Local man harnesses the power of the sun
BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP
Staff Writer

Top photo, a stairway leads up from the bottom floor to the greenhouse area of Nick Bryson’s passive solar home, located in Allentown. Above, solar panels collect energy from the sun and convert it into electricity on one of the buildings at Bryson’s property. At left, the interior of Bryson’s solar powered house boasts knickknacks from around the world and artwork made by his daughter.

ALLENTOWN — Nick Bryson’s philosophy is to leave a light footprint.

Bryson built his home near the woods in Allentown out of recycled wood from World War I barracks in 1979. Not only does the architecture support energy efficiency, but Bryson’s home was one of the first in the area to utilize passive solar energy.

PHOTOSBY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP

This year, Bryson had an opportunity to make his footprint on this earth even lighter by adding a photovoltaic (PV) — also known as a solar electric system — to the buildings on his property.

“The PV system is in line with my philosophy of leaving a light footprint and not being dependent on anyone or a lot of oil,” Bryson said.

The new system added 9.86 kilowatts (kW) of PV power to the house, workshop and small business on Bryson’s 15-acre property.

According to Charles Virga, of Choose Green Energy in Union City, which is the company that installed Bryson’s PV system, Bryson now has two kinds of solar panels at his home.

The site has 58 PV panels, producing 170 watts apiece, that directly feed Bryson’s electrical needs. He also has two solar, thermal panels that produce hot water for the home’s faucets, dishwasher, clothes washer and showerheads.

According to Virga, the PV system at Bryson’s home includes two inverters, which convert the electricity produced by the PV panels from direct current into alternating current to use in the home.

As long as the sun is shining, Bryson has enough PV electricity to cool, light and work appliances in all three buildings on his property.

Since the property is hooked up to the local electric company’s grid, if the sun isn’t shining, Bryson still has power, but he has to pay for it.

“During the sunnier months, because I am still hooked up to JCP&L’s [Jersey Central Power & Light’s] grid,” Bryson said, “the PV system actually starts turning the electric meter backward.”

When the system produces more electricity than required by the house, the excess flows to the grid. This arrangement benefits Bryson because he has a dramatically reduced electric bill, according to Virga.

During a good month, Bryson said he saves approximately $215 on his electric bill. The excess flow also benefits users of the grid because when Bryson’s system produces excess power, available grid power increases.

Among other things, according to Virga, the chance of a brownout on a hot summer day is reduced.

When asked why he waited so long to add a PV system to his place, Bryson said, “Although the photovoltaic systems were around 25 years ago, they weren’t very efficient and cost-effective.”

Bryson said it also wasn’t until recently that New Jersey started encouraging people to use PV systems and other renewable energy sources.

“There’s now a concentrated effort on the part of the state to encourage people to do photovoltaic,” Bryson said. “State subsidies gave me a chance to put a PV system on the property.”

Through the state’s Clean Energy Program, businesses and homeowners can take advantage of aggressive financial incentives that cover up to 65 percent of PV system costs, according to Virga.

Virga said a PV system costs about $8 per watt installed, meaning that a 10-kilowatt system would cost $80,000 to install.

“That means [that] if you had a 10-kilowatt system, the state would pay about $5.10 per watt, meaning you would get a $51,000 return on the cost of your system,” Virga said.

In addition to reduced electric bills, Virga said PV systems accrue renewable energy certificates through New Jersey’s Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC) Program. SRECs can be sold on the open market, according to Virga.

When combining the savings on electricity costs and the sale of the SRECs, Virga said a system could pay for itself in seven or eight years.

PV systems installed by Choose Green Energy have full five-year warranties. PV panels are warranted for 25 years, according to Virga, and typically last for more than 30 years.

Including permits and post-work inspections, the installation at Bryson’s house, from beginning to end, took about two calendar months, according to Virga.

Virga said Choose Green Energy has an experienced staff that has installed residential and commercial PV systems throughout northern New Jersey and Long Island, N.Y.

A good PV site, according to Virga, entails a south-facing or flat roof with membrane that has 10 years of life remaining and few or no obstacles. The site should have little or no shade from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and an up-to-date electrical system.

Solar panels can also be mounted on a pole or the ground in an open field, according to Virga.

Virga said PV systems help people gain control over rising heating and cooling costs and aid in reducing human dependence on foreign fossil fuels.

“There’s only so much oil and coal, but the sun’s never going away and we don’t have to negotiate around it,” Virga said. “This is the future.

“Starting in January of 2006,” he said, “the feds will join many state governments by offering subsidies.”

Anyone interested in learning more about solar electric systems can call Choose Green Energy at (201) 864-8780 or visit www.choosegreenenergy.com.