News of the Arroyo

Title:	Solar panels power more than enough electricity
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Date:	2009-04-11
Summary:	April 11, 2009 - Renee Cossuta and Debbie Ross in Sierra Madre have gone solar! All the electricity for their home is now coming from the sun.
Author:	Christopher Nyerges, Correspondent
Publication:	Pasadena Star-News
Content:	Solar panels on top of a carport at the home of Renee Cossutta and Debbie Ross in Sierra Madre creates electrical power for their use. (Courtesy Photo) Tucked away near the foothills of the Angeles National Forest in Sierra Madre, not far from where the original \"Invasion of the Body Snatchers\" was filmed, is the home of Renee Cossutta and Debbie Ross. While walking in the area, I noticed the array of solar panels on the carport outback. It was an attractive array of solar modules that seemed to have been better-planned than most. So I knocked on the door and began to ask questions. Cossutta told me that she had been interested in conservation for years, and had always made the effort to not overuse resources. She had also read about the adverse effects from our way of generating electricity, and wanted to be a part of the solution by having her own solar electrical system Some years ago, Cossutta contacted the folks at Real Goods Solar Co. in Hopland to find out what it would take to install a solar system. A Real Goods representative analyzed Cossutta\'s situation, and determined that it would not be cost-effective to install panels on the roof because there was not enough sunlight there to generate the amount of electricity to make it cost-effective. But later, about three years ago, they realized that an area they had been using for parking received more sun than the house, so they went back to the folks at Real Goods for a second opinion. This time, after studying the garage area, they realized they could create a solar electrical system that would work. An architect friend of theirs, Phillip Collins, designed a combination carport and grape arbor that would also support the solar modules. Tom Robinson from the Southern California branch of Real Goods came out to review the plans, and once the structure was built, the folks from Real Goods installed the system. The work took two days. \"This was my first opportunity to do something like this,\" Cossutta said. The system chosen for this household was grid-connected, meaning there are no batteries. There are 14 modules, manufactured by Sharp, each rated at 160 watts. The inverter, measuring about 18 inches by 3 feet and manufactured by Xantrex, is connected to the net meter, sometimes also called a \"time of use\" meter. During the day, this system feeds electricity into the grid when she and her partner are away at work. Their monthly electric bills shows how much power their system generates, and how much electricity they use. Because the Edison Company places a higher value on the peak-hour electricity from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the homeowners collect more for each peak hour of their generated electricity than what they pay for their off-peak electrical usage. \"The size of our system was designed by Real Goods so it would provide us with as much electricity as we needed,\" explained Cossutta. The entire system, including installation, cost about $12,000, and has not yet paid for itself. The system will pay for itself when it is about 10 years old, depending on cost of electricity. It may pay for itself even sooner if the price of electricity continues to rise. They also received tax credits, and rebates from Edison. Did having a solar electrical system change the way they did things? \"Well, we produce our own electricity, and you\'d think that we\'d no longer worry or think about it,\" Cossutta said. \"But it has been just the opposite of what I expected. We actually are more careful with our electrical usage now. It\'s like if you grow your own strawberries in the yard. Yes, you have food, and that\'s good, but you have to watch them to make sure they grow.\" Cossutta says that there is little maintenance for this system, except that occasionally during the dry season, she gets up on the garage and hoses off accumulated dust. But otherwise, there is nothing that needs doing. What advice would she offer to those wanting to get into the solar age? \"Every now and then, someone will come up to the house and ask about our solar panels,\" she said. \"I tell them to look online and read about solar electricity. Find out what it means to have solar power. Learn how it pays for itself. Do plenty of research first so you know what you\'re getting into. Ten years ago, it wasn\'t so easy to find this information, but today there is a lot of information out there. Go and talk to anyone you know who has done this.\" One source is Real Goods Web site: RealGoods.com.
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