Jim and Karen Sumrall said it just made sense.
Five years ago, they installed 22 solar panels on the roof of their home in Durango. Since then, they’ve seen their electricity bill plummet, and they know they’re making a difference.
“We’re saving energy, and we’re saving the world,” Karen Sumrall said.
“We’re just trying to reduce our footprint, as much as anything,” added her husband Jim. “It’s the right thing to do.”
On Saturday afternoon, the Sumralls opened their home to welcome people interested in solar energy as part of the Solarize La Plata Program. The program, with support from the Four Corners Office for Resource Efficiency, aims to educate the public and promote solar energy efficiency in the county, with a series of open houses designed to let the public ask questions and get a firsthand look at the photovoltaic systems that are used to convert sunlight into electrical energy.
Robert Lea, chairman of the steering committee for Solarize La Plata, said many people are unfamiliar with the modesty and cost efficiency of PV systems, which are made up of panels and a small inverter box that turns DC power to AC.
“People will learn how simple it is and how economical it can be,” he said. “It’s helping the community and the individual be more energy efficient, and I think that’s important these days.”
When solar energy is collected, any unused power essentially is sold back to the LPEA grid in the form of credits.
Lea said the program walks homeowners through every step of the process, from assessing their homes, determining their power needs, connecting them with financing and pairing them with contractors.
“One of the things that has attracted the public is that we help them through every phase of the program,” Lea said. “So they don’t have to feel like they’re alone.”
The program works in concert with certified contractors and two local banks, but there is no requirement for homeowners to commit to installing solar.
“It helps them get more educated,” Lea said. “The choice is up to them.”
The return on the initial investment usually is incentive enough for many people and can outperform money market, savings and CD accounts.
SLP committee member Paul Senecal called it phenomenal.
“It’s a no-brainer,” he said. “Why didn’t we do this a long time ago?”
The program is about bringing the costs down to make it more accessible, he said.
Committee Vice-Chairman Byron Kellog said it’s far more affordable than many people think. Federal and county tax credits can alleviate much of the cost, he said.
“It’s one of the biggest misconceptions,” he said. “People think it’s $30,000, and it’s not. A 4-kilowatt system is $16,800, and when you take the federal tax credit and the LPEA renewable energy credit from that, it’s under $11,000. The panels are warrantied by the manufacturer, and the installation is warrantied by the installers.”
“These panels sit on a roof and generate electricity when the sun shines,” he said. “If every house in town could generate 5 or 6 megawatt hours, we could have a really big impact on the coal-fired power plants. I just think renewable energy is a good idea to promote that.”
The Sumralls also landscaped to save water and use a heater pump for hot water, but they said they also just enjoy getting electrical power from the sun, a process they can see in action on their power inverter.
“On sunny days, I like to watch the meter go backwards,” Jim Sumrall said. “That’s cool.”
bmathis@durangoherald.com
