Solar power comes to Summerville | Local News | Summerville Journal Scene

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Solar power comes to Summerville

Published Thursday, July 02, 2009 11:52 AM

By Jenny Peterson
Summerville Journal Scene ®

Jenny Peterson/Journal Scene

Five solar panels attached to the roof of Dr. William Bowers’ Summerville home can lower his electric bill by 15 to 20 percent.

It was hot outside Dr. William Bowers’ home this week. The relentless morning sun made it nearly impossible to stand outside in his Summerville neighborhood, especially directly in the sun’s powerful rays.

But Bowers didn’t mind. As he stood outside in the shade, his newly-installed solar panels on his roof were quietly and efficiently converting all that sunlight into usable electric energy for his home.

For Bowers, the results are impressive. In just one week of soaking up the sun, the panels have produced enough energy to light 115 light bulbs, power 38 computers as well as power an entire house.

The panels have also reduced his carbon footprint considerably; the energy he’s saved is equivalent to 65 pounds of carbon being kept out of the atmosphere, the same as planting one tree, not driving two cars for one day and not consuming three gallons of gas.

Bowers, a business professor and director of graduate studies at Charleston Southern University, can read these calculations anytime from his phone or computer to see how much energy the panels have produced to date along with how much energy he has saved to date and whether or not the panels are functioning properly.

“This is the future,” Bowers said, looking up at his roof and squinting at the sun’s bright glare. “This is really exciting stuff.”

Bowers is one resident who has taken advantage of “green” technology that uses the sun’s rays to convert energy to power his home. Local company Environmental Solar Industries, LLC installed the panels on Bowers’ home.

Owner Quentin Witherspoon, a Legend Oaks resident who is Bowers’ former student, said he wanted to start a viable company that would also help the environment. He said he stumbled upon the concept when he was looking to add solar-powered landscaping lights to his yard.

“The more I started digging deeper, the more opportunities I saw,” Witherspoon said. “We have as much solar (power) as southern California. It’s a little sweet spot here.”

Witherspoon has an undergraduate business degree and a master’s degree in electrical work.

The panels don’t replace the electricity in Bowers’ home; rather, it supplements it with renewable energy.

“The dryer, refrigerators, bulbs don’t care,” Bowers said.

He expects the panels to reduce his monthly electric bills by 15-20 percent.

The panels cost him $6,600 to install, but he expects to get nearly half of that cost back in his taxes next year in the form of a refund.

Additionally, since he is generating his own energy, South Carolina Electric and Gas Company will either pay him for the electricity that his panels are feeding back into the electrical grid, or credit his account. That policy, called “net metering” is mandated by The South Carolina Public Service Commission.

“The payback gets better and better,” Witherspoon said. “I couldn’t be happier.”

The process to install is simple, although Bowers said he did need to get permission from a county employee to make sure the panels were installed correctly.

Witherspoon offers site assessments for free to residents to determine if solar panels can work in their home. He looks at electric bills, notes the orientation of the roof and surrounding trees.

And said he is hoping to get more panels installed in Summerville homes, although he needs permission from area homeowner’s associations to put up the panels. Witherspoon said he has been met with resistance from HOA members about the aesthetics of the panels.

“It gets us off out dependence on foreign oil, it’s a good steward of the environment and it’s a good financial investment,” Witherspoon said. The company is also involved with wind power systems.

For more information about Environmental Solar Industries, LLC, visit http://envirosolarindust.com/ or call 843-725-8623.

Contact Jenny Peterson at 873-9424 ext. 216 or JPeterson@journalscene.com.

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