Last Saturday and Sunday the Metro Washington Area Solar Tour was held in Maryland, Virginia, and DC. Ordinary homeowners kindly opened up their houses to strangers in order to educate people interested in learning about solar power and other green technologies and practices. I visited a home in the Maryland suburbs that has a solar roof array of Sun Power panels that “produces approximately 4,534kWh per year and avoids 8,888lbs. of CO2 per year.” The 3.68KW grid-connected PV system with battery backup (about 3-4 hours, I was told) was made possible through financial assistance from a grant and tax credit from the State of Maryland and Montgomery County. The homeowners also received a federal tax credit. While an expensive upfront cost, the owners have already noticed a major reduction in their electricity bills. The back-up battery system also comes in handy when a short-term power outage hits. They can power their refrigerator and freezer for up to 4 hours, by which time minor outages are usually fixed and they have saved their expensive stock of perishable food.

The installation was done by Standard Solar, an experienced solar installation service company based in Gaithersburg, MD. They are a “full service turn key company that will design, permit, install, inspect, commission, and service your system, as well as complete all of your incentive paperwork.” They had a friendly and knowledgeable representative on hand to answer questions. If you’re in the DC area and want to see if your home is a solar candidate, call (301) 944-1200 or visit www.standardsolar.com to receive a no-cost solar evaluation.

- Justin Manger