to do a meter change-out. They did it in barely five minutes.
Solar power
A Richmond architect is the first city resident to install solar panels and sell the electricity produced to Dominion Virginia Power. He receives a credit on his electric bill for the electricity. He produced more electricity than he used in May during the first month of operation.
Contact Greg Edwards at (804) 649-6390 or gedwards@timesdispatch.com.
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