By Christine Davis:

Jupiter resident Brian O’Mahoney didn’t have the energy to resist his wife’s green proclivity (or should I say, for fun, "sunny disposition?"). “I’m retired,” he said. “Emily, a landscape architect with Gentile Holloway O’Mahoney (Landscape Architects, Planners & Environmental Consultants). She’s the green one and she talked me into going solar.”

The O'Mahoneys' solar array is made up of 28 panels.

That was back in February 2009 when she was just getting started with the Green Building Council, he recalled. “Emily’s brother and sister run a solar company in Vermont, so, in family meetings over the years, we’ve often talked about whether solar would be a good idea, economically speaking. We kept going over it – it is not a decision to make on impulse. But then we decided to get the ball rolling because it was the right thing to do, so if we can, we should.”

The major determining factors were the tax credits and rebates, otherwise, he said, they would not have been able to afford going solar.

“The array was around $47,000. The pool pump was about $6,000 and the solar hot water heater was around $5,000.”

They were supposed to get back $40,000 and have actually received back $30,000. The Federal tax rebate, based on 30 percent of the costs, covered $20,000. The state rebate, which was supposed to return $20,000 just recently returned half that amount after a long wait.

They have a 5.07 kilowatt photovoltaic array tied into the grid. They also have a solar hot water heater with its own self-contained power and a thermal collector on the roof.

“We changed out our 50-gallon tank for an 80-gallon tank for the hot water heater. It’s tied back in to the power company, so if I needed it, I could heat water with FLP electric.”

And they have a photovoltaic set up for a solar pump for the pool. “The pool pump is tied into the existing plumbing and can be run independent of the existing pump or it can run at opposite times. The old one is still in place in case we need a back up.”

All together, they have 28 panels on the south-facing roof, two of the panels, each 200 watts, are dedicated to the pool pump. “It actually needs a little more power, but we ran out of roof space,” he explained.

The power generated from the roof runs into a inverter, where there is a monitor. It connects to a transformer, which converts the dc (direct current, which flows in one direction) power from the roof to ac (alternating current, which flows in both directions) to feed the grid. “We are generating dc and everything runs on ac.  An inverter connects into FPL and there’s a switch to disconnect for emergencies. It’s always at zero as long as the sun is making power.

“Also, the collector on the roof for the hot water heater concentrates the heat on a pipe that has hot water in it – like a hose on a hot day."

Concerning the hot water heater, all that they needed to change out was the water heater itself. “We needed more capacity because we have to store enough hot water to last through the night. There’s a pump attached to the top of the water heater, and the water is constantly heated and pumped through. When the sun goes down, the pumps don’t work.

“If we had two or three overcast days, we’d have to take cold showers, but in two days with sun, the water is scalding. It used to be tied into the grid, but I’ve disconnected the automatic back up."

The pool pump runs when it’s sunny. “That’s when you need it,” he said.

During that same period, because of  hurricane damage, the roof had to be replaced, so they chose to use a reflective tile surface.

“That type of tile is a little more expensive and is of higher quality, but some communities are already requiring it,” he said.

He predicts that their investment will be paid off in 20 years, and what he’s looking for now is a “zero electric bill or a negative one. That would be nice,” he said.

At this point, they are managing to save on their electric bills. “We went with a larger array than required for basic needs, and we run everything pretty normally. Our electric bills ran around $300-325 in the summer, but now we are averaging well under $100. Our lowest bill was $13."

... a $13 electric bill.... pretty nice!

Stay alert for Florida Power & Light's application period for 2012 rebates that are supposed to be announced sometime in the next two weeks  (second half of October 2011)

Press releases from FPL report that 310 FPL customers applied for approximately $5.6 million in rebates to install power panels during its June 2011 application period.  FPL reopened the 2011 application period end of August and has not yet released the number of applicants.

This is part of a five-year pilot program approved by the state Public Service Commission, FPL representative Maria Bertot said, adding that approximately $15.5 million will be available every year. For the 2012 period, it has not yet been determined the actual rebate amounts or  the number of rebates that will be allocated to each system (the PV panels and the hot-water systems).

Abundant Energy owner Bill Hoysradt explained costs of systems and how the rebates figure in. Based on Federal tax credits (of 30 percent) and  on what was awarded by FPL for 2011 ($2 a watt up to $20,000 for the PV panels and $1,000 for the hot water systems) savings would look like this, he said:

"A solar hot water heating costs around $5,000, so with the government and FPL savings, people would have saved 50 percent," Hoysradt said. "Then, you can save up to $700 a year on your electric bill. With these three savings, in less than four years, the money you paid for the new system will be paid back."

For solar panels, costs and savings would look like this, based on 2011 numbers.

"A 2,000-watt PV system now costs $5.50 a watt (total $11,ooo). The Federal government 0ffers a 30-percent tax credit (amounting to $3,300)  and the FPL rebate for 2011 was $2 a watt ($4,000), so the cost of that $11,000 system would be $3,700. On top of that, you save around $40 a month on your electric bill at current FPL rates. That's attractive," he said. Abundant Energy is a 25-year-old company in Jupiter that installs and services solar energy heating for pools solar water heating and solar PV systems.

Please note: these figures are based on 2011 numbers and FPL may offer something different for 2012. Watch for updates on FPL's Web site...

copr 2011 Christine Davis