There has been much hand wringing recently regarding both Global Warming and the Dominion Power high voltage towers cutting across the countryside. You can sense the anxiety level rise whenever these topics come up for discussion. It is believed that a large portion of global warming may be caused by, among other things, carbon emissions from coal-fired electrical plants; and Dominion Power claims the need for the new power lines is increased consumption of electricity in our fast growing suburbs. What is clear is that Americans' appetite for electrical energy use is rising exponentially and our environment is suffering from it.

The advent of these events has many people asking themselves, what can I do to counteract these seemingly overwhelming issues? Two local people looked at the problem and decided to act. Dr's. Willie and Lydia McCormick investigated alternative energy sources, and, after thorough research, decided to install solar panels and collection batteries at their farm outside of Middleburg. Their idea was to become totally self-sufficient regarding their electrical energy usage.

The process was actually pretty easy. The solar provider (the company that designs and installs the system) came to the farm and sat down with the McCormick's to find out exactly what they wanted. The main questions are; how much electricity are you now using in kilowatt hours per year; what percentage of that usage do you want to offset, 25%, 50%, 100%; do you want battery back-up; and how do you plan to finance your system.

After gathering the initial information, a site study was then performed to determine the feasibility of roof installation, such as; how much roof area does the house have; which way does the roof face (southern exposure is best); what is the slope of the roof; are there any obstacles, such as trees or other structures that might create shade on the panels; and exactly how many panels would be required to meet the expected demand of the customer.

As it turned out, the roof of the McCormick's house would not accommodate all of the solar panels necessary to meet their requirements, so they took the second option, installing the solar panels on post-mounted racks in their yard. While this option will add to the cost, it can make for easier installation, providing you have sufficient land to accommodate the racks.

From the initial consultation to the moment the McCormick's were "on-line" took about six weeks. Once installed, many solar panels carry warranties for up to 25 years, and typically have a life expectancy of 30 years or longer. There are no moving parts and very little, if any, maintenance. In fact, solar panels will often outlast many home roofs.

When the sun is shining during the day, the solar panels are providing energy to cover the power needs of the McCormick's home. After the sun sets, the storage batteries provide power in the evenings. The McCormick's electrical panel is still connected to the Dominion Power grid, so if they need more energy than the solar panels or batteries can provide, they have back-up. If the McCormick's solar panels produce more energy than needed, the extra energy is pushed back out onto the Dominion Power grid, essentially running the electrical meter backwards (called net metering), which allows the McCormick's to reduce or even eliminate their power bill.

Willie and Lydia have always been strict about electrical conservation in their home. Their electrical consumption has been, on average, lower than the typical household, and because of this, it was not as costly for them to eliminate most, if not all, of their electrical demand from Dominion Power with the solar panels. Most households, however, will usually be looking at a 50% reduction in power savings from the utility, to keep the cost of their solar system within reason.

Many states, such as California, Texas, New York, New Jersey, and Florida, as well as the federal government and many electrical utilities, now offer incentives for people to install solar systems in their homes. For example, if you take advantage of all of the available solar incentives/rebates in some areas of New Jersey, they can potentially reduce the cost of a complete solar system up to 50 to 70%! Unfortunately, Virginia has been slow to follow other leaders in solar incentives, and currently does not offer any incentives for residential solar systems. This will hopefully change in the near future as Dominion Power continue requesting increases in the prices they can charge their customers per kilowatt hour and keep pushing for the installation of high voltage towers across the Piedmont.

The best way to get residential solar incentives in Virginia is to contact your legislator and ask them to support and pass legislation to make the incentives available now. Imagine if 100,000 households in Northern Virginia followed the McCormick's lead. This could potentially reduce the number of coal-fired generation plants now required, or eliminate the need for the power towers.

Solar panels are not inexpensive, and the return on investment can span a decade or more. The idea is not that you will necessarily save money in the short term, but that you are making a social investment now and for the next generations to come. It's the kind of investment that makes you believe that one person really can make a difference, and that feels good.

Jack Holz, Jr. is a Certified Solar Distributor