Meeting Details: Green Energy Ohio Trumbull County, November 24, 2009

Michael Hein and Jason Clark of The Green Building Pros are the main speakers for a Clean Energy Network Meeting in Trumbull County on Tuesday, November 24, 2009, from 7-8:30 p.m. The meeting will be held in Room 117 of the Kent State University Trumbull Campus Technology Building. The meeting is free and open to the public.

Hein and Clark will discuss “Energy Efficiency’s Role in Green Building” and will deal with topics such as what makes a building “green,” why energy efficiency is important to homeowners and small business owners, and energy audits. To make existing buildings more energy efficient, an energy audit is the place to start. The speakers will explain what is involved in an energy audit and the reports produced to help determine the steps needed to reduce energy use while maintaining a comfortable and healthy building. A question/answer session will follow the presentation. Also, attendees will discuss future meeting topics.

The Green Building Pros (GBP) is a collaboration of energy efficiency and sustainability experts dedicated to bringing their expertise to the marketplace in Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. The staff at GBP has decades of experience in the construction industry and hold advanced degrees and certifications in sustainability and green building. This experience and education – coupled with memberships and accreditation by leading organizations in green building and energy efficiency organizations such as the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET), and the Building Performance Institute (BPI) – position GBP to be a leader in the growing green building market. GBP is on the Web at http://thegreenbuildingpros.com/.

Clean Energy Network in Trumbull County is a group dedicated to increasing awareness in sustainability, green building and renewable energy technologies by bringing together like-minded people in the area. The Clean Energy Network in Trumbull County is a regional affiliate of Green Energy Ohio.

Making Electricity!

Installing solar panels on my roof is just part of the process, of course. The next step was to connect them to the inverter and the electric service panel. This was accomplished on Wednesday, September 30, when technicians from Kozma Electric made the necessary connections. The panels were operational that afternoon, making electricity from the late day sunshine poking through the clouds.

The system made even more electricity the next day, when fewer clouds blocked the sun’s rays. For a few minutes the panels were making more electricity than the house was using. I enjoyed seeing the dial on the electric meter turn backwards, indicating I was sending electricity into the grid. The installer’s estimate is my system should make about 60% of my electric consumption each year, so there will be several opportunities to observe the meter turning in my favor.

By Sunday, October 4, the day I participated in Green Energy Ohio’s Solar Tour, the system had made about 10 kilowatt hours of electricity (10 kWH). A meter installed next to the inverter logs the kWH made over the life of the system. The picture below shows the equipment located near the electric service panel in my basement.

Since the panels create direct electric current (DC), a device is required to convert DC to AC, the alternating electric current used in homes. The inverter is the large box in the center of the picture that performs this task. The digital display panel indicates the number of watts being generated at any given time. In addition to the meter tracking total kW hours, the electricians installed a data logger to track electricity production on my laptop and on an Internet site. This last component is scheduled to be operational later this week.

More than 30 individuals visited my stop on the Ohio Solar Tour on Sunday, getting a chance to see the system and ask questions. Thanks go out to John Flower, a representative from Dovetail Solar and Wind, who spent the day answering questions about solar power and my installation. Special appreciation goes to Cindy Woodward, who has helped in every step of the process.

Welcome to Greener Warren!

The PV solar panels are installed on my roof, and the electrical hookup should be completed next week. I plan to use this blog to explain the steps I've taken to get to this point and describe the results of my energy conservation efforts. Watch for more details.

Picture caption: The crew from Dovetail Solar and Wind install the 3.2 kW photovoltaic array, 16 Sharp Model 198V PV modules, September 2009.