xcel
06-04-2006, 12:02 PM
Solar Panels, Windmill Slash Power Bill. (http://www.courant.com/features/lifestyle/hc-windpower.artjun04,0,1007688.story?coll=hc-headlines-custom2)
Steve Grant - The Hartford Courant - June 4, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Home_Wind_Turbine.jpg
Bob MacDonnell
While the rest of us whine about the price of gasoline and home heating oil, some people already have done something about it.
Throughout the state there are people who switched to alternative energy sources well before the latest increase in fuel costs. These people have found practical and effective ways to eliminate or reduce their reliance on oil and gasoline, in some cases saving thousands of dollars each year.
Starting today, we look at some of these people and their alternative energy systems.
The Fostini family of four is not unlike so many others in Connecticut. They live in a house in the suburbs with three bedrooms and two baths.
But unlike so many other families, the Fostinis have a windmill. Not one of the miniature golf things, either. It's real working 100-foot-tall windmill - more precisely known as a wind generator - that turns a steady breeze into electricity, a rare sight in Connecticut.
Phil Fostini is one of those prescient people who embraced alternative energy sources long before oil and gasoline prices shot up. In an understated way that is his style, he has quietly but aggressively moved toward energy independence, and he began a decade ago, back in that now-quaint time of energy complacency.
Follow the long driveway to his Cheshire house, which can't be seen from the road, and you come upon what amounts to Power Plant No. 1, a bank of solar photovoltaic cells facing south. In the distance is Power Plant No. 2, the windmill.
On many days, those two energy systems can generate more electricity than his home even needs, and they save him a small fortune in his monthly utility bill.
Add a new hybrid car, which gets 42 miles to the gallon, and his energy savings are even bigger.
"I feel like I'm starting to get ahead of the game," Fostini said one recent afternoon, walking his grounds. "I used to have an SUV, but I switched to the hybrid car. I can go at least two weeks on a tank of gas, instead of 4 days. So that helps."
Without his windmill and photovoltaic cell systems - the windmill is especially valuable in the windy, cold winter months; the photovoltaic panels are a mainstay in the sunny, warm months - Fostini estimates his Connecticut Light & Power Co. bill would be more than $200 a month. His bill actually runs about $100 a month and may drop to single digits soon if, as he has requested, the utility gives him net-metering status, which would credit him for excess power that he generates and feeds to the regional electric grid.
Of course, not everyone has 29 acres, as the Fostinis do, so a windmill won't work for every family. And not every family will choose a 40- by 40-foot bank of solar photovoltaic cells. But the technologies work, and they are neither wildly expensive nor very hard to install.
Fostini estimates he spent $20,000 total for his systems. If his utility bill drops to perhaps $6 a month, as he says is possible with net-metering, he will be saving about $200 a month in electricity costs. At that rate, his entire system would pay for itself in less than nine years.
Moreover, to whatever extent he generates electricity from renewable sources, he helps reduce dependence on finite oil supplies because a significant portion of utility-produced electricity is still produced by burning oil.
Fostini lives with his wife, Heathir Fostyni, and two children, Maddisen, 8, and Isabel, 5, and owns a laser service company in Durham.
"I basically repair laser systems," he said, "so I know wiring and electronics. I know all that sort of thing. So putting this together wasn't bad."
For those put off by the thought of installing a system, however, demand is enough that there now are contractors who will do the job.
The system is comparatively simple. The photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into electricity through the use of solar cells. The blades of the windmill drive a generator that transmits power to a controller. In both cases, the power is then transmitted to the home and stored in batteries, which distribute power throughout the house using what is known as an inverter.
Maintenance is minimal, Fostini said. About every two years he uses a winch to lower the windmill and oil the bearings, a job that takes about an hour. Occasionally he adds water to the batteries in the basement. The photovoltaic cells themselves essentially require no maintenance - they sit in the sun and soak up energy.
Power-generating windmills in Connecticut are most unusual, and commercial wind-farm companies have so far avoided any projects in Connecticut, at least in part because the winds in Connecticut are not thought ideal for large-scale wind-power generation.
The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, which provides rebates to homeowners for certain qualifying projects, helped finance 45 photovoltaic systems last year. It did that many in the first three months this year.
"It seems to be gaining in popularity, especially with the ever increasing energy costs," said Charlie Moret, managing director, marketing and communications, for Connecticut Innovations, which administers the fund, which is financed by electric rate-payers.
Of course, Fostini still uses oil to heat his home, helped by a wood stove, but even that may change because he's not done yet.
Fostini now plans to look at a geothermal system for his home, in which the stable deep underground temperature of the Earth's surface is exploited to cool a home in summer and help heat it in winter.
But, of course, he's been ahead of the curve for a long time now.
Steve Grant - The Hartford Courant - June 4, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Home_Wind_Turbine.jpg
Bob MacDonnell
While the rest of us whine about the price of gasoline and home heating oil, some people already have done something about it.
Throughout the state there are people who switched to alternative energy sources well before the latest increase in fuel costs. These people have found practical and effective ways to eliminate or reduce their reliance on oil and gasoline, in some cases saving thousands of dollars each year.
Starting today, we look at some of these people and their alternative energy systems.
The Fostini family of four is not unlike so many others in Connecticut. They live in a house in the suburbs with three bedrooms and two baths.
But unlike so many other families, the Fostinis have a windmill. Not one of the miniature golf things, either. It's real working 100-foot-tall windmill - more precisely known as a wind generator - that turns a steady breeze into electricity, a rare sight in Connecticut.
Phil Fostini is one of those prescient people who embraced alternative energy sources long before oil and gasoline prices shot up. In an understated way that is his style, he has quietly but aggressively moved toward energy independence, and he began a decade ago, back in that now-quaint time of energy complacency.
Follow the long driveway to his Cheshire house, which can't be seen from the road, and you come upon what amounts to Power Plant No. 1, a bank of solar photovoltaic cells facing south. In the distance is Power Plant No. 2, the windmill.
On many days, those two energy systems can generate more electricity than his home even needs, and they save him a small fortune in his monthly utility bill.
Add a new hybrid car, which gets 42 miles to the gallon, and his energy savings are even bigger.
"I feel like I'm starting to get ahead of the game," Fostini said one recent afternoon, walking his grounds. "I used to have an SUV, but I switched to the hybrid car. I can go at least two weeks on a tank of gas, instead of 4 days. So that helps."
Without his windmill and photovoltaic cell systems - the windmill is especially valuable in the windy, cold winter months; the photovoltaic panels are a mainstay in the sunny, warm months - Fostini estimates his Connecticut Light & Power Co. bill would be more than $200 a month. His bill actually runs about $100 a month and may drop to single digits soon if, as he has requested, the utility gives him net-metering status, which would credit him for excess power that he generates and feeds to the regional electric grid.
Of course, not everyone has 29 acres, as the Fostinis do, so a windmill won't work for every family. And not every family will choose a 40- by 40-foot bank of solar photovoltaic cells. But the technologies work, and they are neither wildly expensive nor very hard to install.
Fostini estimates he spent $20,000 total for his systems. If his utility bill drops to perhaps $6 a month, as he says is possible with net-metering, he will be saving about $200 a month in electricity costs. At that rate, his entire system would pay for itself in less than nine years.
Moreover, to whatever extent he generates electricity from renewable sources, he helps reduce dependence on finite oil supplies because a significant portion of utility-produced electricity is still produced by burning oil.
Fostini lives with his wife, Heathir Fostyni, and two children, Maddisen, 8, and Isabel, 5, and owns a laser service company in Durham.
"I basically repair laser systems," he said, "so I know wiring and electronics. I know all that sort of thing. So putting this together wasn't bad."
For those put off by the thought of installing a system, however, demand is enough that there now are contractors who will do the job.
The system is comparatively simple. The photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into electricity through the use of solar cells. The blades of the windmill drive a generator that transmits power to a controller. In both cases, the power is then transmitted to the home and stored in batteries, which distribute power throughout the house using what is known as an inverter.
Maintenance is minimal, Fostini said. About every two years he uses a winch to lower the windmill and oil the bearings, a job that takes about an hour. Occasionally he adds water to the batteries in the basement. The photovoltaic cells themselves essentially require no maintenance - they sit in the sun and soak up energy.
Power-generating windmills in Connecticut are most unusual, and commercial wind-farm companies have so far avoided any projects in Connecticut, at least in part because the winds in Connecticut are not thought ideal for large-scale wind-power generation.
The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, which provides rebates to homeowners for certain qualifying projects, helped finance 45 photovoltaic systems last year. It did that many in the first three months this year.
"It seems to be gaining in popularity, especially with the ever increasing energy costs," said Charlie Moret, managing director, marketing and communications, for Connecticut Innovations, which administers the fund, which is financed by electric rate-payers.
Of course, Fostini still uses oil to heat his home, helped by a wood stove, but even that may change because he's not done yet.
Fostini now plans to look at a geothermal system for his home, in which the stable deep underground temperature of the Earth's surface is exploited to cool a home in summer and help heat it in winter.
But, of course, he's been ahead of the curve for a long time now.