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Let the Sun Shine
BY Amy Renczkowski NEW LONDON DAY STAFF WRITER
East Lyme family goes solar
East Lyme - One local family is the first in the region to take advantage of federal stimulus funds to install a solar thermal system to heat their home.
Just a few weeks ago, Aegis-Solar Energy installed a solar thermal system at Bill and Kathleen Derry's home on Pennsylvania Avenue. The "green" system works by generating heat from sunlight and reduces fuel bills significantly. Though the cost of installing a solar thermal system is higher than that of installing a conventional water heater, the fuel savings can pay back the cost of the system in a few years, with federal and state incentives.
"Ultimately it's a savings," Bill Derry said, "but it's a neat thing to do for the environment. It's the first step towards a little more energy independence."
At the back of the Derrys' home, mounted on the roof are three Alternative Energy Technology flat plate collectors, 4 feet wide by 10 feet tall, that look like skylights from the outside. Attached to the collectors is piping that carries heated liquid, usually antifreeze solution, from the collectors to a heat exchanger, which generates hot water or warmed air.
The 120-gallon tank for the solar thermal system is located in a 3- by 4-foot space in the basement, next to the existing hot water heater. It works automatically, transferring hot water to a storage tank that acts as a pre-heater for the existing hot water tank.
Last Thursday, when the outside temperature was 38 degrees, the collectors were able to heat the water to 110 degrees. On sunny days in the winter, temperatures range from 90 to 100 degrees, 125 to 135 degrees in the spring and fall, and 160 degrees in the summer.
Tom Bonura, a salesman from Aegis Electrical Systems based in Branford, said a solar thermal system meets between 70 to 80 percent of the total demands. A family of four, like the Derrys, will save $1,200 a year on oil, or 80 gallons of oil per person a year.
The average system costs about $12,500; current rebates are available for about $2,500, and residents are eligible for a federal tax credit, which would lower the cost of the system to $7,000. The payback is between four to six years, Bonura said.
The lifespan of the Derrys' system is 40 years, Bonura said. There is virtually no maintenance needed for 15 years, and after that it is minimal.
Bill said he first got interested in solar energy around the late 1970s, early '80s. In high school, he took a course on solar energy and design. When he built his house four years ago, he constructed it facing south, away from the noisy street and with the ability to incorporate solar energy technology.
Derry, a teacher at Lyme-Old Lyme High School, applied this summer for the solar thermal incentive program established by the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund from money from the American Recovery Act.
The system was installed three and a half days before Christmas Eve, and they couldn't be more excited.
"I'm mostly excited for our kids," Kathleen Derry said, explaining that she can now show and teach their children, Jack, 6, and Eliza, 3, about "going green."
All Connecticut homeowners, businesses, and organizations are eligible to apply for the incentive program to install solar domestic hot water heating systems. The funding is available until March 2012. For more information, visit www.ctcleanenergy.com.
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