Solar Study Part 2
Solarizing in Silverton - an active Case Study, Part 2 The Mystery Persists
Last Month, in Solarizing in Silverton…
When the ice storm of ‘21 felled three giant Oregon white oaks near her house, Elyce assuaged her sadness with hope for a silver lining - maybe now her roof would get enough sun to collect the household’s power! After several out-of-town PV installers turned her down, she found a local installer who gave her a bid; however, their proposed system was so large, it raised a red flag for Seeds for Sol, the Corvallis organization partnered with Sustainable Silverton to make solar accessible for Silvertonians. It put the skids on the project. When we last left her, Elyce was gearing up for an in-home visit by Julie and Nancy with Seeds for Sol to find out why the home’s electricity usage was so high.
I set to work to figure out what was going on. Julie and Nancy’s visit from Corvallis yielded one great surprise, and a few ideas about my house. Perhaps the original wiring was on the fritz and draining electricity somehow; or perhaps it’s being drained by the equally ancient electrical panel. When I told them about one flickering LED and one exploded LED bulb, and a third LED fixture that would not turn on for two weeks, the Seeds for Sol ladies expressed concern that I may have an electrical issue that rises to the level of fire hazard. Yikes! What was needed, they said, was an electrician.
Two local electricians were contacted, but I never got a call back (I have learned that this profession is in extremely high demand - mothers, tell your children). One of the large local home repair companies were able to send someone, but the appointment ended without any answers. In the weeks I’d been waiting for an electrician, I had contacted PGE for ideas.
“Turn off all the breakers,” the smart-sounding customer service rep said. “Then turn them each on, one-by-one, and mark down the electricity use showing at the outside meter for each breaker.” In a carefully timed execution with help from a friend, the breakers were flipped and the readings captured on video. Unfortunately, the video had issues in the transfer and this investigative operation is currently on hold.
Father’s Day arrived. I had not brought up these problems to my dad, since I am always bringing him dad-problems to solve. I thought I’d try to work with the pros and give Dad a break. On Father’s Day, having struck out for an answer from the electrician, I gave in and told my dad what’s been going on. Like a whip, he cracked off these thoughts:
1- It wouldn’t be the circuit breaker. As long as the circuits trip when they should (they do) and an electrician measured that the amperage of each circuit was correct (he did), replacing the panel (price tag: $4,100) would not address the problem.
2- Houses of this age were often wired with aluminum instead of copper, which is much less conductive and requires more energy to push the electricity through. That could explain a higher than typical electricity use, to a degree. However, my dad had worked on my house enough to know that the wiring is copper.
Then I told him about the usage pattern, according to that smart PGE lady (extreme usage spikes about twice a day). In response, he asked about the age of my water heater (oh, 30+ years is all). To his next question, I replied: why yes, the upstairs fixtures are receiving very little hot water, and my dad quickly concluded that the water heater is the prime suspect.
“Change that out and see what that does to your electricity bills,” said my dad. “If that doesn’t do it, the next step would be to measure and sum the electricity use of your appliances and see how far off your total usage is from the sum of your appliances.” The water heater will be changed out soon; hopefully in time to report in next month’s installment the findings!
Now, for the surprise. The non-local PV installers had all declined to model solar for my roof based on the tree cover seen in the pre-storm aerial photos. They were unswayed by the news that three trees had come down in an ice storm. Then a Salem-based PV installer agreed to come look, and said they could do it if I took down four more oaks. Then a Silverton-based installer said they could do it without taking down any more trees.
On the beautiful, sunny day that Julie, Nancy and I stood looking up at my roof, Julie shook her head and said, “I don’t see how your roof is a candidate for solar even if you did take down more trees.” She has seen many a good candidate, and she has also had first-hand experience with what a little shade will do to a PV system’s productivity.
“However,” she continued, “have you heard of community solar?” I had not. Turns out, it is a brand new program that allows people to purchase panels on a solar farm.
Pros:
You own the panels and all electricity they generate.
You can sell the panels back to the solar farm owner at any time.
You can move, and you don’t leave your panels back at your old house.
Solar power suddenly becomes viable for renters or homeowners with too much shade.
Seeds for Sol can still provide the grant money for the initial purchase; as with rooftop solar, you pay back the grant out of your savings on your electricity bill.
Cons: unclear if there are any.
This is a game-changer!
Will the new water heater fix the electricity drain? Join us next month to find out! In the meantime, if you would like more information about the community solar program, contact Dan Orzech at Oregon Clean Power Coalition - info@oregoncleanpower.coop .