solar energy

Vineyard Unplugged: Living off the grid

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By Martha Shaw (Martha’s Vineyard, MA)

Tauras Biskis with his 20-year-old solar panels.

Prior to laying cable to the mainland’s electrical grid, the residents of Martha’s Vineyard had to be resourceful about where they got their energy. Today, many people choose to reduce their dependency on the expensive electricity provided by the cables. Some have chosen to install systems to harness energy from the sun, or from the wind. Others have purchased energy-efficient products and have become more diligent about turning down thermostats and flicking off switches. More rare are the people living entirely “off the grid” which means they aren’t connected to the utility company at all. While the cost of running power to remote properties can, indeed, be daunting, many of these people choose to live off the grid simply on principle and wouldn’t plug in even if they could.

One homeowner who is “unplugged” by choice is Woody Tasch of Chappaquiddick, who lives off the grid year-round in a house originally built by Bruce Lowther. Woody is chairman and CEO of Investors’ Circle, a venture capital network that focuses on sustainability, and he prefers to work at home. This means powering his computer and other electronics with solar energy. To protect them from going down in the rare instances when he runs out of juice, he uses a back-up gas generator.

He says, “We can’t keep burning fossil fuels to feed our every whim and think we’re going to get away with it. Maybe we can live like that for another 20 years but then what?” Woody recently bought a house in a remote region of New Mexico that is also “unplugged” where he plans to write his next book. He coined the phrase “urgent meta-sub-neo-Malthusian-post-greenhouse-environmental-justice-passion” to describe people like himself who are driven by their environmental conscience.

Another homeowner who is unplugged is Tauras Biskis, a musician living in the wilds of Chilmark. He says, “Being off the grid makes me feel closer to the earth…. instead of buying electricity from some stinky power plant.” He admits to being a bit extreme, but says he enjoys the lifestyle and will stay off the grid when he builds his new house, too. With new technology he hopes to optimize the amount of energy he gets from the sun. “I’ve got 10-year-old solar panels now that were passed down to me. I plan to have more panels and a bigger battery array for storage so I can rely as little as possible on propane.”

Though his solar panels allow him to generate the electricity that he uses, Tauras does need to buy gas from Vineyard Propane for cooking, and to supplement the solar panels when sun isn’t available. On a good day, however, the solar panels generate enough electricity to charge the battery bank. An inverter converts the energy to AC power. This runs the water pump, radio, the refrigerator and lights. An ingenious German-made Bosch on-demand water heater uses the hydraulic flow from the water pump to spin a mini-turbine that sparks an igniter switch, which lights the pilot, which lights a burner. When the pump stops running, the burners stop.

He says, “Being off the grid is more complicated in some ways, but much less complicated in others. I look at how much energy I have stored in the batteries and that helps me decide what I can do at that moment. It keeps me in touch with nature.” Like many who revere the Island’s natural surroundings, including its natural light and remarkable advantage for stargazing, the increased usage of indoor and outdoor lights at night on the Island discourage Tauras Biskis. “It’s a waste of energy. Given the chance, our eyes can adjust very well to the dark.”

For the Moore family of West Tisbury, the tradition of living off the grid goes back several generations, to a time before the “grid” was an option. Many of the Moores, whose childhood memories are filled with summers on the Vineyard with no phones or electricity, have chosen to live on the Island year-round and replace their summer camps with year-round homes. For some of them, tying into power lines is still not a valid option because of both logistics and politics. Martha Moore of Middle Point is one of several siblings who cherish the lifestyle.

When Martha built her new house, she was lucky to have the solar energy expertise of her relative, Bill Bennett. She installed an array of solar panels that she can tilt up and down to stay perpendicular to the sun for maximum effect. The panels help to power everything from the refrigerator, water pump, lights, washing machine, TV, stereo, VCR, DVD, two computers and a toaster. That’s with the support of a back-up generator for long periods of overcast skies. Conserving the usage of these amenities is enjoyable and a bit of a science. “What really draws the most energy is anything with heat, like coffee machines, irons, and such. And for now, we have a gas hot water heater and furnace. But, there are exciting new systems we’re looking into.”

While living off the grid isn’t for everyone, there are things everyone can do to lessen the load on the electrical supply to the Island. These include switching electronics off when not is use, using only cold water whenever possible, turning down thermostats, and switching off lights, indoors and out. Find out about programs on the Island that can help reduce your electricity consumption including the Vineyard Lighting Challenge, on Energy Day, May 6, or visit www.vineyardenergyproject.org.

This article is sponsored by the Vineyard Energy Project through a grant from the US Department of Energy. The Vineyard Energy Project promotes sustainable energy choices through education, outreach, and advocacy. The author, Martha Shaw, is a member of the Vineyard Energy Project’s advisory board. The Times publishes these columns as a service to its readers.

Solar collectors reduce the cost of hot water heating at home

clean technology, energy, environment, green business, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, MV Times, renewable energy, Vineyard Unplugged, , , ,

By Martha Shaw (Martha’s Vineyard, MA)

The luxurious practice of bathing and showering in hot water for health and wellbeing can be traced back thousands of years across cultures from the Far East to ancient Rome. Only within the last century, however, have Americans come to rely on hot water available in every bathroom with the twist of knob or push of a button. Not only do we expect it on demand for bathing, but also for washing our clothes and getting our dishes squeaky clean. Barring the presence of geothermal springs in the earth below, this means raising the temperature of water. Throughout time, man has been heating hot water by burning wood, oil, gas, coal, or compost; and in many parts of the world, natural sunlight is used to heat water on rooftops. Now, solar hot water systems are taking their rightful place in history. In fact, heating hot water is among solar energy’s most efficient usages.

It’s easy to guesstimate the amount of energy coming from the sun. Ten square feet of surface on the planet exposed to direct sunlight receives about 1.4 kilowatts of sun power. The power level of one kilowatt for one second is an energy measurement called a BTU (British Thermal Unit). Think of a BTU as about the same amount of energy that comes from lighting one kitchen match. A BTU is also defined as the amount of energy needed to raise one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit. In general, it’s fair to assume that a fixed solar collector on an unobstructed roof on a sunny day receives 1 BTU per 10 square feet. A typical solar collector panel is 32 square feet so it can receive about three BTU’s per second. That’s roughly 10,000 BTU’s per hour for a collector about the size of a sheet of plywood. Five hours of bright sunshine in a day can make about 50,000 BTU of solar heat from one collector panel.

In the solar hot water system, this heat energy is then used to raise the water temperature of the well or town water. For instance, if well water is 50 degrees, and you want to raise its temperature 70 more degrees to reach 120 degrees, you can calculate how many gallons can be heated. If you divide the 50,000 BTU from the collector panel, by the 70 degree temperature rise needed, you can conclude that 714 pounds of hot water, or about 79 gallons, could be obtained per day from a single solar collector, minus the losses in transferring heat and storing the hot water. Back in the 1970s, during the energy crisis, solar collectors rose in popularity, but the movement lost its momentum as soon as the tax benefits and rebates disappeared. Now, state and federal incentives have returned as energy issues take the spotlight, and solar is back in full swing. The cost of a simple solar hot water installation can be as little as $2,500 including parts and labor, using sitebuilt or refurbished equipment. New systems with warranted equipment cost a bit more.

In December, Sarah Kuh and Chas deGeofroy of Chilmark decided to go ahead with solar hot water when they heard about a good deal offered by contractor Chris Fried of Vineyard Haven, who not only installs systems but also likes to invent them. “If you have a good roof angle and plenty of exposure, why not?” says Sarah. “There’s a sense of responsibility to use renewable resources as time goes on, and there are so many problems around energy, not the least of which is war. It’s readily available for free as long as the sun is shining.” Their system cost a total of $2,500, including labor. Though the solar collectors won’t reach their full potential until summer, on a sunny winter day, water temperatures in their 50-gallon solar tank can easily get to 100 degrees and up. This preheated water feeds into their gas water heater, reducing its load and reducing their dependence of fossil fuel.

“Everyone’s going to have to deal with the end of cheap oil,” says husband Chas. “We may not run out for a hundred years or more, but it’s going to get more expensive. Besides, it’s stupid to invade countries for cheap oil and then squander it. I think this is a good thing to get into… the wave of the future.”

Jim and Debbie Athearn of Morning Glory Farm worked with contractor Erik Lowe to design and install a solar hot water system for their home to replace their electric hot water heater. “We also intend to heat our dining room with looped hot water coils installed in the flooring,” says Jim. “But we’re still waiting to see how much hot water the collectors can produce.” Because the Athearns pre-plumbed the house to someday use solar hot water to heat their floors, their total cost was approximately $10,000. Most of their water heating is now provided for free, which they feel good about, both economically and politically. “But for right now,” Jim adds, “the Arabs are still heating my dining room. Either them or the Texans.”

South Mountain Company Inc. chose Laurel Wilkinson’s house in Island Co-Housing to demonstrate and monitor a new Enerworks solar hot water system that cost about $7,500 total. Laurel, who works at the eco-friendly firm, prefers the soft hum of the system’s pump to the sound of the oil furnace firing up. She says, “As a child, I was raised not to use what I don’t need, and that includes both water and energy. In my family, we turned down the thermostat at night and wore an extra layer to stay warm. College years are the age when people look at their own values and what’s important to them. For me this was during an energy crisis. I began to study various environmentally conscious topics around architecture. Being here at South Mountain I am fortunate to have the opportunity to integrate my values with my work.”

The house has a large south-facing roof with two solar collectors that have been producing most of the home’s water heat for two years now and their performance is monitored with great enthusiasm. “For me, one of the big things is seeing where the energy is coming from,” says Laurel. “It’s like seeing where your food is grown.”
Contractors on the Island are revving up their capacity to install systems, now that incentives for solar hot water heating have been issued again. Both state and federal tax credits are currently available for new, warranted equipment that has been approved by the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation. Forty plumbers, heating contractors, architects and builders on the Island will attend a solar hot water training workshop on March 16.

To find out more about solar hot water and opportunities for funding, visit www.vineyardenergyproject.org.

This article is sponsored by the Vineyard Energy Project through a grant from the U.S. DOE’s Million Solar Roofs program. The Vineyard Energy Project promotes sustainable energy choices through education, outreach, and renewable energy projects. The author, Martha Shaw, is a member of the Vineyard Energy Project’s advisory board. The Times publishes these columns as a service to its readers.