Solar Sweeps into Danielsville

To Sebastian Di Giovanna of Lehigh Township, Northampton County, Pa., saving money on his electric bill through the green opportunity of solar has helped his wallet and the earth, too.

Before going solar, Di Giovanna’s electric bill in the summer months hovered around $250, sometimes more. During winter months, he paid close to $400 a month. A bill of $158 stood as the lowest he’d seen in the past.

Di Giovanna’s recently installed 12.48 KW solar project on his house roof consists of 48 solar modules stretching between his back and garage rooftops.

When asked about his electric bills after moving forward with solar, he mentioned that his payments for the past few months have already shown a significant decrease. 

“My electric bill has been $0 for two months now,” Di Giovanna said. “It’s been great—really amazing.”

“I have thought about it a lot, and it’s definitely worth it,” he reflected about now knowing he is harnessing the sun’s strongest rays right on top of his home. 

Di Giovanna is grateful to be producing his own energy for the next 20 years with a lease through GP.Energy of Berwyn, Chester County, Pa. instead of paying high costs to his utility company as he did in the past. “To be honest, I don’t think I could go without solar. It has been absolutely wonderful.”

Given his own experience with choosing to put solar on his home, Di Giovanna said he wishes all people had the opportunity to do the same.

“The electric company’s charges kept getting worse and worse, and the costs were increasing; it was awful. But solar really helps to save a lot of money. I would definitely recommend it to others.”

In fact, Di Giovanna has enthusiastically approached friends, family, and neighbors in an attempt to get them to go solar, too, using his changed bills to help them see the benefits. 

“I am going to keep showing others my electric bills to prove to them that it really is worth it,” Di Giovanna concluded about this sun-swept persuasion.

Tiny House to transport around Southeastern Pennsylvania as a green education tool

The Berks Career and Technology Center's West Campus in Leesport, Pa. introduced its Tiny House of green and sustainable technology at the Oley Fair this past weekend.

Students in the HVAC, carpentry, painting and decorating, and electrical occupations handled a large portion of the Tiny House's construction, while students from the graphic imaging, photo imaging technology, and communications media technology programs also contributed.

It took the students all of last school year to build the house, largely thanks to regional business donations of materials and discounts on many of the supplies needed.

The Pennsylvania Department of Protection's Environmental Education Grants Program awarded BCTC a $7,500.00 grant to help with construction costs.

Two solar panels and a wind turbine are a part of the Tiny House, supplying its energy through battery power. Eco-smart windows and doors are also a part of the miniature structure. 

Photograph courtesy of BCTC

Spray foam insulation keeps chilly drafts from seeping through the walls.

A sun tunnel magnifies and streams in natural light to brightly illuminate the space inside the Tiny House when the sun is shining.

HVAC instructor and project coordinator Tim Strunk noted that a combination air conditioner and heater manufactured by Fujitsu, mounted in the Tiny House, uses less power to operate than a common toaster.

In fact, Strunk explained that the project will continue to grow and become more advanced in green technologies as innovations in sustainability and home building hit the market.

He and his fellow instructors—Jeffrey Miller, who heads the carpentry program, and Theodore Semanchick, who leads the electrical occupations program—plan to use the Tiny House as a portable educational tool on wheels.

Pulling the Tiny House on a trailer to bring into school settings around the region will keep this unique approach to education mobile and on the move.

In gratitude of this valuable resource, students of all ages from across this portion of Pennsylvania will be able to learn about the future of green connections and the potential benefit of it in their own lives.

Solar Slides into Elverson.

To John Carney of West Nantmeal Township in Chester County, Pa., having a 17.64 KW solar ground-mount installed in his side yard fulfills a goal he'd been contemplating for years.

"I'm a fan of renewable energy, and our dependence on electric companies is something I'm more than happy to get away from," Carney said. "I work at home, and so as a result of that, I was looking at solar as a way to cut costs because I can't set my thermostat back during the day."

Carney noted that since he doesn't leave the house to go to work every day as many do, what others can do to save money and energy at home during the day isn't necessarily an option for him.

His solar ground-mount consists of two arrays totaling 36 panels each.

With a budget plan for his electric bill, averaging out a year's usage, Carney saw his bills go from $180 to $200 in the past decade. Before he adopted solar to his home, his recent electric bills on the budgeted plan totaled $300 monthly.

Thankfully, he's seen his latest electric bills showing no balance due.

"I couldn't be happier," Carney said about that fact and knowing that he is going from using 23,465 KWH annually to instead producing around that much energy.

"The only downside is having to mow around it, but I'm having it landscaped now," Carney said about the solar arrays not far from his house.

"One co-worker of mine put in his solar energy system out in California because of the high rate of energy, and this was five years ago when I last talked to him about it," he said. "Just the materials alone cost him more than $40,000. The return on investment then was 40 years."

Since costs continually become more affordable as years go on, Carney is grateful for the opportunity to realize better pricing for his own dive into solar with GP.Energy of Berwyn, Pa.

"Now I'm looking at a return on investment of 10 years, which I think makes it the right thing to do," he reflected.

Admitting that solar is underutilized today, Carney said he pictures the future with not only more homeowners but more companies using it as a source of power.

"I think one of the neighbors put it best when she said--that's the neighborhood," Carney added about progressive and energy-intelligent approaches to reshaping how we all go about daily living and using our natural resources with solar smarts in mind. "As it becomes more cost-effective, I think you're going to see more and more people doing it."